Cup fever

It's the final of the Hun Sen Cup tomorrow (Saturday) with the favourites Preah Khan Reach taking on Build Bright United at 3pm at the Olympic Stadium in Phnom Penh. I predict a win for PKR, who have begun the season like a runaway train with Khuon Laboravy in particular, on fire with 21 goals to-date. BBU beat Phnom Penh Crown and the Army en route to the final and will have their tails up but on paper, they aren't quite strong enough. A lot will depend on the return of their midfield playmaker Chhun Sothearath, who PKR will look to negate, whilst BBU will seek to manacle Laboravy, probably with a man-to-man marking job for one of their defensive team like Tuy Sam. The 3rd place play-off takes place this afternoon (Friday) at the stadium, at 3pm, when the Army meet Naga Corp. I would sense that Naga will bust a gut to recover from their inept showing last week against PKR by claiming third spot.
Stop Press... Naga Corp claimed 3rd place with a 1-nil victory over the Army at Olympic Stadium this afternoon. Kop Isa scored the only goal of the game two minutes before half-time.

On top of the rankings

The Cambodian national team in Macau; [Back row, LtoR] Rithy, Sopanha, Mic, Laboravy, Piseth, Borey [front row] Tiny, Raksmey, Pancharong, Sothearath, Sokumpheak

Stop Press....The Cambodian national football team rock up to 154th place in the latest FIFA/Coca-Cola world rankings, their highest-ever placing. Jumping twelve places, they reached a peak since the rankings were introduced in 1993, following their AFC Challenge Cup success over Macau. Not that it really means diddly-squat because it's what happens on the field that really matters, but as they approach the AFC Challenge Cup Group C games in the Madives from 21-25 March, they are now the 2nd best-ranked team in the group and as such are on course to qualify for the finals in early 2012, as one of the two qualifiers from each of the four groups. On paper at least. Here are their games in the AFC Challenge Cup later this month, with rankings and dates of the matches in brackets; Maldives (161st, 21 Mar), Tajikistan (148th, 23 Mar) and Kyrgyzstan (174th, 25 Mar).

Snoods outlawed

Soon to be a fashion statement of the past, the snood-wearers of Arsenal

Thank goodness commonsense has prevailed and the International Football Association Board has just announced that neck-warming snoods will be outlawed from 1 July. It certainly saves us here in Cambodia in having to endure the ridiculous sight of players keeping their necks warm, though the need for them in Phnom Penh is much less than in the chilly climes of London, where many of the Arsenal team have taken to them with gusto. However, I'm sure we'll continue to see Metfone C-League players wearing long-sleeve gloves, the ones that ladies wear to keep the sun off their bare arms, which is a peculiar adornment only seen in Cambodia that I'm aware of. The IFAB also agreed to continue the trial of vanishing spray, used by referees to measure the distance a defensive wall must stand from a free-kick. The spray, being used in South America, marks out a white line which disappears after 30 seconds. Also goal-line technology is being looked at again, whilst two goal-line referee assistants will be used in Euro 2012, making it six referees in place for any one game. Talk about too many cooks in a kitchen. I must admit I abhor all of these additional add-on's to the game I love. Football is a simple game which the administrators (many of whom have never played the game other than in the playground) keep seeking to tamper with. But I appreciate I'm in the minority in the face of so-called progress.

Living the dream

The Academy boys line-up with club president Rithy Samnang and Ken Shellito at the Tuol Kork HQ

If you give a young boy a football, a piece of grass and some friends to play with, he will play football 24 hours a day. Mark my words. So at the Phnom Penh Crown FC Elite Academy, the full-time coaches have a job on their hands restricting the boys in their care from doing exactly that. As it is, they receive good quality football coaching every morning, six days a week, as well as getting private schooling in the afternoons. The rest of the time is their own, and of course they spend it kicking a ball around, or play-fighting as they are boys afterall, at the club's training headquarters in Tuol Kork, which doubles up as the home of the Elite Academy. They are living the dream of most boys, spending their days at a professional football club, learning the art of becoming a proficient player, technically, tactically and physically, as well as receiving a good standard of private education that they almost certainly wouldn't have received in their home village. The boys hail from all around the country, some from Phnom Penh but most from the provinces as far flung as Koh Kong and Stung Treng. They live at the training ground in specially-built accommodation, are fed three healthy meals a day by two live-in house mothers, they get video sessions with the coaches, both of whom are former Cambodian internationals Bouy Dary and Kao Kiry, as well as the inevitable sessions on the training ground. They also have access to a doctor and sports physio whenever they need it and on Saturday morning, they came under the spotlight of the local television stations, TVK, TV5 and CTN, who all sent cameramen and reporters to the ground to record their progress, as well as report on the visit by one of the club's Academy Ambassadors, former Chelsea manager Ken Shellito. Now a technical analyst for the Asian Football Confederation, there's nothing Shellito enjoys more than getting onto the training ground and passing on tips and tricks of the trade he's learned in over fifty years involved in professional football. He was also involved in the final trials to select the 22 players who are now with the Academy, so he's more than happy to come over from his home in Malaysia from time to time to help out the regular coaches. And Crown hope to introduce other well-known footballing faces from around Asia in the future as a way of freshening up the input the boys receive. The boys ended their training session with an 11-a-side game where they were able to show-off their considerable talents - these boys were selected after extensive trials around the country and are amongst the best-equipped at their under-13 age level - giving each other no quarter and already demonstrating a desire to win, whilst finding time to smile and whoop loudly when a goal is scored. It was a pleasure to watch these youngsters in action, just four weeks into their life as a full-time Elite Academy student and potential professional footballer of the future.

The Academy coaches; Kao Kiry, Ken Shellito and Bouy DaryBall-juggling is a favourite past-time of all the boys

The boys and their full-time coaches

More ball juggling, on a par with keepy-uppy as the boys favourite

The boys get some coaching advice from a man with over 50 years of experience in the pro game, Ken Shellito

The television cameras interview Ken Shellito and Bouy Dary

Crown comeback

Crown's starting line-up: [Back Row LtoR] Bojan Hodak (head coach), Sopanha, Obadin, Bunchhay, Narong, Tiny, Njoku [front row] Dara, Narith, Virak, Sokumpheak, Sothearith

Phnom Penh Crown looked to be heading for a surprise defeat in this afternoon's friendly encounter with Prek Pra Keila at their Tuol Kork HQ until three goals in 14 minutes midway through the 2nd half rescued the result and earned them a 4-3 success. Crown began the game with one of their strongest line-ups, posed their C-League opponents a heap of questions but failed to take full advantage of their superiority and were behind at the half-time whistle. Suong Virak gave Crown the lead on 14 minutes when a Kouch Sokumpheak long ball hit him on the back of the head, fell conveniently wide of Prek Pra keeper Yok Ary and Virak had an easy task of netting from close range. Two quick saves from Ary from a Kingsley Njoku downward header and a Phoung Narong 20-yard drive, kept Prek Pra in the game. Njoku then broke clear and poked his shot wide when it seemed easier to score. On the half-hour Prek Pra equalised through Sos Souhana with their first real foray into the Crown box and two minutes later, the unlucky Njoku lobbed what looked like a certain goal over Ary, only to see the ball rebound off the cross-bar. With 4 minutes of the 1st half remaining, Souhana was left to tap home his second after the ball fell kindly to him in a goalmouth melee, with Crown shouting loudly for offside. It was left to Yok Ary to close the first-half with a duo of great saves to keep out two headers from Tieng Tiny and Kingsley Njoku.
The 2nd half was twelve minutes old when Prek Pra stunned Crown by extending their lead to 3-1. Interval sub Feut Sulkiphly sent a dangerous center across the face of the Crown goal and Sos Souhana was on hand to score his hat-trick from close range. A few minutes later, Crown coach Bojan Hodak made two changes which perked up the home team. A neat one-two between Njoku and Chan Chaya left the latter in on goal, but his rolled shot struck the foot of the post. Within sixty seconds, on 62 minutes, Tieng Tiny stormed down the right wing and laid the ball back to Kingsley Njoku who lashed home his shot from ten yards. With their tails up, a minute later, Crown levelled when Phoung Narong put the ball in front of the sprinting Chan Chaya and this time his touch was true, as he fired home past the advancing Yok Ary. On 76 minutes Crown made their dominance count when Njoku left the Prek Pra defenders in his wake only to see his shot strike the upright, but teammate Sok Pheng was on hand to duck low to head in what turned out to be the match-winner. Chaya and Pheng could've extended the lead, fluffing good chances later on as Crown made another five changes late on to close the game out. Full marks to plucky Prek Pra for an entertaining game, though Crown coach Hodak will be asking questions of his defenders in his post-match inquest.
Crown line-up: Bunchhay (Visokra 45), Dara (Vanthan 58), Sothearith, Tiny (Sovan 78), Obadin, Narong (Sochivorn 87), Sopanha (Sok Pheng 58), Narith (Sophat 78), Virak (Chaya 37), Sokumpheak (Ratana 78), Njoku (Hong Pheng 78).

Prek Pra Keila line up before the match with coach Jack Tonye Charles on far left. Hat-trick hero Sos Souhana wears no 12.

Kouch Sokumpheak fires a shot narrowly wide

A study in concentration for Odion Obadin (left) and Kingsley Njoku

Quick steps to get the legs working before the match against Prek Pra

Students join PKR in final

The students of BBU will meet Preah Khan in the cup final (pic Tep Phany)

The 2nd semi-final today went to extra-time and was a much closer affair that the first semi that saw Preah Khan walk over Naga. PKR will now meet Build Bright United in the Hun Sen Cup Final on Saturday 12 March after BBU managed to overcome the Army, who were hell-bent on retaining the cup they won last year. Oum Chandara opened the scoring in the 8th minute for a suspension-ravaged BBU before the Army's Phuong Soksana popped up ten minutes from the end of regulation time, to send the tie into extra-time. On 100 minutes Chan Veasna netted the winner from thirty yards to send the ecstatic students through to the final for the 1st time, with Army's Pheak Rady getting his marching orders for a rash challenge in time added on, after referee Kuong Ly had cautioned 7 other players.

PKR go through

Sok Rithy stood tall in defence and netted one of the PKR goals in their 4-nil win

I think I'll ignore any sneaking feelings I have in future after Preah Khan Reach swept away Naga Corp in the first of the Hun Sen Cup semi-finals, making a mockery of my pre-match prediction. Preah Khan will be cock-a-hoop after their 4-0 success with Golden Boot awardee Khuon Laboravy netting twice in the 2nd half after goals from Sam El Nasa and Sok Rithy had given them the interval lead. It was a pretty dull affair but you won't find PKR worrying too much about that. To be honest I kept nodding off during the game and it was all PKR after Sam El Nasa bent down low to head in a Tum Saray cross after just three minutes. Naga made two changes before the interval but to no avail as Sok Rithy headed PKR two-up three minutes before the interval, nodding in a Prak Mony Udom free-kick. Khuon Laboravy had a quiet first-half but he came alive after the break as Naga got tired and left themselves exposed at the back. Lay Raksmey sent Laboravy away and he whacked in his 2oth goal of the Hun Sen Cup competition on 68 minutes. Twelve minutes later he was on his bike again, outpacing everyone else and firing past Mak Theara for goal number 21. Moments earlier he had a perfectly good goal chalked off by a linesman who wasn't up with play. The final action of the day involved Rithy, who pulled back Chim Chom as he broke through, but stayed on the pitch as the referee incredulously produced only a yellow card. Naga hit the bar with the final kick of the game but by then they were well and truly demoralized and well-beaten.

The young legs of Preah Khan were simply too quick and strong in the cup semi-final

Naga Corp never got going in the semi-final against PKR

Om Thavrak leads his Naga Corp team out for the semi-final, alongside PKR's Sam El Nasa

2-goal star Khuon Laboravy meets the tv cameraMembers of the Preah Khan team salute their fans after their 4-0 success

Shellito flies in to help

Ken Shellito, in town to help the Crown Academy boys and coaches

Ken Shellito has given more than fifty years of his life to the game of football that he loves so much, and he shows no sign of slowing down. This week Shellito, in his role as the Phnom Penh Crown Elite Football Academy Ambassador, will spend time with the Academy boys at their Tuol Kork headquarters passing on invaluable tips he's learned over the years and put into practice on training fields as far apart as England, America and throughout Asia. He'll also spend sessions with the Academy coaches, Bouy Dary and Kao Kiry, to give them the benefit of his vast experience. Now working as a coach and technical analyst for the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) in Kuala Lumpur, Shellito assisted the Phnom Penh Crown coaches in the final selection of their 22 Academy recruits in November so is already a familiar face to the boys. The Elite Football Academy, the first of its kind in Cambodia, has now been in operation for over a month and provides the youngsters with football training six days per week with qualified coaches, whilst maintaining a strong emphasis on the importance of their academic studies. Shellito spent his entire playing career with one club, Chelsea, who he joined as a fourteen year old and made his debut at the age of 19. He went onto play 285 games for the club before a serious knee injury cut short his playing career at the age of 27. He also made 4 appearances for England. After looking after the Chelsea youth academy, he was appointed Chelsea manager in 1977 and remained in charge for more than a year. He later managed Cambridge United and assisted Tommy Docherty at QPR and Crystal Palace, before moving to the USA, Singapore and finally Malaysia as a football coach.

Ken Shellito and Academy head coach Bouy Dary instruct the youngsters at Tuol Kork

Ball control is a skill these youngsters will need to get into their repertoire

My tips for the semis

Can 19-goal Khuon Laboravy lead PKR to success on Saturday?

The Hun Sen Cup semi-finals will be held this coming weekend with the two big guns, Preah Khan Reach and Naga Corp battling it out on Saturday (5 March) at the Olympic Stadium at 3pm. Though Preah Khan have been whacking in the goals, notably in the form of Khuon Laboravy and his personal tally of 19, in the previous rounds, I just have a sneaking feeling that the old hands at Naga will have the edge over the PKR young guns. Players like Om Thavrak, Meas Channa, Pok Chanthan and Teab Vathanak will not lie down easily and let the likes of Chea Samnang and Suon Veasna run the show. PKR will have their own veteran, Sam El Nasa, back for this game but my money is on Naga to progress. But hey, what do I know.
In the other semi, Phnom Penh Crown's conquerors in the last round, Build Bright United take on the Army on Sunday (6 March), also at 3pm. The military boys won't want to let go of the cup they won last season, but I reckon they will find it hard to put one over the students of BBU. They've got their tails up now and the Army, I think, will come out 2nd best unless Phuong Soksana has a stormer and their new keeper Oum Vichet plays a blinder. What is it with the Army and their production line of great keepers; Vichet played on Sunday and looked completely assured, whilst their other top-rated stopper Sou Yaty kept the bench warm. And don't forget they had Samreth Seiha as well last term even though he seems to have disappeared off the face of the earth this season, which is a crying shame as I've rated him the number 1 keeper in the country for the last three years.
Licking their wounds after their defeat against BBU last Saturday, Phnom Penh Crown will meet one of the other beaten quarter-finalists, Prek Pra, in a friendly match at Crown's Tuol Kork training HQ at 3pm on Sunday 6 March. Crown will be looking to put the reverse behind them as they get ready for the new Metfone C-League season that is due to start in early April, though no fixture list has been forthcoming just yet.

A trio of new faces at Crown

Hok Sochivorn

With the Metfone C-League season expected to begin in early April, Phnom Penh Crown have added three new names to their senior squad roster including one of the best known faces in Cambodian football, Hok Sochivorn. Now 27 years old, Sochivorn has most recently been coaching the Stung Treng provincial team after successful spells as a striker with the Royal Navy and Hello United teams, each for four years, during which time he was a regular for the Cambodian national team, making his debut in Indonesia against the Philippines in the 2002 Tiger Cup, after previously appearing for the youth and Under-20 teams. Phnom Penh-born, he later had shorter stints with Naga Corp, Preah Khan, Post Tel, Phuchung Neak and Kirivong before relocating to Stung Treng a couple of years ago. Crown's Bojan Hodak is pleased with the addition. "He's a very experienced player, technically and tactically aware and his finishing is good. He will also help us out on the coaching side of things in future," explained the Croatian-born coach. As for Sochivorn, he's happy to be back playing and looking forward to working and learning from an experienced foreign coach. He is one of three footballing brothers who at one time played for Hello United and the Cambodian national team together. The others are Hok Sochetra and Hok Sotitya.

Koem Sophanal

Also joining the Crown squad is 18 year old Koem Sophanal, who was the captain of the Stung Treng provincial team in the recent Hun Sen Cup competition. He's been a member of the province team for the past four years as an attacking midfielder after impressing whilst playing for his high school team, Preah Reachbochanikech in Stung Treng. Sophanal expressed his pleasure at joining Crown. "I'm really happy to join the club. I will work hard to make a success of my time with Crown. This is a great opportunity for me." His new coach, Bojan Hodak said; "He likes to play the ball forward and is a positive type of player. He's never really had serious coaching before so he'll definitely improve, though we need to build up his strength, physically."

Hong Pheng

The final new face to join Crown is Hong Pheng, 21, who arrives after impressing in the Hun Sen Cup group matches played in Kompong Thom, whilst with Baksey Chamkrong FC from Siem Reap. Pheng hails from Battambang and began his football for his high school team, Preah Monivong. He appeared for the Battambang provincial team for two years before moving to Siem Reap to take up Information Technology studies at Angkor University. He spent two years with the Baksey Chamkrong team, impressing everyone with his speed and finishing prowess. "I'm very happy to join the club. I love playing football and I'm quite quick so this will be a great chance for me. And I can continue my studies at Norton University, so it's a great move for me," commented the youngster. Bojan Hodak is also looking forward to working with Pheng. "He's very quick and is a very interesting prospect in front of goal. We need to build up his strength, as with Sophanal, and I'm looking forward to developing him technically, tactically and physically, but he's already good for his age."

Army in command

The Army team led by Thong Udom, with red armband

The final tie of the weekend's Hun Sen Cup QFs saw the Army (Ministry of National Defense) put Kirivong in their place with a 4-1 success and keep alive their hopes of repeating last season's cup success. Without suspended top scorer In Vichheka, Kirivong had to reply on nippy frontman Chhaing Sophal to create havoc, which he did for a fine solo goal in the first half but he lacked support as the Army went onto dominate. I'm pretty sure he played for Kirivong last season under his Vietnamese name of Tran Cong Danh and with only Cambodian players able to play in the Hun Sen Cup, presumably he has a dual nationality passport. I forgot to mention that on Saturday BBU had wanted to play Srey Vesana, even though he is on the books of a Thai team, Loei City, for this coming season. They didn't, which avoided making a mockery of international regulations but presumably he was on holiday in Phnom Penh and fancied a game. Anyway, back to the final cup tie of the round. On 32 minutes Pheak Rady went on one of his trademark runs down the right flank and his pinpoint cross was headed in by Keo Vannak for the opener. Ten minutes later, Rady lost possession and allowed Chhaing Sophal to go one one of his mazy, weaving runs, eluding tackles before rolling it wide of the approaching keeper to level the tie. The keeper happens to be Oum Vichet who looks to be another great find by the Army team who consistently produce the best young keepers in the country.
Though the game lacked the spark of the other cup ties, the Army strengthened their grip on the match on the hour when Rady repeated his cross-on-the-run move and Vannak was again waiting to rise high and head home his second goal. Two minutes later and the result was all over bar the shouting. Touch Sokheng fed Ploung Chanthou and he squeezed his shot inside the near post. I got bored with noting all the substitutions before Chhin Chhoeurn brought me back to life with a glorious thirty yard effort that sailed into the net in the first minute of injury time to provide Army with a 4-1 success and the right to meet BBU in the semi-finals.

Kirivong missed their suspended top scorer In Vichheka

A look at the game under the weakened floodlights

Less profile please

Naga in yellow, 3-2 winners over the Police

Referees are supposed to get through a game without being noticed but in Cambodia that's rarely the case. Instead, anyone would think they wanted to be the center of attention based on their propensity to flash their colourful cards at all and sundry and to make game changing decisions that few on and off the field agree with. Thong Chankethya irritated both sides in Saturday's Crown versus BBU match, only for his colleague Yien Kivatanak, to do exactly the same the following day, as Naga Corp scraped through 3-2 over National Police Commissary. But it shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone who watched the C-League last season as these two referees were the busiest of the card-happy officials, with Chankethya managing to pull-off the award as the best referee of the campaign, which I must admit caused me a few chortles out loud. Anyway back to Kivatanak, who I believe is the son of one of the football federation officials, and his determination to spend his evening writing reports, having booked 7 players in the Naga and Police teams as well as giving an early bath to two Police players, Touch Pancharong and Sophal Udom. Did it impact on the result? - of course it did with the game all square at 1-1 after the end of regulation time, Naga had nosed ahead in the 2nd minute of extra-time before Pancharong was shown a straight red for kicking out at Sun Sovannrithy on 103 minutes, though at the time I thought it was accidental. Sovannrithy had moments before kicked the ball away when Kivatanak blew for a Police free-kick and Pancharong was already swinging his leg to take the kick quickly when he caught the Naga man, who went down as though he'd been shot. The referee wasted no time in flashing the red card. Afterwards, I asked Pancharong if he meant to kick the player and he said he was just trying to take a quick free-kick as his team were behind. The 2nd red card was for a 2nd cautionable offence when Sophal Udom went nose to nose with a linesman over a throw-in and Kivatanak responded to the linesman's flag-waving with a yellow card, followed by a red. At least Udom didn't hit the referee this time as he did last season.
This Hun Sen Cup quarter-final was all Naga early doors and Kop Isa opened the scoring on 34 minutes with a neat finish from Teab Vathanak's cute pass. The Police team, who will be new boys in the C-League this coming season, came close near the break but Naga kept the lead until 57 minutes when Sophal Udom's shot got a wicked deflection off a prostrate Om Thavrak and looped over the flailing arms of Mak Theara in goal for 1-1. Sun Sovannrithy got on the pitch before the leveller for his first game in months and gave the Naga attack some fresh impetus, twice going close to restoring their lead. Full-time came with the scores still level though most of the players must've been tired through all the play-acting and rolling around the floor they'd put us through in the 90 minutes. The two teams of stretcher-bearers must've been knackered. Just two minutes into extra-time, Teab Vathanak ducked low to head Meas Channa's near post cross past keeper Chanraksmey before referee Kivatanak took a hand in proceedings to issue two red cards to leave Police without a hope. That was compounded when Vathanak broke away in time added on and fed Chhim Sambo, who rounded the keeper and rolled his shot in to make it 3-1. A final flourish from the Police saw Ieng Tine lash in a drive after Long Nasy had struck the post for a consolation, only for Kivatanak to blow for full-time before the game could restart. Naga's prize for the victory is to meet Preah Khan Reach in next weekend's semi-final.

National Police Commissary lost out narrowly

Referee Yien Kivatanak concentrates on getting the pre-game toss-up correct, watched by the captains

Laboravy on song

Preah Khan Reach in all red

Everyone expected Preah Khan Reach to dominate Prek Pra Keila in the first of the Hun Sen Cup quarter-finals on Saturday and that's how it turned out after PKR finally overcame some stubborn resistance. In fact Prek Pra took the lead on 7 minutes when Sok Rithy slipped leaving Mat Hasan to cut inside his marker and fire in a bobbling shot that took a wicked bounce over the outstretched arm of Ouk Mic to give the underdogs a shock lead. They looked like carrying the advantage into the interval before Khuon Laboravy, who is making this tournament a personal goalscoring crusade, netted an equaliser on 40 minutes. PKR's Moul Daravorn caught everyone out with an early cross except Laboravy who has a nose for goal these days and he fired his drive into the roof of the net with some aplomb. There was still time for Prek Pra's Sos Souhana to blast high and wide from just eight yards as the referee blew his whistle for half-time.
PKR applied the pressure as the 2nd half began and on 57 minutes Tum Saray robbed a defender and slid the ball under the onrushing Yok Ary for their second goal. Prek Pra committed suicide by pushing too high up the pitch leaving way too much space between their last defender and the keeper, and Preah Khan exploited their defensive game plan. With 73 minutes on the clock, Saray fed Phanny Y Ratha and he lobbed his shot over Ary to put PKR firmly in the driving seat. Two more goals from Khuon Laboravy in injury time sealed the result at 5-1 in Preah Khan's favour and put him on 19 goals for the tournament, way ahead of anyone else. Suon Veasna sent Laboravy clear and he finished with the confidence of a man in form for his 2nd goal and then rounded off his hat-trick with a gorgeous half-volley after Chea Samnang's effort rebounded to him off the cross-bar. At the moment, the national team striker can do no wrong. PKR would meet the winners of the Naga v National Police game in next week's semi-final.

The youthful Prek Pra Keila teamPKR goalscorer Phanny Y Ratha

Kicking every ball

PPCFC starting line-up v BBU. [Back Row LtoR] Sophana, Tiny, Bunchhay, Dara, Sothearith [Front row] Pheng, Narong, Narith, Sokumpheak, Ratana, Chaya

Phnom Penh Crown have just signed three new players but first things first, that Hun Sen Cup quarter-final defeat against BBU on Saturday. To say everyone at the club is gutted is an understatement. Even though Crown dominated the match, enjoyed more possession and better goal opportunities, they couldn't put the cup tie to bed, even when BBU went down to 10-men, and paid a heavy price for not converting their penalty kicks. You knew exactly what it meant to BBU with all their jumping around and hollering, they never believed they could beat Crown but when Chhun Sothearath's penalty kick hit the back of the net, their wildest dreams came true. The first half of regular time was easily the highlight of the tie. Four goals and both times that Crown got their noses in front, BBU didn't give them a chance to consolidate their lead with quick-fire equalisers. A Sun Sopanha free-kick sailed inches wide and Kouch Sokumpheak's weak shot was cleared off the goal-line before Phoung Narong guided home a half-volley from the edge of the box on 12 minutes to give Crown the lead. Chan Chaya's header from Sopanha's corner was blocked and cleared only for Narong to whip his nicely-executed shot over everyone's head and into the net.

Referee Thong Chankethya was a busy man in the middle, as he usually is. He booked nine players, flashed one red card and made some crucial decisions that impacted on the cup tie, as he usually does. One of those came on 19 minutes when he adjudged Phoung Narong's ankle-tap on Heng Sokly as deliberate and Nuth Sinoun stepped up to score from the resultant penalty kick to level the scores. Crown got their noses in front again on 31 minutes when Tieng Tiny's challenge on Rim Bunhieng saw the ball spin out to Sok Pheng and he aimed a left-foot drive into the gaping net. Just two minutes later, BBU netted their second leveller when Chan Veasna's corner to the near post caught the knee of Prum Puthsethy and spun over the head of a bewildered Peng Bunchhay to rest in the Crown net. Chankethya ended the half with two more bookings, taking his first-half tally to half a dozen.

The second half of the game was devoid of action in comparison to the first. One of two major talking points came on 55 minutes when Chan Chaya went down theatrically under a challenge from In Virak in the BBU penalty area. Referee Chankethya rushed to the spot only to brandish a yellow card at Chaya, despite the protestations of his teammates. As extra-time loomed, BBU stopper Hem Simay raced out of his area, clattered into Suong Virak and left the referee with no option but to flash a red card. At least he got that one right. In extra-time, the BBU coach called his players to the touchline as one of the four floodlight pylons failed and a corner of the pitch was in semi-darkness, but order was restored after a discussion amongst the match officials, and play resumed. Kouch Sokumpheak had two chances to put Crown ahead in extra-time but was foiled by substitute keeper Sos Proshim for the first, and then powered a shot an inch past the upright two minutes from the end.

With 120 minutes failing to produce a decisive winning goal, the tie went down to penalty kicks. Here's how the drama unfolded. Tieng Tiny stepped up and arrowed his spot-kick into the bottom left-hand corner (1-0). Peng Bunchhay then saved Chan Veasna's penalty at the foot of the post but referee Chankethya made another of his game changing decisions and ordered the kick to be retaken. Veasna scored (1-1). Kouch Sokumpheak kept his cool and guided his kick into the same corner as Tiny (2-1). BBU sub Ung Marady went for power and whacked his shot in off the underside of the bar (2-2). Crown's San Narith maintained his composure and also found the corner of the net (3-2). BBU drew level again when Nhim Sovannara rifled his drive into the roof of the net (3-3). Another substitute, Suong Virak calmly stroked his spot-kick into the right-hand corner (4-3). Former Crown striker Heng Sokly then watched in despair as Bunchhay dived full length to thwart his kick (4-3). Sun Sopanha had the chance to win it for Crown but his drilled shot went straight at Proshim (4-3). Oum Chandara drew the scores level again with a well-placed drive into the corner (4-4) and the penalty drama went into sudden death. Chan Chaya needed to score to keep Crown's hopes alive but he too aimed his kick down the middle and Proshim saved easily against his former teammate (4-4). It was left to BBU skipper Chhun Sothearath to send Bunchhay the wrong way and net the winning spot-kick for his team (4-5), sparking jubilant celebrations amongst the BBU players and coaching staff that were only cut short when the stadium floodlights were switched off.

Crown line-up: Bunchhay, Dara, Narith, Sothearith (Vanthan 100), Tiny, Narong, Sopanha, Chaya, Ratana (Rathanak 77), Pheng (Virak 57), Sokumpheak. Subs not used: Visokra, Sovan, Sophat, Bunna.
Goals: Narong (12), Pheng (31). Penalties scored: Tiny, Sokumpheak, Narith, Virak.

I caught up with Crown head coach Bojan Hodak after the game and he had this to say. "I thought we started the game well. BBU can play good football but we didn't allow them to play at all. We scored both of our goals from set pieces which we have been practicing, but a lack of concentration allowed BBU back into the game on two occasions. We scored and then mentally we relaxed, and this is something we will learn from. We restricted them to two opportunities, one was the penalty from a counter-attack and the other from a corner. We were nervous in the final third and our final pass was missing from much of the game.
The 2nd half was an ugly affair, with both teams failing to find any rhythm in the final third of the pitch. We had more possession and then in extra-time, we dominated with the extra man, we had the ball all the time but a lack of movement and a poor final pass meant the game went to penalties. And with penalties, it can go either way; its down to mental strength and character. We certainly didn't perform to our best but overall we were the better team, we dominated the game, so its disappointing to go out of the cup. I don't see that it's so critical, we've made lots of changes for the new season, we still lack a little strength in depth which we will address and half of our team were affected by the national team trip to Macau, though we wish BBU well in the next round, they work hard, defend well and held on to win it at the death."

Thul Sothearith leads out the Crown team against BBU

The Crown bench moments before kick-off

Referee Thong Chankethya checking his palm as the captains face up

The BBU starting line-up with penalty hero Chhun Sothearath in the middle of the front row

Crown coach Bojan Hodak watches San Narith (yellow) and Sok Pheng warm-up

Chan Dara (yellow) and Sok Pheng in pre-match action

The Crown players acknowledge the audience before they warm-up

Naga and Army triumph

Continuing the theme of goalscorers minus their shirt, this is Keo Vannak, who netted twice for the Army against Kirivong today

The second day of quarter-finals in the Hun Sen Cup went pretty much as expected, with Naga Corp and the Army going through to set up a Naga versus Preah Khan Reach and BBU v Army semi-finals next week. For Naga, they squeezed past a depleted National Police Commissary side who finished the game with nine men and still managed to give Naga a run for their money. There was so much going on I was running out of ink in my biro. Kop Isa gave Naga the lead just after the half-hour mark with Sophal Udom levelling in the 2nd half. The game went to extra time and Teab Vathanak ducked low to head Naga in front, with sub Chhim Sambo rounding the keeper to score in time added on, only for Ieng Tine to rattle one in to leave the final score at 3-2 in Naga's favour. By that time, the Police had Touch Pancharong and Sophal Udom sent off for kicking and standing nose to nose with the linesman, respectively. Naga deserved their win and it was good to see Sun Sovanrithy back in action as he pepped up the Naga offensive when he joined the action in the 2nd half.
In the 2nd game of the day, the Army (which is preferable to the rather long-winded Ministry of National Defense) were too strong for Kirivong, who really missed their top scorer In Vichheka, out through suspension. Keo Vannak scored two identical headers, both from Pheak Rady crosses, Plong Chanthou and Chhin Chhoeurn netting the other goals as Army strolled through a pretty dull encounter to win 4-1. Kirivong's Chhaing Sophal weaved his way through to level the scores in the 1st half though I'm sure he played last season under his Vietnamese name of Tran Cong Danh. Not sure how that works as the Hun Sen Cup is for Cambodian players only. Though we had fun and games yesterday when BBU wanted to play Srey Vesana, even though he is on the books of a Thai team this season. Presumably he was on holiday in Phnom Penh and fancied a game. If Cambodia is expected to be taken seriously amongst the football fraternity, they really need to sort themselves out and do things by the book, the international one that is, not their own in-house version. More from both games in a future post.

Crown go down

Chhun Sothearath, minus his shirt, moments after scoring the winning penalty for BBU against Phnom Penh Crown

Would you Adam and Eve it? Their first big test of the new season and Phnom Penh Crown were found wanting when they came a cropper this afternoon at the hands of a cock-a-hoop Build Bright United in the Hun Sen Cup quarter-final. It went down to penalty-kicks after the two teams drew 2-2 after extra time but it was the students who kept their nerve as the pressure mounted and they edged it 5-4 to go through to the semis. Not enough hours in the day to write full match reports from yesterday's games, though I will post them later tonight; in the meantime, Preah Khan Reach put Prek Pra to the sword with a 5-1 win, with that man Khuon Laboravy netting a hat-trick to take his Hun Sen Cup tally to 19 goals. Tum Saray and Phanny Y Ratha also scored for PKR after Mat Hasan had given Prek Pra an early lead. Pretty one-sided though Prek Pra were made to pay dearly for pushing up too far and leaving themselves exposed at the back. In the 2nd match, Crown dominated possession but couldn't create enough chances, or take the ones they did create, to stamp their authority over BBU. The students defended well, rebuffed Crown's advances, held on for dear life when they went down to 10-men in regular time injury-time with the dismissal of keeper Hem Simay and won the lottery that is penalty kicks. Crown will be kicking themselves that they didn't force home their advantage and the first major shock of the cup competition is that Crown won't make the final for the 4th successive year. Crown twice went ahead through Phoung Narong and Sok Pheng but were reined in by goals from Nuth Sinoun (penalty) and Prum Puthsethy. When it came down to the penalties, Sun Sopanha and Chan Chaya had their spot-kicks saved by former Crown stopper Sos Proshim and BBU were the ones jumping around for joy when Chhun Sothearath whacked home his winning penalty and the lights at the Olympic Stadium were turned off. A lot more from both games to follow.

Awaiting cup news

Winning the domestic Metfone C-League Championship last season has qualified Phnom Penh Crown for the AFC President's Cup competition this season, the 3rd occasion that Crown will represent Cambodia. There was newspaper talk of Cambodia hosting some of the competition's games this time around and that's still an iron in the fire as far as I know, pending the official draw for the group stages that will be held on 14 March in Kuala Lumpur. Teams from 12 member associations – Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, Chinese Taipei, Kyrgyzstan, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Palestine, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan - will be taking part in three groups at the initial stage. The top two teams in each group qualify for the six team finals, which were hosted by Myanmar last season. The previous occasions that Crown have competed in the AFC President's Cup began in 2005, losing in the opening road of games despite a 2-1 success over Pakistan champions WAPDA. And in 2009 Crown earned themselves many plaudits despite two defeats and a win over Bhutan’s Yeedzin, which was not enough to secure passage to the second round of the Cup.

Halfway house

It's encouraging for Cambodian football that the senior national team have qualified for next month's AFC Challenge Cup group matches. However, the four group competition of sixteen teams in total is actually the final qualifying round of the Challenge Cup before the tournament proper will be held with eight teams, sometime in 2012. Cambodia have been drawn in Group C and will play against the Maldives (20 Mar), Tajikistan (23 Mar) and Kyrgyzstan (25 Mar), with all the games taking place in Male, in the Maldives. Three months later, at the end of June, there will be two World Cup 2014 qualification knock-out matches to be played as well, though details aren't yet firmed-up and to who and where. I'm presuming that the Football Federation in Cambodia will arrange for a break in the Metfone C-League season to accommodate these World Cup matches.
In the meantime, let's take a quick look at the future of football in Cambodia, which lies in the youth. The next level down from the senior team are the Under-23s, who enter the SEA Games every two years and who will be looking to fare better in Indonesia this December, than they did in Laos in 2009. So it's perhaps a mite disappointing that Cambodia haven't entered an Under-23 team in the AFF U-23 Championship that will be held in Indonesia in July, a tournament which will include the likes of the host country, Singapore, Philippines, Myanmar and Timor Leste. Admittedly, it would've meant taking eligible players away from the C-League competition but there is always a price to pay for giving players the right level of exposure at international level. That also applies at Under-19 level too. Myanmar will host the AFF U-19 Championship in September this year and Cambodia will be noticeable by their absence, as they were in the AFC U-19 Championships last year. The usual suspects will be there including Thailand, Vietnam and Laos. On a positive note, the country's Under-16s will be donning the red jerseys in Laos for the AFF U-16 Championships between 7-17 July in a group alongside Myanmar, Vietnam, Singapore and Philippines. No easy ride for our youngsters.

Looking ahead to the weekend

The quarter-finals of the Hun Sen Cup are fast approaching. With two games on Saturday and another two on Sunday, we'll soon know the semi-finalists with Phnom Penh Crown, Preah Khan, Naga and Kirivong my favourites to progress. In the 1st quarter-final, Preah Khan take on Prek Pra Keila at the Olympic Stadium at 2pm on Saturday, with Crown facing Build Bright United at 4.30pm. The next day, Naga and the Police Commissary do battle at 2pm, followed by Kirivong Sok Sen Chey's clash with the Army. The semi's will be held on 5 March and the final on Saturday 12 March, just in time for the national team to get together ahead of their three AFC Challenge Cup group games in the Maldives, that begin on 20 March.
If last season's form is anything to go by, then the tie of the quarter-finals is Crown against BBU. Both teams have made improvements to their squad in the off season with Kouch Sokumpheak spearheading the Crown attack, a winner of the Hun Sen Cup whilst with Khemara as well as collecting two Golden Boot awards as the competition's top scorer. He certainly has the pedigree to handle the big occasion, as do his experienced teammates. With Khim Borey having moved onto play in the Thai Premier League without kicking a ball in anger for Crown, Sokumpheak's likely partner is his national team colleague Sok Pheng. One face missing from the squad through injury will be the experienced campaigner Chea Virath, though its likely that Army recruit Suong Virak will get the all-clear to make his first appearance in a Crown jersey.
Crown coach Bojan Hodak is quietly confident. "We'll approach this like every other match, we take this competition very seriously and we will go out to win. BBU are one of the best teams in the cup, they finished 2nd in the league last season, so they must have good players but I'm confident that if we play up to our level, that we can win." Crown recently met BBU in a pre-season friendly with Hodak brushing aside the result; "We beat them 3-1 in a friendly but that doesn't count. I know they have good players in Bunheang, Sothearath, Puthsethy and Sinoun. However, I have confidence in my players and if we perform to our standard, we can beat anyone. We can't take anything for granted though as the cup is a tough competition because you don't have a right to an off-day or to be unlucky, or else you can get knocked out."
BBU, who led the Metfone C-League for large chunks of last season before falling to Preah Khan in the play-off semi-final, eventually claimed 3rd spot with a penalty-kick victory over Naga Corp. In the Summer they added striker Heng Sokly to their ranks, once the striker left Crown at the end of last season after netting six times. Their youthful exuberance served them well last season and they will be looking to strike an early blow against the cup favourites on Saturday.

Keeping in shape

Crown line-up: [back row, LtoR] Sothearith, Dara, Obadin, Visokra, Njoku, Vanthan [front row] Pheng, Narong, Virak, Sophat, Chaya

To keep in shape for their pending Hun Sen Cup quarter-final against Build Bright next weekend, Phnom Penh Crown yesterday faced the African All Stars XI, at their Tuol Kork training ground. Crown held back their national team players, fresh back from their AFC Challenge Cup qualification game in Macau, to give their squad players more match experience against a strong and tactically aware African line-up. Chan Chaya netted on 25 minutes to put Crown ahead, though they were pegged back on half-time by a debatable penalty award, scored by Paris. On 70 minutes an own goal put Crown ahead again before a mix-up in defence five minutes later, allowed Adobayo to score to end the game at 2-2. Coach Bojan Hodak was satisfied. "It was a good game, we showed good physical fitness and it was a good learning game for our younger boys. I put the national players on for the last thirty minutes and we really dominated." Crown gave more game-time to the Stung Treng duo of Hok Sochivorn and skipper Kim Sophanal as well as bringing on young striker Hong Pheng from Siem Reap-based Baksey Chamkrong, who did well in the Hun Sen Cup group matches last month.

Crown starting line-up: Visokra (Bunchhay 45), Dara (Sovan 70), Vanthan (Narith 65), Sothearith (Sochivorn 45), Obadin (Tiny 65); Narong (Sophanal 43), Sophat (Sopanha 65), Virak (Ratana 45), Chaya (Rathanak 75); Njoku (Sokumpheak 65), S Pheng (H Pheng 70).