Preah Khan Reach Svay Rieng FC will be determined to maximise home ground advantage when they face Manila Digger FC in the first leg of their AFC Challenge League semi-final at the Morodok Techo National Stadium tomorrow.
It promises to be a thriller as Svay Rieng look set to claim the Cambodian Premier League title while Manila Digger are just three points behind in the Philippines Football League.
Svay Rieng failed to progress in the ASEAN Club Championships, despite a game in hand and have turned their full attention on the Challenge League.
Svay Rieng’s mission is to go one better than domestic rivals Phnom Penh Crown FC, who fell in last season’s final to FK Arkadag of Turkmenistan.
Their journey to the semi-finals was fairly smooth, with Svay Rieng topping Group D with seven points.
Ironically, Svay Rieng advanced to the semi-finals after defeating Phnom Penh Crown, They were simply too strong over the two legs in the all-Cambodian quarter-final affair, cruising into the last four stage with a 6-2 aggregate win
Manila Digger will, however, draw confidence from the fact that they are the only team to have denied Svay Rieng victory on the continental stage this season, with their group stage meeting ending in a 2-2 draw.
They had to show resilience to see off the challenge of Indonesia’s Dewa United FC in the quarter-finals, winning 3-2 on aggregate and with continental glory within reach, Manila Digger will be focused on obtaining a favourable result to take into next week’s return leg.
