2022 AFF Under-23 Championship get off to stormy and goal filled start
The AFF Under-23 Championship kicked off at Morodok Techo Stadium with a double header that saw shocks, goals, drama, power cuts and rain! Lots and lots of rain.
To read about the AFF Under-23 Cup click here.
2022 AFF Under-23 Championship
This was the first time that Cambodia hosted the ASEAN Football Federation Under-23 Championship. The drama startied before a ball had even been kicked after Indonesia were forced to withdraw after 7 players tested positive for Covid-19. Obviously bad news for Indonesia but on the plus side for others with one of the strongest teams now not taking part, Cambodia inlcuded. The Kingdom could well be in with a chance of winning the tournament.
The Group A fixtures started the competition with Timor Leste facing the Philippines followed an hour later by Cambodia against Brunei. That order dispensed with the common practice of the host playing the first match. Why the outlier in scheduling tradition is anyones guess, but perhaps it was to get as many locals into the hard to reach Morodok Techo Stadium after work as possible.
East Timor 2 Philippines 2
I’ll deal with getting to and from the new stadium later, but I will say this. It certainly looks very impressive on arrival. There’s been lots of hype on Facebook about seats being filled before the initial match but this was not to prove the case. There were plenty of tickets available.
FYI though, both ticket and shirt merchants seem to be the last ones in the country to only accepting cash payments. Do not rely on ABA to get into the stadium.
Although it was a “one ticket” double header, few people showed up for the opening match with perhaps a few thousand people on hand, making the stadium look very empty. We were treated to humdinger of a match though between the only two Catholic countries in ASEAN, surely a match that would dominated by crosses right?
To read about the Philippines opening to tourism click here
Joking aside, Timor-Leste entered the match very much the underdogs against their much bigger rivals. despite that, the Timorese side dominated the match with some truly sexy tiki-taca passing plays. They would take the lead minutes after a correctly given penalty slotted by Mouzinho De Lima before the Philippines equalised the game with a goal by Ivan Guano on the stroke of half-time.
The Philippines, undoubtedly bigger and stronger than their rivals, could not match the Timorese spirit though and would fall behind once again in the 59th minute on a goal by Jaimito Soares
The lead was short lived however with Guano grabbing his second goal and the game equaliser is the 62nd minute. Make no mistake though, this was a Timorese victory and if results continue to go their way? They could well find themselves going through.
Cambodia 6 Brunei 0
With less than an hour between the two matches the stadium finally started to swell with local fans lining up almost from the Win-Win Monument to the stadium. Eventually the grounds were almost 1/3 full, a factor that would prove a saviour when the rain came.
Before kick-off the stadium really started to have a true sense of atmosphere to it, particularly when it came to the time for the national anthems. And as soon as the match started, the Cambodia Ultras sang their hearts out whatever the weather. Football-wise Cambodia went in as overwhelming favourites and struck for three goals courtesy of Sieng Chanthea (18′), Nhean Sosidan (20′) and young superstar Sa Ty (32) before half-time.
But it was at half-time that joy soon turned to farce. The restart was delayed first due to what seemed a lack of power before restarting in the monsoon rains. The match then lasted some 10 minutes before being halted again for an hour while officials and fans waited for the rain to stop.
For a stadium that cost so much to build you’d have hoped a better drainage system would be in place. Irony abounded in that as they’d showed off the pitch’s sprinkler system before the rain started.
The deluge also highlighted the fact that the stadium is not fully covered or have a retractable roof. Fans bolted for cover, cramming themselves into the dry spots.
When play did finally restart it was under ridiculous conditions. Watching footballers play on a waterlogged pitch is like watching a dog walk on its hind legs. It is not done very well, nor is it entertaining. It is merely impressive to see it done at all.
Play though did continue and the Cambodian side were able to score three more goals courtesy of Taing Bunchhay (72′), Sor Rotana (86′) and Narong Kakada (89’) to complete the 6-0 hammering.
What about the Morodok Techo Stadium?
On the positive side the stadium genuinely looks amazing and with a capacity for 80,000 it is a “real” national stadium. It should also be kept in mind that it was built for the 2023 ASEAN Games rather than being football specific. Bas such, it lacksflair or flavour. There is nowhere to purchase food, drink or souvenirs in the stadium. Food and drinks can only be found outside the stadium from the sparse gathering of vendors allowed to sell their wares there.
The fact that it was not built to cope with rain is also a bit unsettling in a country such as Cambodia. Of course the stadium was a gift, but had that gift been money instead? It would have been better spent upgrading infrastructure the country already has, such as by placing more floodlights in more grounds.
And then you have the location. It’sabout $12 by tuk-tuk from Phnom Penh proper to the aforementioned Win-Win monument. It’s not the cost that bothers me, but the fact that you are so far in the wilderness even Grab dare not touch its shores. Eventually I managed to get home, but quite how vehicle-less fans at the games next year will cope has yet to be addressed.
Overall though? It’s a great stadium and we saw some great football. It felt like a well deserved blast from the past of normal life for a change.
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Author: Adam Reeves
An avid traveler and telecommunications expert, Adam has explored over 25 countries, immersing himself in their cultures to discover the best they offer. His passion for connecting people extends from his professional life to his adventures abroad.
