AFC Challenge League - Clinical Svay Rieng please McConkey

Manila: Matt McConkey was effusive in his praise of Preah Khan Reach Svay Rieng FC after the Cambodian side secured a second successive final appearance in the AFC Challenge League™ on Thursday.

The Northern Ireland tactician, while admitting he was not satisfied with his team’s overall performance, applauded their effectiveness in front of goal as a Saret Kyra header and a brace from Kwame Peprah sealed a 3-0 win on the day and 4-1 on aggregate against Manila Digger of the Philippines.

#ChallengeLeague | SF (2nd Leg) : Manila Digger FC (PHI) 0-3 Preah Khan Reach Svay Rieng FC (CAM)

“Probably the opposite of the first leg in that they had more chances than us,” said McConkey. “In the first leg, we had a lot of chances that we didn’t take.

“It was a tough game. They are a good team with a lot of energy and fire. The moments that we had to finish, we took them, that was the biggest difference.

“It wasn’t a great performance from us. We didn’t play 100 percent to our level but the team is doing amazing things this season with the crazy schedule.”

The 33-year-old also was pleased to see how his team responded to Manila Digger’s challenge.

Acknowledging that Manila Digger head coach Kim Versales’s tactics had him and his staff making adjustments throughout the match, McConkey was delighted to see his players reacting well to the demands.

“We saw when the game started, we saw that they changed to use the midfielders to cover our strikers, we tried to adjust to that.

“We went to half-time with a 2-0 lead but they were giving our press a little problem, so we changed the press at half-time, then they changed also. So the game management from the staff side was good.”

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