Away defeat

Result: PPCFC Academy 2 Kirivong U-19s 5 (Friendly).
The Crown Academy suffered a rare defeat on their travels to Kirivong this afternoon, after taking a 3rd minute lead with a fine individual goal by Mat Sakrovy. A catalogue of defensive errors allowed the home team to draw level and take a commanding 4-1 lead by the half-time interval. Despite 8 changes for Crown after the break, Kirivong extended their lead by taking advantage of a woeful clearance before Oun Ravuth pulled back a consolation goal late on for PPCFC with a good finish.
PPCFC line-up, back row, LtoR: Sakrovy, Chanchav, Senteang, N David, Chandara, Chetra. Front: Piseth, Bony, Pheng, Piphop, Chansopheak.

Birthdays in Augut

August will be a busy month for birthdays amongst the PPCFC playing staff. First, and on the 1st, will be goalkeeper Keo Soksela, who celebrates his 19th birthday on the same day we play Army and having this week been part of the Cambodia NT squad. South Korean import Jang In Yong will be 24 years old on the 5th of the month. The rest of the birthdays belong to our Academy youngsters: 5th - Ky Rina and Chea Chandara; 8th - Kim Chanthy; 11th - Chea Saoyi; 29th - Lim Pisoth; 30th - Tin Ladin. Happy birthday in advance to all of our players with a special day in August, and not forgetting Sin Kakada, who is 16 years old today.

Charity auction

At tonight's Gala Dinner to celebrate the successful conclusion of the IFC International Soccer 9s Tournament, for over-40s, held at RSN Stadium all day today, with 18 teams from 7 countries and over 300 players taking part, a PPCFC jersey signed by the 1st-Team squad was auctioned for an amazing US$7,200 with the proceeds going to charity. 
Kantha Bopha Children's Hospital was the tournament's chosen charity and a fabulous total of over US$70,000 was raised. A gift by the organisers to Rithy Samnang, the Crown President, of a Michael Owen-signed jersey was generously handed back for auction and raised no less than US$20,000. The veterans tournament was won by the Century Lucky Star team from China. Congratulations to the International Football Club of Kuala Lumpur on a very successful tournament and a large sum of money raised for the children of Cambodia.

PPCFC head coach speaks ahead of Monday's big clash at RSN Stadium with Army.
https://www.facebook.com/PhnomPenhCrownFC/videos/1316456585048529/

Balmy effect

The PPCFC squad are pictured before today's training session at RSN Stadium with supplies of Neotica Balm for the relief of muscular aches and pains. Thanks to the Thainakorn Patana Company for their support to PPCFC. In the gym before training begins are Anthony Aymard and George Bisan, putting in some additional hard work on weights. Most of the squad will be heading to Olympic Stadium after training to watch the Cambodia vs Singapore international friendly, to show their support for the national team and their three colleagues in the squad, Thierry, Sokpheng and Soksela.

Torrential rain, a delayed kick-off and even going down to 10-men after a red card didn't stop the Cambodia national team from recording a hard-earned 2-1 victory over visiting Singapore at the National Olympic Stadium in tonight's international friendly match. Chan Vathanaka and Tit Dina scored the goals in the first-half, with PPCFC's Keo Sokpheng in the starting line-up. Bin Thierry and Keo Soksela were unused substitutes. 

Korea Day

The PPCFC vs Army match on Monday evening (1 August), kick-off at 6pm at RSN Stadium, will see an influx of Korean nationals at the match as they celebrate 'Korea Day' at the game. PPCFC's two South Korean players, Jang In Yong and Kim Hyeon Woo, will be joined on the pitch by the quartet of North Korean players in the Army line-up. The Korean community in Phnom Penh will provide entertainment before the match (a female singing & dancing group, Superior F from K've Entertainment), during half-time (an exhibition of Kyeong Mu Do martial arts) as well as providing free samples of sparkling rice wine in a celebration of all-things Korean.

Family support

We want to say thanks to the families of our Academy boys who give their sons great support in their journey to become professional footballers. A great example is the family (pictured) of 12-year-old Tin Ladin, one of four PPCFC Academy youngsters who flew out this morning with the Cambodia U-13 team that will play a festival in China. The family group travelled from their home in Battambang to send off their son at the airport and like the families of our other Academy boys, they provide important family support for their son's football development. A big THANK YOU to the families from the staff at PPCFC. Also pictured are the four PPCFC Academy players, LtoR, Chhoy Laiheang, Yim Makara, Tin Ladin and Sem Phanny, before they board their plane to Beijing.

The three PPCFC players - Bin Thierry, Keo Sokpheng and Keo Soksela - will be part of the Cambodia National Team squad who take on Singapore in an international friendly match at the Olympic Stadium tomorrow night (Thursday), at 6.30pm. Another large crowd is expected to watch the match at the stadium and the game is also live on BTVNews. Both teams have important players missing, which will give a chance for others to show their talent. 
Also tomorrow, 4 of the PPCFC Academy will travel to China to play in the U-13 Soong Ching Ling Cup until 4 August with the Cambodia U-13 national team. They are goalkeeper Chhoy Laiheang, Yim Makara, Tin Ladin and Sem Phanny with one player from our community team, Noreak Titya, joining them. Good luck to the Cambodia team.

In the Vietnamese news

PPCFC are in the Vietnamese media at Bongda @ http://www.bongda.com.vn/chuyen-chua-ke-ve-hlv-phnom-penh-crown-bi-de-doa-thu-tieu-p2-d353723.html
and @ http://www.bongda.com.vn/chuyen-chua-ke-ve-clb-danh-gia-nhat-vuong-quoc-campuchia-phan-i-d353673.html
Their reporters visited RSN Stadium whilst they were in Phnom Penh reporting on the recent AFF U-16 Youth Championships.

Cambodia U-14 results

Congratulations to the Cambodia U-14 national team who played their opening match in the AFC U-14 Regional Football Festival in Brunei this morning. With PPCFC Academy boys Ky Rina and Bros Vutha in the starting line-up, they recorded a 3-1 win against the Philippines. The third Crown Academy youngster in the squad, Chum Sokly, was among the substitutes. The U-14 team will play 3 more matches in the tournament: vs Timor-Leste (27 July), vs Malaysia (29 July) and Laos (30 July). At U-14 level the festival focuses on development, playing games against other national teams and football education rather than competition results, which are of secondary importance.
(27 July) In their second game in the AFC U-14 Regional Football Festival in Brunei this morning, the Cambodia U-14 national team defeated Timor-Leste 11-0. Top scorer was PPCFC's Ky Rina (jersey no.25), who scored 5 goals. Bros Vutha (jersey 24) from PPCFC also started the match. Chum Sokly was on the substitutes bench. The Cambodia U-14s have two more matches in the festival: vs Malaysia (29 July) and Laos (30 July). We should remember that at U-14 level the festival focuses on development, experience and educational values, rather than competitive results. 
(29 July) After last night's celebrations for the Cambodia national team and their 2-1 success over Singapore, there was disappointment this morning for the Cambodia U-14 national team, who lost 5-1 to Malaysia in their third AFC U-14 Regional Football Festival match in Brunei. This came after victories over Philippines (3-1) and Timor-Leste (11-0). Their final match in the festival, which focuses on development rather than results, will be tomorrow against Laos. PPCFC's Ky Rina, Bros Vutha and Chum Sokly are part of the national team squad.
(31 July) The Cambodia U-14 national team ended their AFC U-14 Regional Football Festival in Brunei with a defeat to Laos yesterday, 13-0. It was their second defeat after they won their opening two matches in a four-game series. PPCFC's Ky Rina, Bros Vutha and Chum Sokly were part of the national team squad, who will now return to Cambodia after their experiences on the international stage.

Sam on NT win

Head coach Sam Schweingruber's views on his team's 3-2 success against the Cambodia National Team last night. "The objectives are always different for friendly games than when league points are at stake. We were hoping to be more compact and to press at certain times. It didn't happen often enough - we want to get into the habit as when we did it, we did it well. It was a topic in training this week. And we scored 3 goals so that's good.
In the first-half we were a bit intimidated to start with, not good enough in possession, though it was an amazing headed goal, beautiful, as we had hardly any chances the whole half. I expected better. And a very disappointing goal to concede at the start of the second-half, but it happens at all levels. I was pleased with our response, we had chances in the air, we scored three headed goals and I'm satisfied that what we wanted to happen, worked against good opposition." In the picture, Sam speaks to his players at the final whistle.
Watch the video highlights from PPCFC's 3-2 victory over the Cambodia National Team at RSN Stadium on the club's YouTube channel @https://youtu.be/Zs7XfWxaKyE

Competition winners

Three of our ACADEMY 5 competition winners - Heng Sophanith, Kosol Naro Lan and Nova SilentZz - receiving their signed PPCFC jerseys from our Academy players - Yue Safy, Mao Piseth, Sin Kakada and Yet Chetra - who represented the Cambodia U-16 national team with such distinction during the recent AFF Smart U-16 Championships. They received their prizes at half-time during Crown's 3-2 win over the Cambodia National Team yesterday. Thanks to everyone who joined in the competition, and if you didn't win, try again as we will have more opportunities in the near future.

On opposing sides

Teammates on opposing sides as Kok Boris and Bin Thierry captained their respective teams in yesterday's encounter at RSN Stadium. Both players have made the journey from France to play in Cambodia at the highest level and as comrades-in-arms in winning the Championship together for PPCFC, but it was Boris who will have the bragging rights for the next few weeks, after Crown's 3-2 victory in the friendly practice match.

National Team beaten

Match Report: PPCFC 3 Cambodia National Team 2 (Friendly).3 headed goals gave PPCFC a victory over the Cambodia NT who are preparing for their friendly with Singapore on Thursday. Crown's foreign contingent were the goalscorers with Kim Hyeon Woo, rising high above everyone else to powerfully head the ball home from Seut Baraing's free-kick, for the first goal on 15 minutes. That was after his compatriot Jang In Yong screwed a good opportunity across the face of goal, while Keo Soksela tipped a powerful Chan Vathanaka drive over the cross-bar at the other end. Three minutes after the home side went ahead, Cambodia were back in it when Tit Dina headed in after Vathanaka and Sos Suhana created the space.
Five minutes into the second half, Cambodia went ahead when Khuon Laboravy took advantage of a miskick and set up Keo Sokpheng for a tap-in against his club team. U-16 NT keeper Svang Samnang saved Laboravy's header at the foot of the post, before George Bisan arrived with perfect timing to power in a header from In Sodavid's corner on 63 minutes, to make it 2-2. Both teams made a number of substitutions before Crown trialist Marwin Guine was denied by Keo Soksela, who had swapped sides at the break. On 76 minutes, Bisan scored his second and Crown's third, finding space in the box to head in Leng Makara's deep cross. In time added on, Samnang protected his team's victory with a crucial save from Laboravy's shot as the home team recorded a 3-2 success.
PPCFC line-up (in red), back row, LtoR: Jang, Aymard, Kim, Makara, Bisan, Boris. Front: Sothy, Chanpolin, Baraing, Soksela, Sodavid.

Academy beat Army

Result: PPCFC Academy 7 Army U-19 2 (Friendly). 
Army took the lead after just 42 seconds of this friendly game at RSN Stadium this morning, but then experienced the full force of Crown's comeback before the interval. Sath Rozak collected a hat-trick of excellent one-touch finishes, the third goal a perfect example of first-time passing that tore open the Army defence. Mat Sakrovy also scored, as did Chea Chandara, from the penalty spot after Sakrovy was tripped. After the break, San David and Sakrovy scored before Army's late consolation, in a game dominated by the home team.
PPCFC line-up, back row, LtoR: Chanchav, Panha, V Samnang, Sakrovy, Chandara, Bony. Front row: Chansopheak, Piphop, N David, Rozaak, Punlork.

Cambodia U-16 AFF reports

The AFF Smart U-16 Championship came to a close tonight with the Cambodia U-16s losing 3-0 to Thailand in the 3rd Place Play-off at Olympic Stadium, to end the tournament in 4th position. An excellent showing by Cambodia over the course of the competition, in which they made the semi-finals for the very first time and attracted near-capacity crowds, who in return gave them great support. Congratulations to the whole team and of course our 5 PPCFC Academy players who were involved - Svang Samnang, Mao Piseth, Yue Safy, Sin Kakada and Yet Chetra.
The winners of the Championship were Australia, who drew 3-3 in the final with Vietnam, and then kept their nerve to win the penalty shoot-out 5-3, as they did in the semi-final. Everyone at PPCFC sends their congratulations to the Australian squad, who played against our Academy before the tournament got underway (we won 3-2) and trained at RSN Stadium during their stay. Well-deserved champions. [Picture by FFC].
Other Cambodia U-16 reports:
(July 22) Despite a gutsy, fighting performance from the Cambodia U-16 national team, they lost 1-0 to Vietnam in the AFF Smart U-16 Championship semi-final last night, in front of nearly 60,000 at the Olympic Stadium. PPCFC's goalkeeper Svang Samnang was the man-of-the-match with a fabulous performance between the posts, but despite pulling off some great saves, he couldn't prevent Vietnam's only goal after 28 minutes. The Cambodia team should feel proud of their achievement in performing so well at the championships, and have one more game, the 3rd Place Play-off, on Saturday, against Thailand, at 3.30pm at Olympic Stadium.

(July 19) The Cambodia U-16 national team created history tonight, with a 3-0 victory over Timor-Leste, guaranteeing a semi-final spot in the AFF U-16 Championship for the very first time. They will play against rivals and neighbors Vietnam on Thursday. The match proved to be a great night for the 4 PPCFC players involved in the starting line-up. Svang Samnang started his first game in goal and was rock steady for the 90 minutes. Yue Safy took his captain's responsibility very seriously and stepped up to fire home the opening goal from the penalty spot after 7 minutes. Sin Kakada created havoc with his set-pieces and Mao Piseth crowned his first starting berth with two second-half goals, the second of which was an absolute scorcher. Congratulations to our youngsters and their teammates on achieving this piece of history. 
(July 17) The Cambodia U-16 national team were defeated 6-0 by Thailand last night at the Olympic Stadium in the AFF Smart U-16 Championship, watched by a crowd of around 40,000. Their final group game will be against Timor-Leste tomorrow (Tuesday) with a 6.30pm kick-off and will be televised live by MyTV. We wish the team success in their quest for glory - a victory will take Cambodia into the semi-finals for the first time in their history. Five PPCFC Academy players are in the Cambodia squad; Svang Samnang, Yue Safy, Yet Chetra, Sin Kakada and Mao Piseth. 
(July 14) The Cambodia U-16 national team continued their winning ways last night, beating Brunei 2-0 at Olympic Stadium, in their second group match in the AFF Smart U-16 Championship. Crown Academy's Yue Safy captained the team, which also included Sin Kakada (number 12). On the bench were our own Mao Piseth, Yet Chetra and Svang Samnang. The U-16 team photo is courtesy of FFC facebook. Cambodia have two matches left to secure their passage through to the semi-finals and will play Thailand on Sunday 17 July and Timor-Leste on Tuesday 19 July. Both matches will kick-off at 6.30pm at Olympic Stadium and will be televised by MyTV. Support the Cambodia U-16s in their quest for glory!
(July 13) The Cambodia U-16 national team play their second AFF Smart U-16 Youth Championship game tonight, 6.30pm at Olympic Stadium against Brunei, after a 3-1 win over Laos in their opening match of the tournament. Sin Kakada scored one of the goals and will be looking to get on the scoresheet again tonight. The other PPCFC Academy players in the squad are Yue Safy, who is the NT captain, Mao Piseth, Yet Chetra and Svang Samnang (who has a wrist injury). We wish all the squad continued success. Cambodia NT picture courtesy of FFC facebook.
** Everyone at PPCFC sends their best wishes for a full recovery to Leng Makara and family, after their youngest son underwent surgery at Kantha Bopha hospital, and our sympathy to Keo Soksela and his family, whose grandmother passed away recently.