Crown meet AEU students

The first opportunity to see the host of new faces at Phnom Penh Crown has just been arranged. A warm-up match against Asia Euro University will be played at 2pm this Sunday (28 Oct) at the club's RSN Stadium in Tuol Kork. It's very early in Crown's pre-season preparation but the recent bombshell that the Hun Sen Cup and the C-League are being brought forward has got every club scrambling around to get some playing time, despite the fact that the players have only just reported back for fitness sessions. Crown are working at the gym every morning then on the training field each afternoon in order to get the players into good shape ahead of the new season. The announcement of the new playing schedules by the federation, without any consultation with the clubs at all, came as a shock to all. AEU will be one of the C-League's newest teams when the action begins on 1 January. The students were beaten 1-0 by the Senate Secretariat team in the Division A1 championships in September, with both teams gaining promotion to the Metfone C-League for the coming season. AEU are based in Phnom Penh and have met Crown on five previous occasions, all friendly matches, with Crown winning all five.

Phnom Penh Crown have also announced another new face to their playing squad for the coming season, as they continue to look to the future with younger talent. This time its 17-year-old right winger Ly Morslim, nicknamed Mab, who previously starred for his high school, Tep Pranam in Kompong Speu, and for his province team, Kandal. Born in Por Touch village in Ponhea Leu, Kandal, he joined his local team Reaksmey Sampov Meas two years ago. He impressed head coach Sam Schweingruber at the recent open trials to earn himself a contract with Crown and is definitely one for the future.