National team changes

I see Myanmar have selected a man who knows his stuff to be their national team boss for the next year and a half at least. Serbian Raddy Avramovic, who was in charge of the Singapore national team for ten years until his contract came to an end early last year, has been appointed the new chief coach of Myanmar for this year's AFC Challenge Cup and AFF Suzuki Cup campaigns and onto the 2015 SEA Games, which will be held in his old backyard of Singapore. Avramovic brought Singapore three successes in the Suzuki Cup during his tenure. Myanmar fired their South Korean head coach, Park Sung-Hwa after they failed to qualify for the semi-finals of the SEA Games, held in their home country. Another country with a new man at the helm is Philippines, who have given the task to Thomas Dooley, a former USA international with 81 caps who played a big chunk of his football in Germany. His coaching CV is a bit thin, starting in the Bundesliga's second division, before assisting with the USA team's at U-20 and senior levels.

Here in Cambodia, not one word has been uttered by the Federation or the national team coach, Lee Tae-Hoon, after they finished bottom of their SEA Games qualifying group in Myanmar in December. Not a peep. The sports media here don't bother to ask the questions and the FFC and Lee are more than happy to keep stumm after another dismal campaign. Why open up a can of worms when you can hold your tongue and merrily continue in a role in which you have been singularly unsuccessful for far too long. Lee was given the job for a second time last August, for two years. As Cambodia have failed to qualify for this year's AFC Challenge Cup in May, he won't have that to occupy his mind, but he will need to get his team in shape for the AFF Suzuki Cup qualification competition in Laos around October time. There has been no indication of friendly matches for the national team, which is par for the course, though I'm sure some fifth-rate Korean university team will be over for a friendly and there's always the C-League teams to fill in the void. I seem to be a lone voice in the wilderness when it comes to jabbering on about the national team, the apathy and indifference at every level is mind-boggling, and soul-destroying for anyone that is passionate about football in this country.

Reversing the trend

Anyone who has read my blog in the past will know that I abhor age-cheating in football. The AFC, who initially used X-rays to determine the accurate age of players, and who now use the more reliable MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) tests, have sent a clear message to all Asian countries that age cheating will not be tolerated. They disqualified Korea, Tajikistan and Iraq from the 2008 AFC U-16 championships and then banned eight players during the 2010 event for trying to cheat the system. It looks like the bad old days of age cheating at international competitions has come to an end for the most part. In domestic football closer to home, it is still taking place as birth documentation is unreliable and often unavailable. It's difficult to know how to combat against this cheating at a local level.
Anyway, I was intrigued when Hok Sochetra, the Cambodian coach said that most of his players who got thumped by Timor Leste were under the age of 21 years old. Factually, that's a little skewed. The average age of the team that started the game against Timor was 22 years old. Five players were under 21. So then I looked into the ages of the whole Cambodian squad, which are provided by the official AFF Suzuki Cup website, with birthdates shown for all players. I cross-matched that against a document produced by the Cambodian League in 2009 (though I would add it's not stamped as official), which listed all players (and birthdates) for the ten Premier League teams at that time. The comparison left me somewhat dismayed in that nine players in the 20-man Cambodia squad appear to have managed to reverse the normal ageing process that occurs in humans. Their 2009 birthdates do not match their 2012 birthdates; their birthdates have been altered. Two of the players have actually managed to knock five years off their ages - I just wish I could do that. The nine players, whose birthdates have changed, are as follows: Sou Yaty (real age 23; current age 21), Um Vichet (19; 18), Khiev Vibol (22; 20), Touch Pancharong (25; 20), Chhun Sothearath (25; 22), Prak Mony Udom (20; 18), Tum Saray (22; 20), Phourng Soksana (22; 20) and Srey Udom (24; 19). The Suzuki Cup is not an age-level competition, so it doesn't matter in that respect. But surely, it's the principle that really matters. A lot of people couldn't give a toss about a player's age, it's what they do on the pitch that matters, and that's their view, but there are basic standards that need to be followed in any sport, especially football, and we appear to be making up our own.

Six cast aside

I'm a bit late in announcing the departures from the Cambodian national team squad, which will head to Malaysia for a training camp ahead of their AFF Suzuki Cup qualifying matches to be played in Myanmar at the beginning of October. Someone forgot to tell me. Following the 0-0 draw with Philippines ten days ago, the national coach Hok Sochetra decided to jettison half a dozen players from his squad, namely keeper Phorn Ratana and Chuon Chum from Naga, Sok Rithy and Nen Sothearoth from Preah Khan, Pov Phearith from Army and Sok Pheng from Phnom Penh Crown. That leaves a squad to travel to Malaysia, where they will meet the host country in a friendly on 2 October, of: Yaty, Vichet, Raksmey, Pancharong, Khemarin, Vibol, Thavrak, Piseth, Tiny, Sothearath, Veasna, Sopanha, S Udom, Suhana, Sokngorn, Saray, PM Udom, Vathanak , Borey, Chhoeun, Soksana.

U-22s off to Vietnam

Hong Pheng from PPCFC, called into the Cambodia U-22 squad

After the football federation here finally saw sense and amended the Metfone C-League programme to take into account the AFC U-22 Asian Cup matches taking place at the end of June, the Cambodian U-22 squad are off to Vietnam for a friendly match against Saigon FC in the middle of next week. Three Phnom Penh Crown players have been included in the 27-man squad with Sok Sovan and Sos Suhana being joined by new addition Hong Pheng. In the travelling party are eight players from the Army and seven from Preah Khan Reach. As I've mentioned previously, I find it very strange that the U-22s are being looked after by head coach Prak Somony, whilst the full-time head coach of the senior national team, Lee Tae-Hoon, sits around twiddling his thumbs and seemingly doing bugger all whilst he waits for the AFF Suzuki Cup qualifiers in Myanmar, scheduled for early October. There have been no games for the full national team for ages and the term 'money for old rope' springs readily to mind. Presumably, he has got the federation to agree to a series of tough international warm-up games ahead of the Suzuki Cup (I say that with my tongue planted firmly in my cheek) though if he has, he's keeping the schedule firmly under wraps at the moment. Now let's see, if history repeats itself, the warm-up games will be against a Korean University outfit, local domestic teams and some Vietnam B-teams. Oh, and I hear the Khmers from France, who now play under the Euro-Khmer banner, are coming over again in September to play the national team, Preah Khan Reach and a Thai club team. I suppose I'd better reserve judgement on them until I see them in the flesh.

The AFC U-22 Asian Cup has been introduced for the first time this year and the AFC expect it to become the second biggest national team competition in the football calendar, eventually acting as the Olympics qualifier. 41 national teams are taking part at 7 venues with six groups of six teams and one group of five. The top two teams in each group progress, as well as the best of the third-placed teams. Laos will host the Group F that contains Cambodia, at their National Stadium and at the Chao Anouvong Stadium. The Cambodia U-22 matches are as follows:

• Sat 23 June: Hong Kong v Cambodia
• Mon 25 June: Thailand v Cambodia
• Thu 28 June: Cambodia v China PR
• Sat 30 June: Cambodia v Korea DPR
• Tue 3 July: Laos v Cambodia

C-League pressures

With Phnom Penh Crown getting the nod to host Group B of the AFC President's Cup Qualifying Stage between 3-13 May, then the football federation here are going to have to do some fancy footwork to re-schedule quite a few matches in the Metfone C-League. The Olympic Stadium will accommodate the AFC President's Cup games, all six of them, so potentially up to 9 C-League matches will have to be shifted away from the Olympic Stadium and moved to the Army Stadium during the quoted time-frame. That 10-day period is double what was required for last season's qualifying matches in the same competition, which were all completed over the space of five days.

Another competition which will impact on the C-League this year is the brand new AFC U-22 Asian Cup qualifiers. Cambodia have been drawn in the same group as North Korea, China, Thailand, Hong Kong and Laos and the round-robin matches are scheduled for 23 Jun-3 July, again smack bang in the middle of the second half of the C-League. Another 9 games could be impacted by players leaving their clubs to join up with the Cambodian U-22 squad, at a time when the league competition is in full flow and clubs will be loathe to release their youngsters. I can see a certain amount of friction between the domestic clubs and the FFC on the horizon. Which club, gunning for the league title (actually they'll be aiming for a top-four finish to enter the Super 4 play-off), will want to lose their best players to an U-22 international competition, and with the national team needing the players in the lead up to the qualifying games, some clubs might be without them throughout June. We've already had disruptions caused by the meaningless invitational tourney in Brunei, with a subsequent delay to the start of the C-League, and now another series of international age-level matches will have an even bigger impact on the league this term. This fixture clash is something the FFC have to look seriously at and possibly extend the season, though they will not want to do that, as it will lessen the time available for the full national team to prepare for their AFF Suzuki Cup qualifiers in October. The football calendar in Cambodia is getting fuller by the minute.

No reward for failure

Sacked Vietnam coach Falko Goetz ponders his future

Have Vietnam got their priorities right? They have sacked their German national team coach Falko Goetz, just seven months into his tenure, for an abysmal performance in the recent SEA Games. They finished 4th and for the Vietnam football federation, that was clearly unacceptable. Talking to the press, they pointed out the German coach had introduced an unsuitable playing style while failing to use the right players and create stability within the team. Vietnam's U-23s picked up 4th spot after a humiliating 4-1 loss to Myanmar in the bronze medal play-off, and after losing 2-0 to Indonesia in the semi-final. Goetz was the eighth foreign coach of Vietnam since 1995. He had already offered suggestions to restrict the number of foreign players at clubs in order to give more opportunities to locals and additional team places for younger players, before the curtain came down on his stint in charge. It seems the Vietnam federation won't tolerate failure, which is the complete opposite of their Cambodian counterparts, who perversely reward failure. Cambodia returned from the SEA Games with a sorry record, played 4, lost 4. Yet the Cambodian federation had already increased the contract of the South Korean coach (Lee Tae-Hoon) after 14 months of uninspiring and insipid football, where the team had failed in every competition they had entered. Now Lee is testing a batch of young players ahead of an unofficial regional U-21 tournament in Brunei at the end of February, with a view to preparing for Cambodia's next big senior competition, the AFF Suzuki Cup in October. This will be Cambodia's major international focus for 2012 and they will enter the qualifying rounds in Myanmar, which will determine who will join the big boys in the group stages, to be played in Malaysia and Thailand the following month. Cambodia failed to qualify for the 2012 AFC Challenge Cup to be held in Nepal in March.

An Asean Super Football League is back on the agenda, after Asean Sports Ministers recently agreed on a Malaysian proposal to form such a league competition. The Super League would feature the leading football teams from all Asean countries. The proposal will be discussed in greater depth by the chief executive officers of all the leagues involved in the middle of next month in Kuala Lumpur.

Ly at the finals

Referee Kuong Ly in red, really loving his work

A man in the middle who obviously enjoys his football, judging by the picture above, is Cambodian referee Kuong Ly. His enjoyment will have been enhanced in the last week or two by his inclusion amongst the competition's match officials for two of the recent AFF Suzuki Cup group matches in Vietnam, and again tonight, this time in Jakarta, for the semi-final first leg between Philippines and Indonesia, which the latter won 1-0. Kuong Ly was seen both in the middle and on the line, as assistant referee, in quite a few C-League matches last term, so he's no stranger to running the line. In fact he ran the line in last season's C-League play-off final between Phnom Penh Crown and Preah Khan Reach. He was also the main man when he allowed a match to play to a conclusion between PKR and Kirivong in June, when any right-minded match official would've called the game off. It was more a water-polo match than a football game after an incessant downpour left the Olympic pitch completely waterlogged. Nevertheless, he has been recognized for his flag-waving capabilities and included in the match officials pool for this prestigious tournament.

YouTube agony

YouTube have the highlights from Cambodia's goal-less draw with the Philippines yesterday, as Cambodia fail to progress to the group stages of the AFF Suzuki Cup. On reviewing the video highlights, I reckon there's a real case for a penalty in the 2nd half when the Filipino goalkeeper makes a hash of a challenge as the unnamed Cambodia player races through. Initially I thought it was Nuth Sinoun but it could be Lay Raksmey - difficult to tell on the video. I have a few bones to pick with the Fulham keeper who also got Tieng Tiny booked when he was the one who was flailing arms and elbows. He was later booked for time-wasting.

Inquest

So close and yet so far, is the story of Cambodia's AFF Suzuki Cup qualification campaign that has just run its course in Vientiane in Laos. After the three matches played by the four teams, Laos, Philippines and Cambodia all finished the qualifiers with five points each but the Laotians (8 goals for-3 goals against) finished first by virtue of scoring one goal more than the Filipinos (7-2). Cambodia finished third on goal difference (4-2) and miss out on the group stage. In early December Laos will face hosts Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia in Group A in Jakarta, while Philippines will meet defending champions Vietnam, Singapore and Myanmar in Group B in Hanoi. Meanwhile, Cambodia will be licking their wounds back in Phnom Penh. Their next action is not until they lock horns with Macau in the AFC Challenge Cup qualification round, home and away on 9 and 16 February 2011. Missing out on the group stages of the Suzuki Cup will be a big blow for new coach, South Korean Lee Tae-Hoon (pictured) and his squad. They spent more than a month together in Vietnam in preparation after the coach finally arrived towards the end of August. In fact it was a similar story for the two teams that did make it through, with both Laos (David Booth) and Philippines (Simon McMenemy) both taking new coaches on board just before this week's qualifiers.
A failure to find the target in phases of play when they were on top against both Laos and especially the Philippines, as well as not scoring enough goals past the whipping boys of the group, Timor Leste, are the obvious reasons why Cambodia are not progressing. Despite a Khim Borey hat-trick in 14 minutes against Timor, they didn't press home their advantage enough in that game, and it has cost them dearly. I will be interested to hear why the coach changed the formation for the final game, moving Borey back into a withdrawn midfield role (even though his nose for a goal had been heightened with his Timor hat-trick) and switching Kuoch Sokumpheak into attack, as the switch didn't work. I was not convinced either by repeated insistence that Tum Saray should be the man to change things from the bench in each of the three games, when more dynamic players were left back in Phnom Penh and not selected to travel.
Speaking to the official competition website after the match ended, Lee Tae-Hoon said; "I know that my players have tried their best and they are developing step by step. We have a number of young players here and we will learn for our weaknesses and try to improve the next time." The coach, who is on a one-year contract, will have ample time to select a squad of his own choosing for the two Challenge Cup qualifiers against Macau in February, though the C-League won't start until after that, so his selected players will only have their pre-season training and maybe the odd Hun Sen Cup game under their belt to sharpen their fitness. The importance of the Macau fixtures for Cambodia's national team in 2011 and beyond cannot be overstated. They are must win matches. Added to that there are World Cup qualifying matches coming up in the middle of the year, which will also determine the future picture of the country's international football programme. Tough challenges ahead for Lee Tae-Hoon and he's got to get it right.

Cambodia remain empty-handed

Cambodia skipper Ouk Mic kept the score at 0-0 with a great save at the end of the game

Cambodia needed to beat the Philippines this afternoon to make sure of AFF Suzuki Cup qualification. At the half-time interval, with the game being played in Vientiane, Laos, it was all square at 0-0 though Cambodia shaded the 1st half and hit the woodwork twice. Cambodia have used the flanks to good effect and after Khim Borey was fouled on the bye-line, Sun Sopanha fired one against the join of the upright and cross-bar on 28 minutes. Five minutes later Keo Sokngorn was fouled on the edge of the box and Khuon Laboravy curled a left-foot free-kick goalwards. Phils' keeper Neil Etheridge pulled off a superb diving save, tipping it onto the crossbar and as it dropped Kuoch Sokumpheak dived to head it in, only for Etheridge to recover and catch it. Despite some questionable refereeing decisions and some strong-arm tactics by Philippines (they had 7 players booked), Cambodia are doing well and now need to push on to get that all-important first goal.
In the 2nd half Cambodia again had chances to open the scoring. Sokumpheak volleyed just past the post early on, then he swung his foot but missed connecting with a Laboravy cross on the hour, inside the six-yard box. A minute later both Laboravy and Sokumpheak couldn't reach a Borey cross that skidded across the Filipino goal-line and on 75 minutes it looked like Nuth Sinoun had latched onto a long ball as Etheridge dithered but the striker fluffed it and fell over the keeper, when taking it round him looked the easy option. Both teams tired and the game became stretched, Cambodia's touch deserted them and whilst Philippines were happy to play for the draw, Ouk Mic kept the score at 0-0 with a last-gasp save from Younghusband. So, acutely disappointing for Cambodia, they had the opportunity to progress but failed to find that vital final touch in front of goal. If Timor beat Laos in the final game (do miracles happen?) or at least hold them to a single-goal defeat, then Cambodia can still go through but I'm not putting my house on that happening.
And as expected, Laos stuffed Timor 6-1 and Cambodia missed out on qualification on goal difference despite ending on 5 points, the same total as the two qualifiers, Laos and Philippines. Drat and double-drat.
The Cambodia line-up: Mic, Raksmey, Rady, Rithy, Tiny; Narith, Sopanha, Borey (Soksana 83m), Sokngorn (Saray 64m); Sokumpheak, Laboravy (Sinoun 75m). [Subs not used] Borin, Piseth, Sothearath, Bunchhay.

Defender Tieng Tiny, one of 8 players booked in the game, played as well as ever

Khuon Laboravy's first-half free-kick that struck the crossbar was the closest Cambodia came to scoring

Keo Sokngorn had one of his quieter games in the jersey of the national team
Cambodia before kick-off. Back (LtoR): Mic, Tiny, Sopanha, Rady, Rithy, Laboravy. Front: Raksmey, Narith, Sokngorn, Sokumpheak, Borey. [Photo by www.affsuzukicup.com]

Will Cambodia succeed?

The expected starting line-up for Cambodia. Back (LtoR): Borey, Laboravy, Borin, Sokngorn, Tiny, Mic. Front: Sothearath, Narith, Raksmey, Sopanha, Sokumpheak. [Photo by www.affsuzukicup.com]

These are the men charged with upholding the Kingdom's honour in this afternoon's crunch encounter with a bigger, stronger, more cantankerous Philippines side (and their half a dozen foreigners-cum-token Filipinos) at 4pm in the final qualifying game of the AFF Suzuki Cup, being played in Vientiane, Laos. Cambodia need to win. Philippines only need a draw. It promises to be a cracker. Let's hope that PPCTV have sorted out their gremlins in time to show the whole match live. I doubt it.

YouTube v Timor Leste

YouTube have the highlights from Cambodia's 2nd game in the AFF Suzuki Cup qualifying series of matches taking place this week in Laos. Khim Borey netted a first-half hat-trick after Timor took an early lead. Nuth Sinoun addded to the Cambodia lead before a late strike settled the score at 4-2 in our favour. The decider against Philippines kicks-off at 4pm tomorrow (Tuesday), a match Cambodia need to win to progress.

Borey magic

Khim Borey enjoying himself and getting amongst the goals (pic by Nick Sells)

Khim Borey must be getting used to the plaudits after another headline-grabbing performance against Timor Leste in the Suzuki Cup yesterday. A first-half hat-trick in the space of 14 minutes is a tough ask for anyone but Borey, the darling of Cambodia's football-mad public, also made the headlines back in October 2008 when his winner against Brunei propelled Cambodia into the Suzuki Cup against the big boys. He spoke to the competition's website after his three-goal haul yesterday. "I am delighted that I was able to score a hat-trick for my country tonight. I owe a big thank you to my teammates because I could not have managed this feat without them. It is my second time in the Suzuki Cup and I feel that I have learnt a lot from my first experience in 2008 when I scored against Laos, Timor Leste and Brunei," he said. "I am confident that we can win our next match against the Philippines. And I want to score again!" Cambodia will need a victory against the Philippines tomorrow afternoon to confirm their advance to the next round when the likes of Vietnam, Thailand and Singapore join the competition. 21 year old Borey was the Golden Boot winner in 2008 as the country's leading goalscorer in the Cambodian League, though last season his tally was lessened when his club side, the Ministry of National Defence used him in a withdrawn midfield role. He skippered the Army team to a Hun Sen Cup success at the beginning of last term but it was back to his more favoured striking position yesterday, that Khim Borey did what he does best, scoring goals.

Cambodia ease to win

Khim Borey (middle of 3 red shirts) steers in the 2nd Cambodian goal against Timor Leste, in the 4-2 success

Cambodia spanked Timor Leste 4-2 in their AFF Suzuki Cup qualifier played in Vientiane, Laos this afternoon. I'm told Khim Borey netted a hat-trick of goals but the Laos cameraman was so awful that we didn't actually see the first two goals, including Borey's first. Timor went ahead early on through Chiquito who outpaced Rang Borin before Borey apparently got a nod-in at the far post on 26 minutes. Two minutes later Keo Sokngorn broke away on the right flank and pulled it back for Borey to steer his shot inside the far post. Neat goal. Borey missed a sitter of a chance on 37 minutes when Kuoch Sokumpheak set him up but he made amends on 40 minutes when he got his head to a San Narith deep free-kick and the Timor goalkeeper Leonel allowed the ball to creep under his despairing dive. 3-1 at the interval and Cambodia were definitely in the driving seat. Almost predictably, they took their foot of the gas and allowed Timor back into the match. Nuth Sinoun came on and after 75 minutes he effectively wrapped it up when he blasted home after a tidy Tum Saray pull back from the bye-line, even though the commentators on PPCTV gave the scorer as Sokumpheak. Borey and Sinoun missed good opportunities before Timor's Anggison laced in a 25 yard free-kick that arrowed past Ouk Mic for 4-2 and though Tieng Tiny headed off the line in time added on, Cambodia recorded a comfortable win. It wasn't the walk in the park that many had hoped for but it was a victory and now they face the Philippines on Tuesday (who drew 2-2 with Laos courtesy of a last-gasp equaliser) with a good chance of making one of the two qualifying spots on offer. MOTM: No arguments, it has to go to Khim Borey, hat-trick hero. The Cambodia line-up v Timor Leste: Mic, Raksmey, Narith, Borin (Rithy 24m), Tiny; Sopanha, Sotherath, Sokumpheak, Sokngorn (Saray 54m); Borey, Laboravy (Sinoun 65m). [subs not used] Bunchhay, Soksana, Piseth, Rady.

Cambodia line-up before kick-off: Back (LtoR): Borey, Laboravy, Borin, Sokngorn, Tiny, Mic. Front: Sothearath, Narith, Raksmey, Sopanha, Sokumpheak. [Photo by www.affsuzukicup.com]

YouTube match highlights

YouTube have the highlights from Cambodia's opening match in the AFF Suzuki Cup qualifying series of games taking place this week in Vientiane. The game ended goalless with Ouk Mic and Khuon Laboravy the pick of the Cambodian team, playing in their blue strip.

Honours even in Laos

Man of the match for the blues of Cambodia was Khuon Laboravy, seen here taking a well-earned rest

Honours were even at the end of the Laos v Cambodia Suzuki Cup qualifier played tonight in Vientiane, Laos. I managed to catch the action on an unnamed tv channel which clocked in 20 minutes after the game began. From video highlights Ouk Mic pulled off a wonderful save on ten minutes. For the 25 minutes of the first-half that I did see, Cambodia more than held their own, and managed a succession of half a dozen corners, from which Khuon Laboravy headed powerfully against the crossbar and Tieng Tiny blasted the loose ball wildly over the top on 35 minutes. Five minutes before that, Laos had also struck the bar when a Kaysone free-kick beat Ouk Mic in its flight. On 40 minutes, Laboravy was close to the opener when his touch to a Khim Borey knock-down was stopped at point-blank range by the Lao goalkeeper. All square at the interval, 0-0.
In the 2nd half, both teams tired visibly in the latter stages and chances were at a premium. Cambodia began the half brightly and a Laboravy header that bulged the net was flagged offside just after the restart. The same player then curled a 20 yard shot over the cross-bar. Laos made two quick substitutions and should've taken the lead on 73 minutes. Left winger Kaysone had his fierce drive turned aside by skipper Ouk Mic with a superb one-handed diving save and from the corner, the hosts headed wide when Rang Borin was outjumped to a header. Tum Saray, Nuth Sinoun and Phuong Soksana all got a taste of the action in the last third of the game and that helped Cambodia shut up shop against their fancied hosts and earn themselves a fully-deserved share of the spoils. In the opening game of the Suzuki Cup, the Philippines showed their mettle with a 5-0 win over Timor Leste, with Ian Araneta netting a hat-trick of headers. Cambodia next face Timor in 2 day's time (Sunday) and will have gained a lot of confidence from their performance tonight against Laos. My man of the match: Khuon Laboravy - he looked the most dangerous man in blue for Cambodia whenever he had the ball.
The Cambodia starting line-up (and changes): Mic (capt), Raksmey, Narith, Borin, Tiny; Sothearath (Saray 77m), Sopanha, Sokumpheak, Sokngorn (Sinoun 84m); Borey, Laboravy (Soksana 89m). [subs not used] Bunchhay, Rithy, Piseth, Rady.

Cambodia's captain Ouk Mic was called into action a few times and didn't let anyone down

This was the last we saw of Keo Sokngorn, who was stretchered off on 84 minutes

Khuoch Sokumpheak was played in a withdrawn midfield role in tonight's game

The final screen-scrape from the tv channel as the final score is shown, 0-0.

The Kingdom expects

Coach Lee Tae-Hoon (blue cap) will need to plot the downfall of Laos in tonight's Suzuki Cup opener

If you are a football fan in Cambodia then you should be glued to your television, computer or radio from 6.30pm onwards tonight, desperately trying to watch or listen to the first of the Suzuki Cup qualifying matches that the Cambodian national team will play in Vientiane in Laos this week. They meet their Lao hosts in what will be their hardest game to win. Laos are at home, they will be backed by large numbers of supporters - as they were in the SEA Games last year - and they are no slouches. We beat them in the BIDC Cup before the SEA Games but that was a young Laos team and we had home advantage, and their full national team will be much harder to beat. Despite the Cambodian coach Lee Tae-Hoon saying in the local press today that, "no problem, I think the boys will play well," he could be in for a rude awakening. He admitted; "we still have to sort out our problems areas, like the backline, but overall the side appears in good shape and spirits." A day before the first match and he's having problems with his backline after spending more than a month away in a training camp in Vietnam, and playing 10 warm-up games in preparation for tonight's game, doesn't fill me with bags of confidence. Individually we have very some talented performers in the likes of Kuoch Sokumpheak, Sun Sopanha, Tieng Tiny and Keo Sokngorn, and its the job of the coach to gel them together into a unit that will fight tooth and nail for every inch of ground and be able to apply that killer touch when presented with the opportunity. I didn't see that when I saw the team in their last warm-up game, so I'm hoping they were saving themselves for the competition proper. I think the starting line-up will be as follows; Mic, Raksmey, Narith, Borin, Tiny; Sothearath, Sopanha, Sokngorn, Laboravy; Sokumpheak, Borey. Keep your eyes and ears peeled for the game tonight and I'll update this blog as soon as I have any details.

18-man squad announced

The Cambodian national squad for the AFF Suzuki Cup qualifying games in Laos this month, flew out from Pochentong Airport today, after the 18-man squad was named by South Korean coach Lee Ta-Hoon. Here is the line-up:

Goalkeepers: Ouk Mic, Peng Bunchhay.
Defenders: Rang Borin, Pheak Rady, Tieng Tiny, Sok Rithy, Lay Raksmey, San Narith.
Midfielders: Sun Sopanha, Ieng Piseth, Phuong Soksana, Chhun Sothearath, Khuon Laboravy, Tum Saray.
Forwards: Khim Borey, Kouch Sokumpheak, Nuth Sinoun, Keo Sokngorn (pictured right).

These are the men tasked by the head coach with gaining one of the two available qualifying slots from the competition in Vientiane over the next week. It will be tough as both the Philippines and Laos are rated higher than Cambodia, but it's an achievable goal, and one which we managed, albeit with home soil advantage, in 2008. I was a mite surprised to see Tum Saray and Phuong Soksana included after watching them for half an hour against the National Police, as well as throughout the C-League season that's just finished. They've been selected at the expense of the two Dalin's, Sin and Samuth, though I don't expect either to get a starting place. I've mentioned before that a number of the country's best players weren't selected by the new coach and his assistants, though that's water under the bridge now as we need to get behind the 18 players and the coaching team and their combined bid to gain qualification to the group stage of the AFF Suzuki Cup. Come on Cambodia.

Round-up

The draw for the 2010 AFF Suzuki Cup, to be held jointly by Vietnam and Indonesia, was made today. The holders of the cup, Vietnam, who won it in 2008 by beating Thailand 3-2 on aggregate, have been drawn in the strongest group, Group B, alongside Singapore and Myanmar, together with the runners-up from the qualifying tournament in Laos at the back end of next month. In Group A, Thailand will face Indonesia and the SEA Games winners Malaysia, as well as the best of the qualifiers. Cambodia, under new coach Lee Tae-Hoon, will take part in the qualifying matches in Laos, meeting the hosts on 22 October, then Timor Leste two days later and finally Philippines on 26 October. 2 of the the 4 teams will progress to the finals.
The Suzuki Cup group matches will follow from 1-8 December, to be staged in Hanoi and Jakarta. After the group matches, the top two teams in each pool will progress to the two-leg semis to be staged home and away on 15/16 December and 18/19 December. The first leg of the final will be on December 26 with the final three days later.

The Phnom Penh Post broke the news today that the management team at Phnom Penh Crown, manager Makara Be and coach Apisit Im Amphai, have both parted company with the recently crowned 2010 Metfone C-League champions. They appear set to join 2nd Division clubs in Thailand, with the native Thai coach joining Buriram and the former Crown manager linking up with Mukdahan FC as their Marketing and PR boss. It signals the start of a completely new regime at Cambodia's premier club, who are due to announce on Monday, the start of a residential football academy for youngsters, the first of its kind in the Kingdom.

Random snaps

The Crown supporters came out in force yesterday with t-shirts, flags, horns, banners and loud voices

To finish off the action and events of yesterday's Metfone C-League championship final, won 4-3 by Phnom Penh Crown over Preah Khan Reach, here are a few snaps taken during the afternoon. One picture I didn't take was of the new national team coach, Lee Tae-Hoon, from South Korea. He arrived in Phnom Penh on Friday evening and attended the game yesterday but he didn't hang around afterwards, so I didn't manage to get a picture. At least he saw the cup final before the season came to a close and will now have just over a month and a half to prepare for the AFF Suzuki Cup qualifying games that will take place in Laos. Between 16-24 October, Cambodia will battle with Laos, Philippines and Timor Leste for two spots in the finals, to be held in Indonesia and Vietnam in December. I've been told that a training squad of players will be making their way to Vietnam, where the new coach can get his first look up close with the players who've been selected for him by his assistant coaches and by recommendations from the CPL teams. I asked a federation official whether the new coach would be holding a press conference, even though he doesn't speak Khmer or English, but nothing has been arranged as yet. I await further developments with the national team with interest. The 6-month season has just finished and now the players have to prove themselves all over again to the new coach, who I hope has been taking advantage of available technology and watching videos of the national team and club teams, which are taken at every game. I'll ask him that if I get the chance...maybe in Korean!

Leading the cheerleading was suspended striker Uche Prince Justine, who is seen here running around the stand holding aloft a flag and blowing a horn

Hong Makara came on as a sub for Crown and netted their important 3rd goal

Crown celebrate their win immediately after the final whistle

In front of the cameras, Crown's coach Apisit Amphai and manager Be Makara

Crown defender Tieng Tiny relaxes on the bench before returning to the festivities

Dejected and inconsolable, the Preah Khan players await their medals

A military band brought colour and music to the awards ceremony

Tieng Tiny introduces his daughter to the spotlight, his medal and the national anthem

More joy for the Crown squad as they celebrate with the championship trophy, held aloft by Keo Sokngorn

Thought it would be nice to end with these two lovely ladies who provide cold bottled water to the teams and officials at every match. They are a god-send.