Dominant but no goals

PPCFC v Mengzi: Back row, LTR: Sothy, Srin, Sokthorn, Bisan, Obadin, Yaty. Front Row: Da, Pellegrino, Pheng, Borey, Sokumpheak (capt) - click to enlarge

Result: Phnom Penh Crown 0 Mengzi Wanhao (China) 0 (2014 Yunnan-Asean Int Tournament).
The draw for the Yunnan-Asean International Tournament paired Crown with two teams in their 3-team group. Crown met Mengzi Wanhao, a team from China's League 2, this afternoon in their first tie. Tomorrow they will meet Thailand's Muangthong United U-19s at 4pm.  All 6 teams in the two groups will then move into the quarter-finals, where two winning teams from an amateur competition of 14 teams, will be added. The quarter-final matches will be played on Monday 8 Dec, semi-finals on 9 Dec and the final on 10 Dec. Back to today's game and despite dominating possession for long periods, Crown couldn't convert the many chances they created and had to settle for a point in their group game. The matches are taking place in Mangshi City, Yunnan, SW China and the other three Asean club teams are Muangthong (Thailand), Yadanarbon (Myanmar) and Sabah FA (Malaysia). Crown head coach Sam Schweingruber gave his thoughts on the 0-0 draw with Mengzi Wanhao. "All in all I was happy with the performance but not with the result. We turned our dominance in the second half into good chances but failed to convert them. The opponents frustrated us and the referee didn’t help our attempt to play good football against a physical team. We need to look forward and learn from this, on how to overcome a compact defense and to stay positive in every phase of the game. With only 24 hours to rest it is going to be a chance tomorrow for fresh players to show what they can do on the international stage." The game with Muangthong will kick-off at 4pm in Mangshi City. PPCFC starting XI: Yaty, Da, Pheng, Srin (Pisa 70), Obadin, Sothy (Suhana 73), Sokumpheak, Borey (Matnorotin 78), Sokthorn (Makara 60), Pellegrino, Bisan. Subs not used: Ary, Boris, Sokheng.