Bubble burst

Cambodia went down 3-0 to Vietnam. Pic courtesy Lim Vandy

The bubble burst in the final group game of Cambodia U-21s Hassanal Bolkiah Trophy in Brunei this evening. Three victories and a single defeat had given Cambodia a chance to progress to the semis if they could beat Vietnam's highly-rated U-19 team. They couldn't. They went down 3-0. And their dreams were shattered. More precisely, the hopes of their fans were left in tatters, after the expectation had risen to serious levels on social media. It didn't look promising when the coach Lee Tae-Hoon's team selection was announced with captain Kouch Sokumpheak and Sos Suhana on the bench (tiredness was the reason for their exclusion), though Ngoy Srin and Thourng Da both returned after suspension. And promising it wasn't as Vietnam looked only marginally better in the opening half but took their chances to lead 2-0 with goals on the half-hour and with the final kick of the first-half. Both goals were scored by Ho Tuan Tai. They dominated the second period with Um Vichet forced to rescue his side on a few occasions, before Vietnam wrapped it up with ten minutes to go with Phan Van Long netting. 3-0 the final score. Vietnam would always be the toughest of the opposition, and so it proved. Cambodia now come home, with three wins and two defeats under their belts, financially better off after gifts from the FFC, BIDC and the Sultan, but with a sour taste in the mouth of many of their fans after promising so much, only to fail at the final hurdle. Cambodia v Vietnam: Vichet, Da, Samoeun, Sovan, Daravorn, Srin, Soksana, Pisor, Chhoeun, Udom, Borey.  Subs: Phearun, Sokumpheak, Suhana, Phallin, Vathanaka, Ravy, Tola.

Sokumpheak's goal is decisive

Cambodia v Indonesia, back row, LtoR: Samoeun, Udom, Vathanaka, Tola, Vichet, Sovan. Front: Phallin, Daravorn, Suhana, Pidor, Sokumpheak [pic Lim Vandy]

The Cambodian U-21s kept their hopes of qualifying for the semi-finals alive with their third win in four Group B matches in the Hassanal Bolkiah Trophy in Brunei this afternoon. Up against the Indonesia U-19s, they weathered an early scare to lead by half-time and to hold onto their advantage, winning 2-1 at the final whistle. A victory in their final match against Vietnam on Monday evening would see them move into the semi-final stages of the competition. With Ngoy Srin and Thourng Da out through suspension, Sos Suhana was called into partner captain Kouch Sokumpheak in the middle of midfield. Goalkeeper Um Vichet made an early stop as Indonesia began brightly but it was Prak Mony Udom who went closest, smashing a shot against the foot of the upright on 15 minutes. Sokumpheak got the faintest of touches with his head to force a corner and moments later, Hoy Phallin's cross flicked off the head of Sok Sovan and crept into the corner on 22 minutes. Udom saw his free-kick tipped over the top but Indonesia were back in the game four minutes before the break. Cambodia failed to clear their lines and Vichet was beaten by a lob and as it rebounded off the cross-bar, Dimas had the easy task of nodding it into an empty net. Not to be denied, a minute before the break captain Sokumpheak was in the box to meet Udom's cross and got a lucky break as a defender's attempted cut-out caught him on the thigh and bounced over the goal-line. Cambodia were 2-1 ahead at the break. Indonesia missed a glorious chance early after the restart but that was it as far as chances were concerned, with play bogged down in midfield and Indonesia simply not good enough to break down the Cambodian defensive unit. An injury to Vichet when he hit his head on the ground, added six minutes of stoppage time, but they were never in danger as Cambodia claimed their third victory of the tournament.
Cambodia v Indonesia: Vichet, Samouen, Pidor, Sovan, Daravorn, Sokumpheak, Suhana (Soksana 58), Phallin, Udom, Vathanaka (Ravy 69), Tola (Borey 58). Subs not used: Phearun, Chhoeun.

Downed in the rain

A very wet Cambodian starting line-up v Malaysia

Torrential rain caused an interruption of tonight's Hassanal Bolkiah Trophy tie between Cambodia and Malaysia's U-21 teams, though the sides managed to complete the game on a sodden pitch, with Malaysia doing just enough to win 1-0. The temporary halt came after 18 minutes with the teams resuming and being unable to break the deadlock at the mid-way interval. The only goal of the game came on 66 minutes when substitute Asri Mardzuki made the difference to give Malaysia the winning strike. It took his team to the top of the group table with 7 points from three games, whilst Cambodia dropped to fourth, just a point behind. It was Cambodia's first loss after two successive victories over Brunei and Singapore. They now meet Indonesia on Saturday and then Vietnam in their final group game on Monday. Coach Lee Tae-Hoon changed his line-up from the 3-1 win over Singapore, bringing back keeper Um Vichet, Hoy Phallin in the middle and Phoung Soksana up front.
Cambodia v Malaysia: Vichet, Da, Samoeun, Sovan, Daravorn, Srin, Sokumpheak, Phallin, Udom, Vathanaka, Soksana. Subs: Phearun, Pidor, Borey, Suhana, Ravy, Tola, Chhoeun.

Cambodia skipper Kouch Sokumpheak exchanges pennants before the game begins

Two on the trot

Cambodia v Singapore, back row, LtoR: Udom, Daravorn, Vathanaka, Srin, Sovan, Sokumpheak (capt). Front: Tola, Chhoeun, Da, Phearun, Samoeun - courtesy of Sabay

Cambodia's U-21 team will be cock-a-hoop after their second successive win in the Hassanal Bolkiah Trophy this afternoon. They led by three clear goals at the break and eventually ran out 3-1 victors over a very young and inexperienced Singapore team. However, Cambodia won't mind that as this second victory will put them in a confident mood ahead of their three remaining fixtures. Coach Lee Tae-Hoon made three changes to his starting line-up after the 1-nil win over Brunei at the weekend. The Phnom Penh Crown trio of Sokumpheak, Srin and Da kept their places, with Sokumpheak again wearing the captain's armband. Those first-half goals came courtesy of Chan Vathanaka, Nob Tola and Prak Mony Udom, with Singapore scoring their consolation ten minutes after the restart. Vathanaka fired the first from a Prak Mony Udom pass inside the box on 22 minutes, Tola tapped in the second from a Sokumpheak lay-off on 37 minutes before Udom let fly from 25 yards into the top corner three minutes before the break. Singapore hit back with their own fierce drive on 55 minutes but there was no way back at the Berakas Sports Complex. So its onwards and upwards for the U-21s who now meet Malaysia on Wednesday. Cambodia v Singapore: Phearun, Da, Samoeun, Daravorn, Sovan, Srin, Sokumpheak, Udom, Chhoeun, Vathanaka, Tola. Subs: Vichet, Suhana, Ravy, Phallin, Borey, Pidor, Soksana.

Rare away success

Cam v Brunei, back row, LtoR: Udom, Srin, Sovan, Vichet, Soksana, Daravorn. Front: Samoeun, Da, Phallin, Vathanaka, Sokumpheak (capt) - click to enlarge

Kouch Sokumpheak, Phnom Penh Crown's captain, led out the Cambodia U-21 team in the first of their five Hassanal Bolkiah U-21 Trophy matches in Brunei, against the host nation, on Saturday evening. And thanks to a 15th minute goal from Chan Vathanaka, the Cambodia team will take a rare opening victory into their next game against Singapore on Monday. Victories on the road under Korean coach Lee Tae-Hoon have been few and far between, so the players will revel in this success, against the 2012 trophy winners and in front of a big home audience. Lee also included Crown's Ngoy Srin, in a deep-lying midfield role, and Thourng Da at right-back, in the starting line-up, with Sos Suhana, a non-playing substitute. In the 2012 edition of the HBT Cambodia lost all of their matches, so this first game success will be very welcome by players and fans alike. Video of the match revealed that the home team made it hard for themselves, conceding a soft goal on 15 minutes and then having to play with 10-men for the last thirty minutes. Vathanaka tried a long range effort from 30 yards out and the Brunei keeper Abdul Rahim attempted to grab the ball only managing to push it onto the crossbar and fumbling it into the net for a gift of a goal. Vichet in the Cambodia goal had no answer to Zulkhairy's effort which crashed against the crossbar at the end of an otherwise uninspiring opening half. Just after the hour, Brunei's keeper went off injured and his replacement meant Brunei had to remove one of their outfield players, as they already had the allowed three overage players on the pitch. That meant they were one man down for the last quarter of the game. Not exactly bright team tactics by their South Korean coach. Nob Tola had a header saved which rebounded to Kouch Sokumpheak close-in but his header went agonizingly wide, while Moul Daravorn sent his header from six yards wide of the target. Vathanaka sent a looping header against the cross-bar late on, while Brunei too struck the woodwork before the referee called an end to proceedings after eight minutes of stoppage time. The Laos referee somehow managed to book both Srin and Da for innocuous challenges. A confidence-boosting win for Cambodia though they will need to up their performance level in their remaining matches if they are to make this success count. Cambodia v Brunei: Vichet, Da, Samoeun, Daravorn, Sovan, Srin (Pidor 85), Phallin, Sokumpheak, Udom (Tola 66), Vathanaka, Soksana (Chhoeun 69). Subs not used: Phearun, Borey, Suhana, Ravy.

Heading out

The PPCFC U-12s before heading to South Korea today

Two teams flew out from Phnom Penh today to represent their country. The Cambodian U-21 squad headed for Brunei to join the invitational Hassanal Bolkiah U-21 Trophy and will play their first game against the hosts on 9 August. Four Phnom Penh Crown players are in the party; Kouch Sokumpheak and Sos Suhana of two of the five overaged players allowed, as well as Ngoy Srin and Thourng Da. Cambodia's games are: 9 Aug vs Brunei; 11 Aug vs Singapore; 15 Aug vs Malaysia; 16 Aug vs Indonesia; 18 Aug vs Vietnam.

Later on this evening an U-12 team, made up of Phnom Penh Crown community boys and one Academy youngster, Mit Samel, are off to South Korea for a youth festival. Twelve youngsters will be playing thirty minute, 9-a-side games. It's taking place in Incheon, Korea's third largest city and is the second year running that we've sent a team to represent Cambodia. Obviously for boys of this age its a great experience especially as they are camping in tents with over 1,000 other boys. The team is being supervised by former Mighty Girl, Bi Phally. Squad: Hvarit, Sochea, Phanny, Rathana, Chanbut, Vanna, Brathna, Channy, Mesa, Darapich, Samel, Hangdavit.

Today also saw the draw for the AFF Suzuki Cup 2014, with the Cambodia senior national team included in the Qualifying Round to be held in Laos before the competition finals. They will play the following qualifying matches with the best two teams progressing to the November finals in Vietnam and Singapore: 12 Oct vs Laos; 16 Oct vs Timor-Leste; 18 Oct vs Myanmar; 20 Oct vs Brunei. The final squad will be selected in September.

Tough proposition

Cambodia's U-21 v Laos, back row, LtoR: Samoeun, Tola, Vichet, Srin, Daravorn, Sovan. Front: Chhoeun, Borey, Ravy, Da, Suhana - pic by DeeSler, click to enlarge

Cambodia's U-21 team returned home today after a 2-2 draw in Vientiane with their Laos counterparts, in a warm-up for their Hassanal Bolkiah Trophy matches in Brunei, which start in six days time. Nob Tola and Ros Samoeun gave Cambodia the lead in yesterday's friendly only for the hosts to pull two goals back in the last fifteen minutes. Coach Lee-Tae-Hoon has a few more days with the squad at the Tonle Bati HQ before they head for Brunei. There they begin with a tough game against the home country on 9 August, especially as local hopes are high that the Brunei side can retain the trophy they won in 2012 when they beat Indonesia 2-0 in the final. In 2012 the Cambodia team lost all four of their matches. Brunei's South Korean coach Kwon Oh-son saw his team draw 1-1 with Malaysian side Sabah at the weekend and he will include players from the DPMM side - Brunei's only professional team - that is currently leading the Singapore league, and who won the Singapore Cup last week. For his part, Lee Tae-Hoon, also from South Korea, can include four players who have just won the Cambodian championship with Phnom Penh Crown, so both coaches will have in-form players to count on. Looking at the other teams in Group B that will face Cambodia, Vietnam stand out as potential winners of the trophy. They have just returned from a two-month training camp in Japan and under French coach Guillaume Graechen, they include eleven HAGL players in what is the country's U-19 team. Vietnam are also using the competition to prepare for the AFC U-19 Championships to be held in Hanoi in September. Singapore come into the HBT having beaten Philippines 2-0 in a friendly last week and their team have been playing together in the Prime League, Singapore's reserve division, all season under experienced coach Richard Bok. Malaysia's U-21 team, known as Harimau Muda B, also compete together in the Singapore League, and will also be a real contender for the HBT title. Indonesia, a late entrant into the competition, will also send their U-19 team to compete instead of taking part in another tournament in Europe. It certainly promises to be another very tough task for Cambodia's U-21s, strengthened by the inclusion of five overage players, Kouch Sokumpheak, Sos Suhana, Chhin Chhoeun, Phourng Soksana and Sok Sovan, who carried the captain's armband in yesterday's friendly. The fixtures for Cambodia are:
9 Aug vs Brunei; 11 Aug vs Singapore; 15 Aug vs Malaysia; 16 Aug vs Indonesia; 18 Aug vs Vietnam.

The Vietnam U-19 team, one of the competition favourites

U-21s in Laos

PPCFC contingent in Laos: Da, Sokumpheak, Vanny (GK coach), Srin, Suhana

Cambodia's U-21 national team are in Laos today, Vientiane in fact, to meet their Laos counterparts, in a friendly match at 6pm, to give the two teams some match practice ahead of the Hassanal Bolkiah Cup that will begin in Brunei next week. Both teams are in different groups in the Brunei competition. A few of the countries will be sending their U-19 teams to take part in Brunei, but not Cambodia. They have even bolstered their U-21s with five overage players, as allowed by the competition rules with Phnom Penh Crown skipper Kouch Sokumpheak adding his considerable experience to the team, fresh from collecting the MCL Championship trophy last Sunday. Lee Tae-Hoon is in charge of the U-21s, as well as the senior team, and there are obviously some of the U-21 players who will feature for the senior side in the AFF Suzuki Cup qualifiers due in October. It's not ideal for Lee to be in Brunei for a couple of weeks while his seniors are back in camp at Tonle Bati, but he knows best. Apparently. The last time Cambodia were in this invitational competition, Feb 2012, they lost all four games to Brunei, Vietnam, Timor-Leste and Malaysia. This time around they will face Brunei, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore. It will be intriguing to see whether the U-21s can put a much better performance.
The U-21 squad of 18 players is as follows: Vichet, *Chhoeun, *Soksana (Army), Vathanaka, Samoeun, *Sovan (Boeung Ket), Phearun, N Borey, Ravy (Nat Police), Da, Srin, *Sokumpheak, *Suhana (PPCrown), Daravorn, Udom, Phallin, Tola, Pidor (Svay Rieng). * = overage.
Update:
Final Score: Laos U-21 2 Cambodia U-21 2. Cambodia led through goals by Nob Tola and Ros Samoeun but had to settle for a draw as the home side came back to level in the last fifteen minutes.