Crown come home

PPCFC v PKR. Back LtoR: Seyha, Pheng, Ary, Thierry, Rady, Borey (capt). Front: Da, Makara, Dani, Sothy, Lika.

With a starting line-up affected by injury and suspensions, Phnom Penh Crown didn't manage to pull off the unlikely result they were hoping for, going down 3-0 to local rivals Preah Khan Reach in the final Pool B game of the Binh Phuoc TV Cup, played in Dong Xoai in Vietnam. With their second win in three games, Preah Khan qualify for the semi-finals later in the week. Assistant coach Bouy Dary reported that the Crown team played better than against Hanoi in their previous game but couldn't find the net against their more experienced opponents, with PKR breaking the deadlock on 15 minutes through Moul Daravorn and then scoring twice more just after the hour and on 72 minutes, courtesy of Sok Chanrasmey and Sam Pidor. Crown will now head back to Phnom Penh to continue their pre-season preparation with a match against the South Korean All Stars and the beginning of their Hun Sen Cup competition, where they are also due to meet Preah Khan.
Crown line-up v PKR: Ary, Da, Seyha (Hasan 75), Rady (Srin 85), Lika, Dani (Dara 79), Sothy (Suhana 46), Thierry, Pheng, Makara (Pisa 75), Borey. Subs not used: Seiha, Phearun, Kano, Morslim. Bookings: none. 

Back to earth

PPCFC line-up: Back LtoR: Srin, Boris, Pheng, Seiha, Thierry, Rady. Front: Seyha, Sothy, Makara, Dani, Borey (capt) - click to enlarge.

Their fine pre-season form came back down to earth with a bump this afternoon, when Phnom Penh Crown came unstuck against the Hanoi T&T U-21 team in the 2nd Pool B game of the BPTV Cup, played in Dong Xoai in Vietnam. Coach Sam Schweingruber commented; "The result looks worse than the performance and wasn't really fair to be honest. They had 4 chances and scored three excellent goals. We had 60%+ possession of the ball but we didn't create enough chances. 2nd half we were better but just couldn't find the breakthrough and they caught us again on the counter-attack." Without the injured Sos Suhana (hamstring) from the start, Crown went behind on 15 minutes and on the stroke of half-time conceded a second from a header. After the break, Hong Pheng was unlucky not to score and Pheak Rady went off with an ankle injury, before Hanoi broke away and netted a 25-yard scorcher on 78 minutes. A minute before the end of what was ultimately a disappointing day for Crown, it went from bad to worse. A hard challenge from Kok Boris was seen by the referee as too aggressive and he flashed a red card, to add to four yellow cards for Ouk Sothy, Bin Thierry, Khim Borey and Ngoy Srin. That means Boris, Sothy and Srin will miss the final group match against Preah Khan Reach on Sunday. Injuries are likely to rob Crown of Rady, Suhana, Mart Hasan (ankle) and Thourng Day (sickness) for the same game too. Just for the record, PKR hammered the Laos TV team 17-0 in the 2nd game of the afternoon.
PPCFC line-up: Seiha, Dani, Seyha (Phearun 88), Srin, Rady (Lika 59), Boris, Thierry, Makara (Dara 70), Sothy (Pisa 75), Pheng (Morslim 88), Borey. Subs not used: Chamrouen, Da, Kano, Hasan. Bookings: Sothy, Thierry, Borey, Srin; Boris (red card).

Crown kick-off in style

PPCFC v Laos TV line-up: Back LtoR: Srin, Boris, Seyha, Rady, Pheng, Thierry. Front: Makara, Seiha, Suhana, Dani, Borey (capt). Click to enlarge

The BPTV Cup burst into life for Phnom Penh Crown this afternoon as they demolished their first opponents in Pool B of the competition, the Laos National TV team. Crown ran out easy 5-1 winners but with more composure in front of goal it should've been a lot more. Head coach Sam Schweingruber admitted his team began nervously before taking control and destroying the opposition after the interval. Captain for the day, Khim Borey slotted home a 20th minute penalty kick to calm Crown nerves after Men Seyha was felled on the edge of the box. If they thought they'd have it their own way, the Laos team thought otherwise and levelled eight minutes later, and it needed a brilliant one-handed save by Samrith Seiha to keep it that way, moments later. Borey fluffed a couple of good opportunities as the teams went in all-square at the break. Ten minutes into the second half and Hong Pheng's tricky run and persistence paid off with a lucky bounce that allowed him to slot Crown back in the driving seat. Another ten minutes later and substitute Mart Hasan finished calmly following a Bin Thierry pass that sent Pheng to the bye-line and his pull-back was inch perfect. Thierry and Kok Boris had long range efforts tipped over before Pheng headed his second on 76 minutes, standing all alone as Seyha's cross was floated in. Borey rounded off the scoring spree, with a simple tap-in after another Seyha run and sweet low cross. Bookings for Boris, Pheak Rady, Ngoy Srin and Ouk Sothy were undeserved according to the coach and may count against Crown later in the competition. They will now meet the Hanoi T&T U-21 team on Friday. Hanoi were three goals to the good against Preah Khan Reach in the earlier game before PKR stormed back to draw 3-3. 
PPCFC line-up: Seiha, Dani, Seyha, Srin, Rady (Lika 75), Boris (Dara 75), Thierry, Makara (Hasan 49), Suhana (Sothy 58), Pheng (Pisa 80), Borey. Subs not used: Ary, Da, Phearun, Kano. Bookings: Boris, Rady, Srin, Sothy. To see the match highlights on YouTube, click here.

The BPTV Cup draw

The PPCFC squad enjoy a photo op at Gold City Casino. Click to enlarge

Phnom Penh Crown will kick-off their pre-season preparation in Vietnam tomorrow when they meet unknown opposition in the form of a Laos TV team, in Pool B of the invitational Binh Phuoc TV Cup 2012, being played in Dong Xoai, the capital of Binh Phuoc province, located just north of Ho Chi Minh City. The Crown team left Phnom Penh on Sunday morning, stopping for lunch at the Gold City casino on the border at Trapeang Sre, before heading to their hotel in Dong Xoai. The draw for the tournament, two groups of four teams each, was made at the team manager's session this morning and paired Crown with local rivals Preah Khan Reach, as well as the Laos TV team and the Hanoi T&T U-21s from Vietnam. The draw for Pool B is as follows;
Wed 21 Nov: v Laos TV - 3:30pm
Fri 23 Nov: v Hanoi T&T U-21s - 1:30pm
Sun 25 Nov: v Preah Khan Reach - 1:30pm
The semi-finals will be on Wednesday 28 November and the final two days later, Friday 30th. In the other group, C-League champs Boeung Ket face the national U-21s from Laos, Ho Chi Minh City and hosts Binh Phuoc. Two teams from each group will progress to the semi-finals. Crown head coach Sam Schweingruber will select from a squad of 22 players. Club captain Kouch Sokumpheak is with the squad but is still some way off returning to the team, still undergoing rehabilitation from the knee ligament injury he suffered in July.

The PPCFC squad out shopping in Dong Xoai, Vietnam

Friendly neighbours

Just heard that Phnom Penh Crown have been selected by the football federation, alongside Preah Khan Reach, to take part in an invitational international football tournament in one of the southern Vietnamese provinces in late November. It's called the Binh Phuoc TV Cup 2012 - it used to be known as the Number One Cup and played between armed forces from Vietnam, Cambodia  and Laos - and will be held in the capital city of Binh Phuoc province, Dong Xoai, between 20-29 November. Last season eight teams took part, 4 from Vietnam, two amateur teams from Cambodia (Kratie and Senate FC) and a team apiece from Laos and Thailand. It appears the standard has been raised for this year's competition with two of Cambodia's best club sides nominated by the federation to participate. The Binh Phuoc province borders Kompong Cham, Kratie and Mondulkiri provinces on the Cambodian side. The timing of the tournament falls during around the period players will be reporting back for pre-season training ahead of the Hun Sen Cup, that will likely begin in January. It also coincides with the finals of the AFF Suzuki Cup, so if Cambodia manage to qualify, then Crown's national team players will not be available for selection in the friendship tournament.

A second-string Phnom Penh Crown team drew 1-1 with the Senate FC team in a practice match at RSN Stadium in the rain this afternoon. The Senate team are bidding to gain entry to the Metfone C-League by competing in the Division 1A play-offs very soon, so this was good preparation for them, and a game for some of the Crown squad players who may, or may not be making the trip to Tajikistan. The Senate opened the scoring on the half hour and Leng Makara grabbed the equaliser on 68 minutes. Crown line-up: Chamroeun, Da, Lika, Srin, Vanthan, Sophanal, Sothy, Sovanna, Chaya, Rathanak (H Pheng 60), Makara. Crown will meet Rithysen from Kompong Chhnang in another warm-up match tomorrow at RSN, kick-off at 2pm.

The National Police Commissary team, carrying the flag of Cambodia into the regional police tournament being held in Vietnam, have returned triumphant, topping the tourney with wins over the teams representing Thailand, Laos and Australia and drawing with Vietnam. Whilst the police team have been rubbing batons with lots of other policemen, the play-offs for the Metfone C-League have been held up. The semi-finals will now take place on Sunday 9 September when Boeung Ket face Preah Khan Reach at 2.30pm and NagaCorp meet the buoyant National Police at 5pm. The winners of both matches will meet in the championship final on Saturday 15 September at 3.30pm. My tip for the champions - NagaCorp.