Turkmenistan captain Bayramov Vladimir scores his second goal of the match in the first half of their match against Cambodia on Friday at the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium in Manila. (FCF / Ken Koo)

No mercy.

2012 runners-up Turkmenistan opened their Group E qualifiers campaign with a commanding victory to begin their quest for a repeat appearance in the 2014 AFC Challenge Cup final round in Maldives.

The Central Asian squad tuned a resounding 7-0 victory over Cambodia in the opening match on Friday night at the Rizal Memorial Stadium.

Turkmenistan completely controlled the tempo of the match from the beginning, keeping the match within the Cambodian half of the pitch.

Amanov Aslanmyrat opened up the scoring in the 7th minute in transition, then team captain Vladimir Baymarov scored a near-hat trick by putting in goals in the 23rd and 36th minute to put the former Soviet state up 3-0 in the early going.

Before the halftime whistle, Cambodia’s Om Thavrak made it 3-nil for Turkmenistan as he deflected a cross into their own goal.

In the second half, Berdy Shamuradov padded the scoreline with a header in the 74th minute. Abylov Guvanch, who came in for Amanov in the 72nd minute, made it 6-nil at the 81st minute. Finally, Batyrov Gurbangeldi rounded out the lopsided match by scoring in the 87th minute.

The Philippines will face the Turkmenistan XI in Tuesday’s showcase match, while the downtrodden Cambodians face the hosts on Sunday.