Black cats prove lucky for PKR

PKR's hat-trick hero Khuon Laboravy (11) and his coach Rith Dikar after today's game

It was a case of the Black Cats from Chhma Khmao proving a lucky omen for Preah Khan Reach in this fixture from the opening weekend of the new Metfone C-League season. Though PKR put six past the Svay Rieng team without reply, the game never reached the heights of the afternoon's opening match and in a pretty dull encounter, the only bright spark was Khuon Laboravy's hat-trick. PKR and their new coach Rith Dikar will be more than happy with the result, especially as they lost new signing Anthony Nzekwest with a tweaked hamstring 20 minutes into the game, leaving a full complement of 22 Khmer-born players on the pitch. Laboravy netted his first in stoppage time before the interval, having earlier headed against the crossbar. Five minutes after the break, he added his second and a header brought up his hat-trick. Sam El Nasa scored twice and San Narith registered a rare goal. It was tough on the C-League's debutants but their defence was way too generous and will need to improve dramatically to keep out the best teams. It could be a long season for the Black Cats. For PKR, they will need to shore up their line-up with a couple of their foreign imports too, to put them on a par with the likes of Crown and Naga for this campaign.

A subdued PKR team that came alive as the game wore on. LtoR: Sophea, Nzekwest, Laboravy, Thuon, Kiri; Mony Udom, Raksmey, Narith, El Nasa, Chanrasmey, Saray.

The Black Cats of Chhma Khmao got a thumping from PKR on their C-League debut. They could be in for a long, hard season.

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