Cup Final Heartache

Pov Ponvuthy celebrating one of his goals in last year's Soccer Sixes

It hurts to lose any match by way of a penalty shoot-out but it hurts even more when it's a cup final. Now the Phnom Penh Crown Academy know exactly how that pain feels after going down 2-1 on penalties in the final of the Singapore Cricket Club International Soccer Sixes U-14 Charity Tournament earlier this afternoon at the Padang cricket ground. Coming into the final the Academy boys had swept all before them with 21 goals scored in four matches and none conceded. That is until they faced last year's U-14 Singapore cup winners, Bali Sports Foundation from Indonesia. Bali took a quick two-goal lead in the final and led at half-time. The Academy youngsters recovered in the second period, pulling the game level with goals from Orn Chanpolin and Pov Ponvuthy to make it 2-2 at the final whistle, but it was the sudden-death penalties that finally undid the Academy. They lost 2-1 in the shoot-out and had to settle for second place, an improvement on last year's performance, but still a bitter pill to swallow after showing so much promise leading up to the final. Coach Bouy Dary and his ten-strong squad will return to Phnom Penh tomorrow, when I'll bring you a full report from the tournament.