Phnom Penh: Pablo starred with four goals as Cambodia’s Svay Rieng FC booked their spot in the group stage of the inaugural ASEAN Club Championship Shopee Cup™ by defeating Young Elephants FC of Laos 5-1 in the second leg and 8-3 on aggregate on Wednesday.
Svay Rieng’s 3-2 lead from the first leg of the Qualifying Round Play-offs in Vientiane did not hold for long as Takumu Nishihara scored from the penalty spot to give the visitors the breakthrough in the eighth minute, but goals from Cristian Roque Dos Santos and Pablo restored the Cambodians’ advantage at half time.
Pablo then ruled the roost in the second half as he scored three more goals to cap off an impressive outing and gave the Cambodian Premier League side a commanding 5-1 win in the return leg at National Olympic Stadium in Phnom Penh.
Cristian had the ball in the back of the net for the Cambodian champions as early as the third minute of the second leg, but it did not stand as the referee pulled the play back for a foul in the build-up. Adding to their disappointment, the home side’s advantage in the tie vanished five minutes later.
Komiljon Tojidinov drew a foul from Svay Rieng captain Soeuy Visal inside the box and 31-year-old Nishihara converted from the penalty spot for the second match running to give the Laotian champions a 1-0 lead and level the aggregate score at 3-3.
Keo Oudone Souvannasangso had to produce a quick save to deny the Blue Sabers and Pablo after he was played through on goal by Gabriel Silva in the 20th minute, but Phoutpasong Sengdalavong’s side continued to be a threat on the counter.
In the 29th minute, Tojidinov released Kydavone Souvanny who made his way into the box only to be stopped by a well-timed tackle from Nick Taylor before the Cambodian winger pulled the trigger.
Four minutes later at the opposite end, Pablo decided to have a go at goal himself and missed, instead of squaring it for his attacking partner Gabriel who was free and had an open goal in front of him. But the mood in Phnom Penh changed quickly as Svay Rieng scored twice in three minutes to take control.
Cristian restored parity in the 39th minute as he tapped in an outside-of-the-foot cross from Gabriel before Nhean Sosidan broke Young Elephants’ offside trap with a ball over the top and left Pablo with an easy finish to execute and make it 2-1 at the half-time break.
The home side continued to assert their dominance after the restart and doubled their advantage eight minutes in as Gabriel’s cross from the byline was tapped in by Pablo for his second of the night.
Pablo then completed his hat-trick in the 62nd minute when he latched onto a long ball from the Svay Rieng defence, battled defender Thipphachanh Inthavong and then rounded keeper Souvannasangso to make it 4-1 to Jose Munoz’s side.
The Brazilian striker then capitalised on a defensive mistake from Young Elephants as he ran onto a loose ball in the final third and calmly slotted past the opposition goalkeeper to bag his fourth goal of the evening and fire his side to an 8-3 aggregate lead in the 74th minute.
Young Elephants finished the match with 10 men after Thipphachanh saw red in the 78th minute, allowing the hosts to see out the remainder of the game with relative ease.
Svay Rieng will join Thailand’s BG Pathum United FC, Terengganu FC from Malaysia, Indonesia’s PSM Makassar, Đông Á Thanh Hóa FC from Vietnam and fellow qualifiers Shan United FC of Myanmar in Group A of the tournament which will kick off on August 21.
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