Baitong FC win festive tourney

Champions Baitong FC receive the trophy and cash from Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports official Nuy Samnang. Photo by: Sam Schweingruber

via CAAI

Monday, 20 December 2010 15:00 H S Manjunath

Battambang Province football team is on the verge of naming its squad for the 2011 Samdech Hun Sen Cup tournament which begins on January 7. A selection trial to pick the top players took the shape of the Christmas Adult Football League, which saw 14 teams from in and around Battambang compete last week.

In Saturday’s final, Baitong FC avenged their loss in a recent Futsal tournament to rivals Classic FC with a resounding 3-0 victory.

According to the organisers, the Adult League was designed to give fringe players a chance to prove their worthiness of inclusion in the provincial team ahead of the start of a fresh season. The participating teams were split into four groups and, after some intense pool rivalry, Battambang FC, Classic FC, Baitong FC and Socheat Watamin Construction claimed the top four places.

For Classic FC, the semifinal clash against Battambang proved easy pickings, the 3-0 scoreline a true reflection of their dominance.

Baitong were equally impressive, trouncing Socheat Watamin Constrution 4-0 to set up a grudge match against Classic.

There was never a dull moment in the final, with Classic giving a strong showing early on. However, Baitong took the lead in the 14th minute and then added two second half goals to complete a deserving 3-0 triumph.

A consolation for Classic came in the form of the golden boot award for 16-year-old striker Phirum. In the third place play-off, Battambang survived a second half blitz by Socheat to eke out a 2-1 win.