Academy win

Result: PPCFC Academy U-14 4 Next Step 1 (Friendly).
In a game of 3 x 25 minute halves, Siem Reap's Next Step took the lead ten minutes into the second period with a breakaway goal. In the third period, Crown made their fitness and superiority count after Lim Pisoth headed against the bar. On 55 minutes, Pisoth's 20-yard free-kick curled into the top corner for the equaliser. Three minutes later, his pass allowed Ros Darapich space to fire his team ahead. Sin Kakada's cameo performance was topped off with a fine solo goal on 61 minutes, before Ky Rina finished with ease, on 67 minutes, to give Crown a 4-1 success.
PPCFC starting XI, LtoR: Rina, Sochea, Sovanmakara, Pisoth, Sokly, Laiheang, Darapich, Nakha, Navin, Vutha, Roza.

U-13s come home

The Cambodia U-13 national team have returned from China after competing in the Soong Ching Ling Cup China-Asean Youth tournament. The 4 PPCFC Academy boys (pictured; Laiheang, Makara, Ladin, Phanny) arrived earlier this morning and informed us of the following results:
Cambodia vs China Lost 1-2; vs Thailand Lost 1-2; vs Laos Lost 0-7; vs Indonesia Lost 1-5; vs Vietnam Won 5-0 (Cambodia finished in 9th place). Yim Makara scored 5 goals and Sem Phanny 2 goals. Cambodia also won the Fair Play award.

Next Step

Our friends from Next Step FC in Siem Reap will be coming to Phnom Penh tomorrow to train and play two matches against PPCFC teams. On Friday (5 August) at 8am on the RSN training pitch, Next Step U-16s will face a PPCFC Community U-14 team. On Saturday (6 August) at 8am on the RSN training pitch, The PPCFC Academy U-14 team will meet the visitors. Both promise to be entertaining matches. Next Step are providing a base for young footballers in Siem Reap to learn their trade at their school of excellence, both boys and girls, and have already enjoyed success by winning the U-14 ISF title. We wish them an enjoyable trip to the capital.

Away defeat

Result: PPCFC Academy 2 Kirivong U-19s 5 (Friendly).
The Crown Academy suffered a rare defeat on their travels to Kirivong this afternoon, after taking a 3rd minute lead with a fine individual goal by Mat Sakrovy. A catalogue of defensive errors allowed the home team to draw level and take a commanding 4-1 lead by the half-time interval. Despite 8 changes for Crown after the break, Kirivong extended their lead by taking advantage of a woeful clearance before Oun Ravuth pulled back a consolation goal late on for PPCFC with a good finish.
PPCFC line-up, back row, LtoR: Sakrovy, Chanchav, Senteang, N David, Chandara, Chetra. Front: Piseth, Bony, Pheng, Piphop, Chansopheak.

Family support

We want to say thanks to the families of our Academy boys who give their sons great support in their journey to become professional footballers. A great example is the family (pictured) of 12-year-old Tin Ladin, one of four PPCFC Academy youngsters who flew out this morning with the Cambodia U-13 team that will play a festival in China. The family group travelled from their home in Battambang to send off their son at the airport and like the families of our other Academy boys, they provide important family support for their son's football development. A big THANK YOU to the families from the staff at PPCFC. Also pictured are the four PPCFC Academy players, LtoR, Chhoy Laiheang, Yim Makara, Tin Ladin and Sem Phanny, before they board their plane to Beijing.

The three PPCFC players - Bin Thierry, Keo Sokpheng and Keo Soksela - will be part of the Cambodia National Team squad who take on Singapore in an international friendly match at the Olympic Stadium tomorrow night (Thursday), at 6.30pm. Another large crowd is expected to watch the match at the stadium and the game is also live on BTVNews. Both teams have important players missing, which will give a chance for others to show their talent. 
Also tomorrow, 4 of the PPCFC Academy will travel to China to play in the U-13 Soong Ching Ling Cup until 4 August with the Cambodia U-13 national team. They are goalkeeper Chhoy Laiheang, Yim Makara, Tin Ladin and Sem Phanny with one player from our community team, Noreak Titya, joining them. Good luck to the Cambodia team.

Academy beat Army

Result: PPCFC Academy 7 Army U-19 2 (Friendly). 
Army took the lead after just 42 seconds of this friendly game at RSN Stadium this morning, but then experienced the full force of Crown's comeback before the interval. Sath Rozak collected a hat-trick of excellent one-touch finishes, the third goal a perfect example of first-time passing that tore open the Army defence. Mat Sakrovy also scored, as did Chea Chandara, from the penalty spot after Sakrovy was tripped. After the break, San David and Sakrovy scored before Army's late consolation, in a game dominated by the home team.
PPCFC line-up, back row, LtoR: Chanchav, Panha, V Samnang, Sakrovy, Chandara, Bony. Front row: Chansopheak, Piphop, N David, Rozaak, Punlork.

Cambodia U-16 AFF reports

The AFF Smart U-16 Championship came to a close tonight with the Cambodia U-16s losing 3-0 to Thailand in the 3rd Place Play-off at Olympic Stadium, to end the tournament in 4th position. An excellent showing by Cambodia over the course of the competition, in which they made the semi-finals for the very first time and attracted near-capacity crowds, who in return gave them great support. Congratulations to the whole team and of course our 5 PPCFC Academy players who were involved - Svang Samnang, Mao Piseth, Yue Safy, Sin Kakada and Yet Chetra.
The winners of the Championship were Australia, who drew 3-3 in the final with Vietnam, and then kept their nerve to win the penalty shoot-out 5-3, as they did in the semi-final. Everyone at PPCFC sends their congratulations to the Australian squad, who played against our Academy before the tournament got underway (we won 3-2) and trained at RSN Stadium during their stay. Well-deserved champions. [Picture by FFC].
Other Cambodia U-16 reports:
(July 22) Despite a gutsy, fighting performance from the Cambodia U-16 national team, they lost 1-0 to Vietnam in the AFF Smart U-16 Championship semi-final last night, in front of nearly 60,000 at the Olympic Stadium. PPCFC's goalkeeper Svang Samnang was the man-of-the-match with a fabulous performance between the posts, but despite pulling off some great saves, he couldn't prevent Vietnam's only goal after 28 minutes. The Cambodia team should feel proud of their achievement in performing so well at the championships, and have one more game, the 3rd Place Play-off, on Saturday, against Thailand, at 3.30pm at Olympic Stadium.

(July 19) The Cambodia U-16 national team created history tonight, with a 3-0 victory over Timor-Leste, guaranteeing a semi-final spot in the AFF U-16 Championship for the very first time. They will play against rivals and neighbors Vietnam on Thursday. The match proved to be a great night for the 4 PPCFC players involved in the starting line-up. Svang Samnang started his first game in goal and was rock steady for the 90 minutes. Yue Safy took his captain's responsibility very seriously and stepped up to fire home the opening goal from the penalty spot after 7 minutes. Sin Kakada created havoc with his set-pieces and Mao Piseth crowned his first starting berth with two second-half goals, the second of which was an absolute scorcher. Congratulations to our youngsters and their teammates on achieving this piece of history. 
(July 17) The Cambodia U-16 national team were defeated 6-0 by Thailand last night at the Olympic Stadium in the AFF Smart U-16 Championship, watched by a crowd of around 40,000. Their final group game will be against Timor-Leste tomorrow (Tuesday) with a 6.30pm kick-off and will be televised live by MyTV. We wish the team success in their quest for glory - a victory will take Cambodia into the semi-finals for the first time in their history. Five PPCFC Academy players are in the Cambodia squad; Svang Samnang, Yue Safy, Yet Chetra, Sin Kakada and Mao Piseth. 
(July 14) The Cambodia U-16 national team continued their winning ways last night, beating Brunei 2-0 at Olympic Stadium, in their second group match in the AFF Smart U-16 Championship. Crown Academy's Yue Safy captained the team, which also included Sin Kakada (number 12). On the bench were our own Mao Piseth, Yet Chetra and Svang Samnang. The U-16 team photo is courtesy of FFC facebook. Cambodia have two matches left to secure their passage through to the semi-finals and will play Thailand on Sunday 17 July and Timor-Leste on Tuesday 19 July. Both matches will kick-off at 6.30pm at Olympic Stadium and will be televised by MyTV. Support the Cambodia U-16s in their quest for glory!
(July 13) The Cambodia U-16 national team play their second AFF Smart U-16 Youth Championship game tonight, 6.30pm at Olympic Stadium against Brunei, after a 3-1 win over Laos in their opening match of the tournament. Sin Kakada scored one of the goals and will be looking to get on the scoresheet again tonight. The other PPCFC Academy players in the squad are Yue Safy, who is the NT captain, Mao Piseth, Yet Chetra and Svang Samnang (who has a wrist injury). We wish all the squad continued success. Cambodia NT picture courtesy of FFC facebook.
** Everyone at PPCFC sends their best wishes for a full recovery to Leng Makara and family, after their youngest son underwent surgery at Kantha Bopha hospital, and our sympathy to Keo Soksela and his family, whose grandmother passed away recently.