Painful reunion

Elroy in Flying Dutchman mode against for PPCFC v BBU last season. Photo courtesy Sovanna Kem.

The return of the flowing flocks of Elroy van der Hooft creates an interesting conundrum for football fans in the kingdom. The Dutch-born striker, with more than a hint of Indonesian blood in his veins, which is the main reason he came to this part of the world in the first place, made tsunami-like waves with thirteen goals in a handful of games for Phnom Penh Crown in the second half of last season. A hat-trick on his debut against Kirivong and then 4 more against Senate, certainly helped cement a place in the hearts of Crown supporters, and Khmer football fans in general. His friendly style off the pitch was a big winner as well. At the end of the season, he returned to Holland for some rest and recuperation and to mull over his future. In the meantime, Crown searched elsewhere for their overseas signings ahead of the new season, as Elroy returned to try his fortune in Indonesia, though beset by injury, his timing was awry and after a fruitless search for a team there and in Thailand, he's returned to Cambodia this week for a second stint. This time, Boeung Ket have forked out what's thought to be the biggest pay-check in C-League history to secure his services. Whether he can recapture his goalscoring knack remains to be seen. For loyal Crown fans his switch to the Rubbermen, one of Crown's bitterest rivals, will be painful in the extreme. A few will see it as a betrayal. For others, whose support fluctuates between one, two or three of the top clubs, depending on which way the wind is blowing, they will simply be happy to see the Flying Dutchman back on the country's football pitches. The die-hard football fan is still very much in its infancy in Cambodia, so Elroy should have a fairly easy time of it, unlike the reception he might've expected playing in many other leagues in the world. The bottom line is that it all adds to the excitement and rivalry as we get the Metfone C-League season underway in the kingdom. Photo courtesy of Sovanna Kem.

Elroy in the spotlight

Elroy van der Hooft before marking his debut with a hat-trick

With his match-winning hat-trick on his debut last Saturday, Winson Elroy van der Hooft made quite an impression. Tomorrow, he will play his second match against BBU, so its time we took a more detailed look at who this Flying Dutchman really is.

Elroy was born on 20 April 1990, in Zeven in Germany to Dutch parents with Indonesian roots on his mother’s side. The family moved to Holland when he was 7 years old and he began playing for his local Oegstgeeste-based team VV UDO. When he was ten he was spotted by the Ajax scouting system and began making the regular 30-minute journey to join the world famous AFC Ajax youth academy on a daily basis at De Toekomst. He remained at Ajax for six years progressing through the age group levels and appearing for the Dutch national U-15 youth team but was released by the club at the age of sixteen. He quickly joined Eredivisie League team ADO Den Haag’s youth set-up for two seasons without appearing in the senior team and then a season at another Eredivisie club, RKC Waalwijk, where he was the club’s youngest professional. Unable to make the breakthrough, he left and took six months off before rejoining his local amateur team VV UDO, where he topped the scoring charts and re-found his appetite for the game.

In August 2011, Elroy decided to try his luck overseas and signed a two-year contract with AO Xania (Chania FC) on the island of Crete in Greece. He did well for the Football League 2 team but the club had money problems and couldn’t pay him, so he returned home to play with VV UDO after a frustrating six months. Determined to continue his overseas adventures and spurred on by his mother’s Indonesian heritage, Elroy was successfully contracted by Indonesian Divisi Utama Liga team Persekap Pasuruan, who reside in East Java, at the beginning of April but as he missed the signing-on deadline, he was unable to play in the first half of their season. That alerted Sam Schweingruber, the coach of Phnom Penh Crown and Elroy was offered the opportunity to play the second half of the Cambodian League season before he returns to Indonesia in July. Wearing jersey number 49, and with just a couple of training sessions under his belt, Elroy made an explosive entry into the C-League top flight with a hat-trick on his debut against Kirivong last Saturday. Let's hope that continues for the remainder of the season.

Absolutely Amazing

Elroy van der Hooft steps off the pitch having netted a hat-trick on his debut

Phnom Penh Crown coach Sam Schweingruber was determined to keep his emotions in check after watching his team take the points in a 3-1 win over Kirivong, despite losing a player just before half-time. The match was ruined as a footballing spectacle by the atrocious weather conditions but Crown battled hard for the victory, helped in no small part by a hat-trick for Dutch debutant Elroy van der Hooft. "Our team performance was absolutely amazing when you see how hard everybody worked, and fought and believed that even with 1-man down we could win. After a game like this its dangerous to think everything is perfect - we must keep our feet on the ground, we need to continue to work hard, of course it was a great performance but we have lots of things to improve.
Congratulations to the team for working so hard and making it happen. An amazing game. We talked to the players during the break. We did good things at half-time, motivated them and made them believe we could win this game. We were down to ten men, everyone expected us to lose, but if we won the game, it could turn our whole season.
I hoped for a good game from our two new signings; one walked off with a hat-trick, the other gets a red card. Elroy was amazing. 1st chance 1st goal, which is what we've been lacking. We've had some good games, created chances but we didn't finish. So having someone up front who scores, wins the ball, is physically strong, holds the ball up and fights, it was beautiful to watch. I couldn't have asked for any more. For me, foreign players should lead by example - his approach to the game, if he can keep pushing like this, sacrificing his body for the team, we can go a long way."

After leaving the Crown fans wanting more, with three goals on his debut, striker Elroy van der Hooft was quick to acknowledge the part played by his teammates. "I focused before the game on winning, we needed to win, I didn't think about scoring, so to score 3 goals is like a dream come true. I must credit the success to my team, who gave me very good passes. It was difficult because of the rain but we have a very good team and shouldn't be afraid of anyone else if we play like this. The football here is more tactical, which is good as I'm used to that. I am very happy today, this is the best start I could hope for." Understating his own personal performance, Elroy battled for every ball, taking a few knocks including a first-half dead-leg which actually cast a doubt over his second-half involvement, and best of all, he found that goalscoring killer touch that has been lacking for much of the season. Now Crown fans can't wait for the next installment. 

Elroy Explodes

PPCFC line-up v Kirivong. Back Row LtoR: Obadin, Ha-Neul, Thierry, Boris, van der Hooft, Narin. Front: Seyha, Suhana, Seiha, Makara, Sokumpheak (capt)...click to enlarge

Now that is what I call setting down a marker on your debut, as Elroy van der Hooft bagged a hat-trick in Phnom Penh Crown's 3-1 Metfone C-League victory over Kirivong this afternoon. The Dutch striker with just a couple of training sessions under his belt and nursing a hamstring strain, announced himself in the best possible fashion and his team needed it, after getting pegged back to 1-1 and having another debutant, South Korean Lee Ha-Neul sent off just before the interval. Starting the match without his skipper Khim Borey as well as Hong Pheng and Ngoy Srin, coach Sam Schweingruber handed a first start to two of his recent signings and the captain's armband to Kouch Sokumpheak. And the first real action saw a piece of individual brilliance by one of those new faces, Elroy van der Hooft, open the scoring after ten minutes. Bin Thierry sent van der Hooft racing away on the right and with some deft footwork, he sidestepped two Kirivong defenders and coolly flicked the ball past keeper Kim Makara and inside the near post to send his teammates into raptures. The rainy season announced its early arrival with the start of a downpour that was to progressively get a lot worse and ruin the match as a footballing spectacle. On 24 minutes Kirivong got back into the game after battling work by David Njoku set up Ek Vannak and Crown keeper Samrith Seiha's fingertips could only help the ball over the line from his first-time shot. With the rain coming down in sheets, the match officials decided to carry on despite lightning flashes just outside the stadium. Anyone with a brain would've called the players off the pitch for safety reasons alone. Not referee Khuon Virak. Crown tried a few long range attempts through Sokumpheak, Odion Obadin and Thierry without much joy but found themselves with an uphill battle on their hands four minutes before the half-time break. Lee Ha-Neul had already been cautioned for a late challenge and referee Virak took an instant dislike to another of his lunging tackles on the soaking wet surface, flashing a straight red despite Savorn Ratanak Raksa quickly getting to his feet. It sent Crown into the dressing room with ten men and Kirivong rubbing their hands with glee. The usual 15-minute break was extended to 90 minutes as the rain continued to fall, covering the pitch in pools of water, until the officials decided it was okay to proceed. Anywhere else, the game would've been abandoned a long time before.

Crown started the 2nd half like a runaway train, after Seiha had dived bravely at the feet of Kirivong striker Ntim Spirit with just 18 seconds on the clock. Moments later, a Men Seyha throw-in was fired into the side-netting on the turn by van der Hooft. He was just warming up. Soon after he tried his luck from 40-yards, which Kim Makara gathered easily enough. Kirivong were unlucky to see Spirit's attempt bounce back into play off the foot of a post, but it was Crown who nosed in front, 11 minutes after the restart. Seyha found Sokumpheak and his threaded pass forward was taken in his stride by van der Hooft who cleverly fired a left-foot shot under Kim Makara to give his team the lead once more. Just four minutes later, van der Hooft and his teammates were celebrating again as the Flying Dutchman registered a debut hat-trick. Leng Makara sent Sos Suhana away on the right wing and his first-time center behind the defenders found van der Hooft steaming in to deliver the killer punch at the far post. He sank to his knees in jubilation as Crown took a 3-1 lead despite their inferior numbers. A minute later and Sokumpheak took a pass from Suhana into the box only to see Kim Makara push aside his stinging effort. A beautifully flighted Thierry free-kick was a whisker away from meeting van der Hooft's diving header as Crown pressed, though Akeem Bolaji will be disappointed his header didn't find the target at the other end. Makara rose high to head Thierry's cross inches past the far upright and then Thourng Da raced onto Makara's pass only to send his drive straight at the Kirivong keeper. With full-time fast approaching, Kirivong's Phan Bunlong was booked for a second time, for an elbow on Sokumpheak and was dismissed and despite five extra minutes, there was no way back for the Takeo-based outfit as Crown leapfrogged them into 4th place in the league standings. Certainly a debut to remember for Elroy van der Hooft, who was mobbed by Crown fans as he left the field, a new hero in their midst.
PPCFC line-up: Seiha, Boris, Seyha, Narin (Da 46), Obadin, Thierry, Suhana, Ha-Neul, Makara (Pisa 85), Sokumpheak, van der Hooft (Sothy 91). Subs not used: Ary, Ratana, Dara, Lika, Dary, Morslim, Kano, Phearun. Bookings: Ha-Neul (+ red card), Obadin, Thierry. MOTM: van der Hooft.