Midweek activity

There are two more Metfone C-League games this afternoon at Olympic Stadium. The Army meet new boys Rithysen at 2pm, with my money, what little there is, on the military team to win this one. Even though their team has been decimated over the close season with the loss of key players like Khim Borey, Sin Dalin, Nov Soseila and so on, they still keep churning them out like the very promising goalkeeping prospect Oum Vichet, who will be battling it out with one of the country's very best, Sou Yaty, for the number 1 spot this season. By the way, how Yaty isn't in the national team I don't know. With the early kick-off I expect the game to be played at walking pace, as the heat makes life very difficult for the players. Rithysen are based in Kompong Chhnang and were runners-up in the Division 1A qualifiers. It will be interesting to see how they fare as they meet champions Phnom Penh Crown in their 2nd match on Sunday. In the 4pm kick-off, Build Bright United will meet the Sea Sharks of Chhlam Samuth, who are effectively the former Navy team, and who scraped through to the top flight courtesy of a play-off success when Khemara decided to pull out at the last minute, just before the season began. BBU are on a run, even though they were halted by Preah Khan in the recent Hun Sen Cup Final, and I expect them to win comfortably with Chhun Sothearath pulling the strings in midfield. For Chhlam Samuth, the baptism of teenage keeper Hel Udom will be interesting to watch, as he's also tipped for great things.

Trial by replay

Ah, football television replays, don't you just love them. I've now had the opportunity to study closely and numerous times the 4 penalty incidents that were waved aside by referee Thong Chankethya (pictured), in the Phnom Penh Crown v Preah Khan match on Saturday. All four incidents were against Crown and were caught on film by the live TVK cameras who covered the season's opening match. Unfortunately, they don't have multiple camera angles or slow-motion to really get up close and intimate with the action, but for two of the incidents, it's clear to me that the referee got it badly wrong. The other two are inconclusive from the television coverage, so for those the official gets the benefit of the doubt.
Incident 1: 18 minutes. Crown striker Kingsley Njoku took on the Preah Khan defence and as he shaped to go past Suon Thuon, the last man, Sok Rithy raced back and brushed against Kingsley, sending him sprawling inside the box. His fall wasn't automatic and I think that may have swayed the referee's decision not to award anything.
Incident 2: 41 minutes. Kouch Sokumpheak's lofted ball into the box sailed over Njoku's head and appeared to strike the hand of the last defender Nen Sothearoth. The referee awarded a corner though he may've been blindsided by the player's body obscuring his view. The immediate shouts from two Crown players close to the action told him otherwise.
Incident 3: 57 minutes. Chan Chaya took on the last defender in the penalty area, slipping the ball through the legs of Nen Sothearoth and was pushed over by the PKR man as he tried to go past him. Clear penalty. Chaya's fall was a mite theatrical but it should have been a spot kick. Instead Chaya was booked for simulation. So a double-whammy cock-up by the official.
Incident 4: Last but not least, Sokumpheak weaved his way into the box, surrounded by four defenders before his right leg was clipped by the recovering Nen Sothearoth (the young defender must've done something good in a former life to get so much fortune in 1 game) and the striker was sent sprawling. Chankethya waved play on, standing just five yards from the incident. It's strange that he was so close and yet he couldn't see the blatantly obvious.
So there you have it. Trial by television camera replays. 50% wrong and the other 50% inconclusive. Referee Thong Chankethya later added insult to injury by dismissing Chaya for a 2nd yellow card when he was the victim of a chest-push by Moul Daravorn. I hope the men in suits take a close look at the TVK coverage of the match and draw their own conclusions.

Big shock on day 2

National Police goalscorers, Long Nasy (9) and Say Piseth (4)

The first major shock of the new Metfone C-League has arrived pretty quickly, match number two to be precise. It pitted longtime big boys, Naga Corp with the division's newcomers, National Police Commissary and it was the boys in blue who ran out 2-1 winners this afternoon at the Olympic Stadium. It took a goal four minutes from the end by the Police lynchpin centre-half Say Piseth to ruin Naga's day after they had led from the sixth minute courtesy of the lively Chim Chum. The veteran winger played through the middle from the start and reveled in his new found freedom. However, he and his aging teammates ran out of steam in the 2nd half and after they conceded a 69th minute leveler by Long Nasy, a Police win looked on the cards. It was left to Piseth, who doubles up as the national team's center-half, to venture forward for a late free-kick and benefit from a blunder by Naga's 2nd string keeper Pich Varin Yothin to tap the ball over the line. To add insult to injury, Naga's Tiet Chandarasokha was red-carded by match referee Thong Chankethya (who officiated in the previous day's opening match) for a vicious swipe at Mann Ritavann directly in front of the main stand in the dying moments. It summed up Naga's day.

A defeat for Naga Corp in their 1st outing of the season

The National Police team recorded a 2-1 win to begin their season in style

Kirivong's 3 foreign signings this season: LtoR: Nelson Oladiji (10), Bryan Edem (25) and Berejo Muhammea (77)

In the second match of the day, it was only a matter of time before the Prek Pra Keila defence was going to be breached and the major surprise was that it took until the hour mark for that to happen. Kirivong Sok Sen Chey were the stronger of the two teams throughout, though Prek Pra have a never-say-die attitude that saw them survive relegation by the skin of their teeth last season. Nonetheless, they will have to shore up what may well become a very leaky rearguard after Kirivong ran in three goals without reply in the latter third of the match. It was left to the Kirivong skipper In Vichheka to torment the Prek Pra backline and he provided a hat-trick of assists for two goals by lanky striker Nelson Oladiji, on his debut after spells with Khemara and BBU last season (where he sported a noticeable white headband last term and this time around, wore his hair in two ponytails), and a cracking 20 yarder from substitute Meak Chhordaravuth. Both teams struck the woodwork in the 1st half whilst all the goals came in the last half-hour but the victory was no more than Kirivong deserved.

Prek Pra Keila fought hard but went down to a 3-nil defeat against Kirivong

Kirivong started their campaign with a victory

From the bench

Twice Phnom Penh Crown led in their opening Metfone C-League game of the season yesterday against Preah Khan, and twice they were pegged back as the teams fought out a 2-2 draw. For Crown head coach Bojan Hodak, it was an important lesson. "Mentally, we scored a goal and then sat back. We don't yet have the mindset and know-how to kill a game off. We had more possession in the early stages but Preah Khan had more of the ball in the 2nd half. We had the much better chances, I think we had 14 shots to their four or five and of course the referee didn't give us any decisions. Preah Khan didn't surprise me, they have some good young players and our teams will probably be the best two teams, but we shall see. A crucial moment for us was the loss of Ty (Sovannrithy) as we had to make an unplanned change and he was playing well. He has a knee injury though it's too early to tell how bad it is. Kingsley, Tiny and Narith are also feeling knocks after the game."

Crown in pictures

Crown coach Bojan Hodak at the post-match television interview

A few more Phnom Penh Crown-biased pictures from today's Metfone C-League opening match that kicked-off the brand new football season here in Cambodia. The two teams expected to feature heavily at the finale, reigning champions Phnom Penh Crown and cup winners Preah Khan Reach, fought out a 2-2 draw that kept the crowd entertained for 90 minutes.

Crown scorer Kingsley Njoku receives treatment from club physio Chhin Sophorn

Some of the Crown Academy boys venting their feelings at the match

The Crown bench before kick-off

Thul Sothearith gives PKR's Ouk Mic a club pennant before the game. Nice gesture.

Kenneth Nwafor and Kingsley Njoku with a mascot just before the teams walk out

11 of the Crown Academy youngsters acted as mascots at today's game

Odion Obadin doing what he does best, heading the ball with great power

Hong Visokra getting in some catching practice before the game begins

Sun Sovannrithy before his debut for Crown, which lasted 53 minutes

Hero and villain

Thul Sothearith leads out Phnom Penh Crown (in red) this afternoon

Phnom Penh Crown's Chan Chaya proved to be both hero and villain for the reigning Metfone C-League champions, as they played out a 2-2 draw in the opening game of the new season at the Olympic Stadium. The eagerly-awaited match-up certainly produced the goals, incidents and action that everyone was hoping for, though ultimately it was a stalemate that neither team will be too happy with. Crown will feel that referee Thong Chankethya had his own agenda with a series of crucial decisions that didn't go their way, while Preah Khan will point to a looping Khuon Laboravy header that struck the post with just three minutes to go that could've won them the points. As for Chan Chaya, the fleet of foot Crown striker, employed as a wideman in his team's 4-4-2 system, he received a caution from the match referee on 57 minutes for simulation when he played the ball through the defender's legs and was body-checked, and then four minutes later rolled his shot agonizingly wide when it looked easier to score and put Crown 2-nil ahead. It cost Crown dearly as Laboravy headed the equaliser exactly a minute later. On 77 minutes, Chaya raced clear onto a Kouch Sokumpheak flick and this time kept his composure to place his shot neatly inside the far corner to restore the Crown advantage at 2-1. With five minutes remaining, a tussle with full-back Moul Daravorn, saw the PKR man barge into Chaya, who fell to the floor sparking a melee of players. Referee Chankethya deemed the incident worthy of a yellow card for both protagonists, which also meant a red card for Chaya who trudged slowly off the pitch, completely nonplussed by the decision, as was everyone else in the stadium.

The match had started well for Crown. They were ahead on six minutes when Kingsley Njoku was left all alone eight yards out to head a debut goal from a San Narith corner kick. The Nigerian import from Singapore celebrated with a triple somersault. I think he was pleased. The crowd were suitably impressed. On 18 minutes, Njoku broke into the penalty area, appeared to be tugged back by Sok Rithy and went down, only for the referee to wave his arms for play to continue. Njoku was left scratching his head. Khuon Laboravy proved to be a thorn in Crown's side and he managed to wriggle free on two occasions, only for his ground shots to be blocked both times by Crown stopper Hong Visokra. Referee Chankethya was again in the thick of it when he appeared to miss a handball by Suon Thuon, with the Crown players screaming for a penalty, only for the match official to give them a consolation corner. Njoku could've made it a double ten minutes before the half-time break, but his snatched shot was blocked by the outstretched legs of PKR keeper Ouk Mic and from the rebound, Chan Chaya's attempted lob from twenty yards just cleared the cross-bar.

An injury to Sun Sovannrithy on 53 minutes forced Crown to change their personnel, Chaya was booked for diving and then missed that sitter of a chance. Laboravy immediately rubbed salt in the wound by getting in front of his marker at the near post to head in a whipped cross from Nen Sothearoth two minutes after the hour mark. A few minutes later and Kouch Sokumpheak's mazy run into the box was halted unceremoniously but referee Chankethya was having none of it and waved play on, again. Though having a quiet game by his standards, Sokumpheak's vision and touch gave Chaya the space to run on and restore Crown's lead on 77 minutes only for Preah Khan to regain parity four minutes later. With Tieng Tiny off the pitch and receiving treatment, Laboravy took advantage of his absence and shunted to the byeline, his low center was pushed out by Visokra and in the resulting confusion, substitute Phanny Y Ratha was on hand to tap the loose ball over the goal-line to make it 2-2. There was still time for Chaya's long walk to the dressing room, for Laboravy to send his looping header against the woodwork and for Hong Ratana to fail to connect to a Sokumpheak header at the far post in stoppage time. Points were shared at the final whistle, as Chankethya left the field with his usual smirk, with steam coming out of the ears of the Crown bench and playing staff. The C-League is up and running again and it looks like goals and controversial decisions will be in plentiful supply again this season.
The Crown line-up: Visokra, Tiny (Dara 81), Sovannrithy (Sopanha 53), Obadin, Sothearith, Narith, Nwafor, Virak (Ratana 63), Chaya, Sokumpheak, Njoku. Subs not used: Bunchhay, Vanthan, Sophanal, S Pheng, H Pheng, Sophat, Sochivorn. Bookings: Tiny, Chaya, Sothearith.

The match officials. Thong Chankethya is holding the ball and staring at the camera.

The youngsters from both Crown (red) and Preah Khan line up for a friendly photo

The Preah Khan Reach line-up that started today's C-League opener

One for all, all for one in the Crown team huddle

At the final whistle, it's handshakes for the respective coaches

Bojan Hodak and his coaching team in blue, cover a few salient points at the end of today's match

Honours even

The Crown starting line-up: Back Row LtoR: Tiny, Sovannrithy, Nwafor, Visokra, Njoku, Obadin. Front Row: Virak, Narith, Sokumpheak, Chaya, Sothearith.

I'm off to a wedding party but just to put you in the picture, the honours were shared in this afternoon's opening Metfone C-League encounter with Phnom Penh Crown and Preah Khan Reach failing to grab the victory they both wanted to start the season off with a bang, instead ending the game at 2-2. Crown will feel hard done by, with referee Thong Chankethya at the center of a storm - isn't he always - as he failed to give Crown any of the four good shouts they had for penalty kicks and then sending off Chan Chaya with five minutes to go when he appeared to be the innocent party. Chankethya is regarded by the football federation as one of their best, but those with an ounce of a footballing brain know otherwise. Crown twice took the lead, through Kingsley Njoku on six minutes and Chaya with 13 minutes to go, but twice relinquished the head-start to a youthful PKR team. I'll be back later with a full run-down of today's proceedings and will be keen to watch the re-run of the game on the TVK channel to see whether Crown have a real axe to grind with the man in black.

The big kick-off

New signing Kingsley Njoku set to make his league debut for Phnom Penh Crown (pic Nick Sells)

As many as eight new players will be making their Metfone C-League debut for reigning champions Phnom Penh Crown when they kick-off the new season against their arch-rivals Preah Khan Reach in the fixture everyone wants to see, at 3pm this coming Saturday. The season's long-awaited opener will see a host of new faces for Crown, who've added no less than a dozen signings to their squad after a break-up of last season's successful championship-winning team. With new coach, Croatian-born Bojan Hodak now at the helm, and an unexpected quarter-final defeat in the pre-season Hun Sen Cup competition still rankling, Crown will want to stamp their authority from the off, and what better way than to beat the pretenders to their throne, the eventual cup winners, Preah Khan. With the Military Police-backed outfit looking to give youth its head this season, alongside the veteran faces of Ouk Mic and Sam El Nasa, Crown have instead turned to some of the Kingdom's most accomplished players to steer their path to re-capturing their league title. With top-drawer signings in the shape of striker Kouch Sokumpheak, defender Sun Sovannrithy and play-anywhere San Narith, Crown have staked their claim on the shoulders of the tried and tested, as well as adding three Nigerian imports to the mix, including Kingsley Njoku from Singaporean football, who looks destined to repeat the feats of Crown's leading scorer last term, Prince Justine, now plying his trade in Thailand. With just five teams in the C-League looking to use foreigners in their line-ups this season, the competition is set to have a much more local flavour to it and with Preah Khan relying heavily on homegrown youth, the season's opening match on Saturday is poised to provide an early inkling as to which direction the title will be heading. Crown coach Hodak will be missing winger Chim Rathanak, out with a tear in a leg muscle, while Sun Sopanha is also doubtful after picking up a knock playing for Cambodia in the AFC Challenge Cup last week against Kyrgyzstan. For PKR, coach Rith Dikar will be hoping Khuon Laboravy can maintain his golden touch in front of goal, after top-scoring with 22 goals during their team's collection of the Hun Sen Cup. With only 1 game on Saturday, the C-League's opening week 1 - which was swapped with week 9 just a few days ago by the football federation in an effort to start the season with a bang - Naga Corp will meet National Police in Sunday's top game of two, Kirivong facing Prek Pra in the other, whilst next Wednesday, BBU versus play-off winners Chhlam Samuth and new boys Rithisen against Army will provide the early season action.

Plum draw

The draw for the opening stages of the 2014 FIFA World Cup has been made in Kuala Lumpur this afternoon. It's the first qualifying round of the Asian region of the competition and Cambodia have been drawn home and away against our neighbours from Laos. There are 16 teams in the 1st qualifying round and the matches will be played, in Phnom Penh on 29 June, and in Vientiane on 3 July. On paper, according to the FIFA rankings, then Cambodia at 154th will have too much for Laos at 170th, but believe me, that won't be the case. Laos will be an extremely difficult opponent but the promise of a two-legged match against China in Round 2 will be a prize that should see both teams busting a proverbial gut to get through. China are the 76th ranked team in the world and the 5th best in Asia, so that would be a plum tie to get, with matches on 23 and 28 July. The games against Laos will be held during the mid-season break for the Metfone C-League which kicks-off this coming Saturday. The last meeting between the two countries was a goal-less draw in the Suzuki Cup in Vientiane in October last year.

Federation chicanery

It's hard to find the right words to describe the level of chicanery and jiggery-pokery unveiled by the football federation of Cambodia yesterday. Just 5 days before the start of the new Metfone C-League season, and only a week after the season's fixtures were announced, the federation have decided to re-design the opening set of games, week 1, as they call it. There was already a whiff of artificiality in the fixtures, which had paired Phnom Penh Crown and Preah Khan in the final game of the first half of the season, and then the very last match of the campaign. These two teams are expected to be the League's frontrunners this season, with Crown the reigning champions and Preah Khan having just won the Hun Sen Cup competition. With all ten C-League teams already well into planning their week 1 matches, tactically preparing their teams to face their known opponents, the federation informed them yesterday that they'd arbitrarily changed all of the week 1 matches. In their place they were substituting week 9 with week 1. So instead of Saturday's opening match between Phnom Penh Crown and Naga Corp, the federation have decided that the season opener should now be between Crown and Preah Khan (3pm), with all the other teams following suit and changing their opponents too. Mind-boggling is one way of describing it. The primitive way in which the federation's administrators run their domestic competition makes a mockery of the etiquette of football. I can't believe that any other FIFA recognized country would be quite so blatant in their wanton disregard for the most fundamental set of principles on how to administer a national league competition. My flabber is well and truly gasted.

The revised fixtures for week 1 are now:
Sat 2 Apr : Phnom Penh Crown v Preah Khan Reach (3pm)
Sun 3 Apr: Naga Corp v National Police (2pm)
Kiriviong v Prek Pra (4pm)
Wed 6 Apr: Army v Rithisen (2pm)
BBU v Chhlam Samuth (4pm)

Cheats don't prosper

Age-cheating has been taking place for many years in Asian football, especially in age group tournaments. For example random testing at past FIFA U-17 tournaments showed approximately 30% of players were deemed to be overage, so it wasn't purely an Asian problem. However, in Asia, passports are deemed unreliable (birth certificates are often unavailable), so the football authorities have gone more hi-tech and introduced MIR scans to determine age. In 2007 the Asian Football Confederation began MRI scanning after concluding that an MRI scan showing grade 6 (complete fusion of radial bone growth plate), means that the player is deemed to be older than 17 years of age with a certainty of more than 99%. Thus this test was introduced for AFC U-16 tournaments and in the first year, 10 out of 437 MRI scans showed complete fusion of the radial bone, meaning the player was overage. Sanctions were applied. In 2010 not one player was deemed overage. Congratulations to the AFC for their efforts to fight this unfair practice that had plagued Asian football for so long. I must admit to be consistently surprised at the age of some of the Cambodian players playing in the C-League over the past few seasons, but without MRI scans to counteract their age claims, we'll have to accept their ages at face value.

World Cup & C-League fever

Tomorrow (Wednesday) Cambodia will get to hear who they meet in the 1st qualifying round of the Asian section of the 2014 FIFA World Cup. 43 Asian countries are vying for the four automatic places in the finals. Cambodia, as one of the 16 lowest ranked teams in Asia, will be in one of eight two-team groups for home and away matches on 29 June and 3 July this year. Eight winners from the 1st round will join 22 higher ranked teams in round 2, again with home and away matches on 23 and 28 July. Cambodia will be hoping to reach Round 2 at least. The 16 teams, with their Asian World Cup ranking, are as follows: 28. Malaysia, 29. Afghanistan, Cambodia, 31. Nepal, 32. Bangladesh, 33. Sri Lanka, Vietnam, 35. Mongolia, 36. Pakistan, 37. Palestine, 38. Timor Leste, 39. Macau, 40. Chinese Taipei, Myanmar, 42. Laos, Philippines.
Yes, you read it right, Cambodia are ranked higher than Vietnam and Philippines. The former is a quirk of the ranking system, whilst the Philippines, who reached the semis of the Suzuki Cup in December and then last week progressed to the AFC Challenge Cup finals with a 3-0 win over Bangladesh, believe they may well draw Cambodia in the World Cup qualifiers. We shall see. The 1st round of the World Cup qualifiers falls during the mid-season break in the Metfone C-League, which is handy, though leaves little time for preparation of the national squad.

Talking of the C-League, it all kicks-off again this coming Saturday (2 April) when Phnom Penh Crown meet Naga Corp in the season's opening fixture at the Olympic Stadium (start 3pm). I'm eagerly awaiting that one. The football federation have changed their minds again and have scrapped the so-called Super 4 Play-offs at the end of the season, preferring instead to stick to the tried and tested first past the finishing post. The C-League were one of only a few leagues in the world who used the play-off system to determine their champions, a practice that I'm vehemently opposed to. FFC spokesperson May Tola said; "We are doing away with the play-offs. The team emerging at the top of the league table [at the end of the season] will get the champions tag." Apparently they bowed to pressure from the clubs themselves. Phnom Penh Crown have seen both sides of the play-off coin, so to speak. In 2009 they topped the league after the regular season but finished 4th in the play-offs. Last season, they flopped to 4th in the league but won the championship via the play-offs. This season they are aiming to be in top spot come the end of the season in early September.

Students well beaten

Crown v BBU: Back Row LtoR: C Dara, Nwafor, Narith, Visokra, Obadin, Sothearith. Front Row: Virak, H Pheng, Sovannrithy, Njoku, Chaya

Phnom Penh Crown warmed up for the start of the Metfone C-League season next week, in more ways than one. Not only did they sizzle in front of goal, especially in the 2nd half, to beat the students from Build Bright United 5-1, but the game descended into chaos when Nuth Sinoun punched Thul Sothearith in the face and Sothearith retaliated. In the melee, the referee called the teams off and then back on again, brandishing the red card to both players. The match had already been a bad-tempered affair especially a tackle by Rim Bunhieng on Kingsley Njoku that would've earned him a court appearance in the UK for GBH. As Njoku lay in a heap following the thigh-high karate kick, Bunhieng walked over to him and kicked him in the shoulder as he lay there. The referee just about managed to show him a yellow card before the BBU bench pulled the deranged defender off the field. Crown began the game like a train and took a 7th minute lead when San Narith's corner deceived everyone as it spun across the six-yard box where Sun Sovannrithy was awake to poke it past the attempted block of Hem Simay. Young recruit Hong Pheng will be kicking himself that he failed to get on the scoresheet in the 1st half. Twice he outfoxed Simay but both times his shot was cleared off the line and a third, a chip, was held by the veteran keeper. Kingsley Njoku was also wasteful, firing a flying bicycle kick just inches high and rolling another chance the wrong side of the post. On 38 minutes, BBU nicked an equalizer when Odion Obadin was adjudged to have handled and Oum Chandara tucked away the penalty kick, sending Hong Visokra the wrong way. There was just enough time for Rim Bunhieng's moment of madness on Njoku before the referee signalled the end of round one.
Njoku and Pheng both had opportunities after the restart, as did Chan Chaya, but Sos Proshim was equal to them in the BBU goal. However, he had no answer as Crown hit the students with a flurry of goals, four in fact, in just 7 minutes. On 69 minutes, Hong Ratana was thwarted by Proshim but Kingsley Njoku picked up the loose ball, took it round four static defenders and walloped the ball under the keeper from ten yards for a great individual goal. Three minutes later, Njoku won a tackle, fired in a low shot which Proshim could only fingertip into the path of Hok Sochivorn, who made no mistake from a few yards out. On 74 minutes, Sochivorn and Ratana combined to set up Sovannrithy who finished with a low drive under Proshim's dive. Chan Chaya completed the rout a couple of minutes later when he powered in a far post header from Njoku's inch-perfect cross. Crown were 5-1 up and coasting.
With just five minutes remaining it all went a bit haywire. Nuth Sinoun punched Thul Sothearith in the cheek, the Crown skipper hit back and a free-for-all ensued. The BBU bench waved their players off, the referee lost the plot before order was restored, the players returned five minutes later and both culprits were given an early bath. The game ended soon after with Crown getting a tinge of revenge for the Hun Sen Cup quarter-final defeat by the students a few weeks earlier, though more importantly, it was the type of game Crown coach Bojan Hodak was looking for before the season opener next Saturday against Naga. Crown line-up: Visokra, Dara, Sovannrithy (Vanthan 85), Obadin, Sothearith, Narith, Nwafor (Narong 45), Chaya (Sophat 90), Virak (Ratana 55), H Pheng (Sochivorn 61), Njoku (Sophanal 85). Subs not used; K Dara, Sovan.

Sun Sovannrithy, two more goals for Crown in his 2nd game

Kingsley Njoku rounds BBU keeper Hem Simay but scuffs his shot inches wide

Chan Chaya during shooting practice with Hok Sochivorn monitoring progress

Head Coach Bojan Hodak's pre-match instructions

The BBU students were focused more on fighting than football

Defeat in thriller

Cambodia line-up: [Back Row LtoR]: Mic, Nasa, Tiny, S Rithy, Pheng, Sopanha. [Front Row]: Rady, Sothearith, Pancharong, Sokumpheak, PM Udom

Cambodia ended their Group C games in the AFC Challenge Cup tonight with a bang, going down 4-3 to the former Russian Republic of Kyrgyzstan. Head coach Lee Tae-Hoon tinkered with his starting line-up again and for this consolation rubber, made five changes from the previous match. The game started badly as usual, with Cambodia allowing their opponents to gain the upper hand with a goal from Aziz Sydykov after just 4 minutes. On the back foot again. A headed goal from Kouch Sokumpheak on 38 minutes looked likely to take the teams in level at the interval until a Rustem Usanov header in time added on gave the Kyrgyz the advantage at the break. Not to be outdone, Sokumpheak stepped up to the mark again, 3 minutes into the 2nd half to level it at 2-2. In what sounds like an intriguing encounter, there was some controversy over the third Kyrgyz goal on 79 minutes by substitute Cholponbek Esenkul and the same player netted again 5 minutes later to put them firmly in front. A Sok Rithy header 2 minutes from time caused some flutters but Cambodia couldn't find a way back and succumbed 4-3 at the final whistle. Cambodia's team: Mic, Rady, Pancharong (T Udom 84), S Rithy, Tiny, Sopanha (Veasna 75), Sothearath, PM Udom, Sokumpheak, Nasa, Pheng (Laboravy 48). Subs not used: Bunchhay, Piseth, C Rithy, Chhoeurn. Attendance: 1,000.
After the match, coach Lee offered these pearls of wisdom to the assembled press. "Compared to the previous two games, we played very well tonight. That's sign of improvement. We had just four days to practice together before travelling to the Maldives. We failed to score in the last two games but tonight we scored, which is good." Can someone remind the coach that he had the players together for months, not days, prior to this competition. Also, you need to score goals to win any game, but if he paid more attention to his team's defending and not conceding early goals, then that would be the starting point. In each of the three games Cambodia gave themselves a mountain to climb by letting in very early goals, something which the coach fails to mention. The Kyrgyz camp had a different take on the game. Murat, their assistant coach said; "We made so many changes for this game. Though we won, we are not happy with the result and the performance. Cambodia tried hard and they scored from every chance they created." Earlier in the evening, hosts Maldives drew 0-0 with Tajikistan to claim top spot in the group on goal difference. Both teams progress through to the finals next year. Cambodia do not.

New boys on the block Neftchi

Likely to be Phnom Penh Crown's toughest opponents when the AFC President's Cup roadshow comes to Cambodia in May, Neftchi Kochkor-Ata from the former Russian Republic of Kyrgyzstan are essentially a brand new club. They only came into being in their present form in February 2010, just before the start of the six-team Kyrgyz championship campaign. Taking everyone by surprise, they captured the league title by a point to bring to an end the six-year domination of the championship by Dordoi-Dynamo (twice winners of the President's Cup themselves). The Neftchi team, who missed out on the double by losing the cup final to Dordoi-Dynamo 3-0, is composed of players who didn't make it at the other top Kyrgyz teams as well as striker Taalai Dzhumataev, who top scored with 15 goals, having arrived from provincial side Kambar-Ata last year. Their veteran goalkeeper Zakir Djalilov feels that the AFC President’s Cup will give much-needed exposure to their young side. “Our team is still too young and participation in international tournaments will help us gain necessary experience. It’s always good to start with such an important event.” Russian coach Alexander Krestinin’s charges are preparing for the season by taking part in the CIS Cup, where they lost all three matches, and some friendlies. However, they recently defeated the Kyrgyzstan national team 2-0. Neftchi, which translates roughly as 'the Oilers', hail from Kochkor-Ata, a dusty little oil-producing town in Kyrgyzstan's southwest Jalal-Abad province. The Kyrgyz Republic was formed in 1991 upon the break-up of Russia. Crown have previously faced Kyrgyz opponents on two occasions in the AFC President's Cup, meeting Dordoi-Dynamo both times, in 2005 and 2009, losing 6-1 and 3-1 respectively.

Tasting defeat

Cambodia v Tajikistan; Back Row LtoR: Soksana, C Rithy, Bunchhay, S Rithy, Laboravy, Tiny. Front Row: Rady, Sothearath, Veasna, Pancharong, Sokumpheak

Can you adam and eve it? Cambodia went behind to another goal in the 1st minute against Tajikistan tonight in their AFC Challenge Cup Group C tie. Needing a win to have a real chance to stay in the hunt for a place in the finals, Cambodia had a case of deja vu after Maldives scored in the 1st minute of their match two days ago. In their recurring nightmare, Nuriddin Davronov netted from close range for the former Russian republic, who won their first match against Kyrgyzstan. Two more goals in the last ten minutes killed off Cambodia's challenge, as they went down 3-0. Davronjon Ergashev netted after 82 minutes and then Ibragim Rabimov scored a third with a couple of minutes remaining. Cambodia's coach Lee Tae-Hoon made no less than six changes from the starting line-up he chose in the 1st game, as he responded to the dismal showing. However, his new plan didn't work out either as the group favourites always had the upper hand and came on strong as the game wore on. Two defeats in two games leaves Cambodia out of contention, with just a consolation game against Kyrgyzstan to come on Friday. The only player he hasn't used so far is the Army's Thong Udom, so he will definitely get a game in that one. The Cambodia line-up was: Bunchhay, Rady, Pancharong, Tiny, S Rithy, Sothearath (Sopanha 67), Veasna, Soksana (Pheng 56), C Rithy, Laboravy, Sokumpheak (Chhoeurn 77). Subs not used: Mic, Raksmey, Piseth, T Udom, PM Udom, El Nasa. Attendance 550. Earlier in the day, hosts Maldives scored another success with a 2-1 win over the Kyrg team to book their place in the finals.

It's official

Signing on the dotted line for Phnom Penh Crown FC

The Asian Football Confederation take things very seriously. Phnom Penh Crown and the Cambodian Football Federation will host the AFC President's Cup in May and six matches will be played at the Olympic Stadium here in Phnom Penh over a period of five days beginning 21 May. The President's Cup is for AFC's emerging nations and the country champions from Cambodia, obviously, as well as Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Kyrgyzstan will meet in Phnom Penh. It's one of the most important football competitions ever to be held here. To prepare for the tournament, all the club officials with Crown must submit a copy of their passport, a copy of their signed contract and any certificates confirming their qualifications, where applicable. They haven't asked for our shoe sizes yet but I'm convinced they will. Hence the picture above is me signing my contract with Crown as their media officer. It's a really exciting time to be associated with the football club as the president and everyone else is committed to upping the professionalism of football in Cambodia, with Crown firmly leading the way in every conceivable fashion, from the senior team to the academy boys to the backroom staff on the touchlines. We've just had confirmation that the two matches that will be played on the three matchdays during the President's Cup competition will kick-off at 2pm and 4pm.

Aftermath

I really didn't want to hear this from the Maldives camp after they comprehensively dismissed the Cambodian national team in last night's AFC Challenge Cup tie, winning 4-0. The Maldives skipper, star player and hat-trick hero, Ali Ashfaq told the press after the game: "The coach doesn't know much about us. The coach asked before the game, how we wanted to play. We told the coach, we wanted to press and play a pressured game for the first 20 minutes and to score a goal during that period. The plan worked. Now the coach would know our level of football, so he could make a plan for the next games."
The new Maldives coach, Argentinian Diego Cruciani, a former coach of Bangladesh, who's monthly salary and other expenses are paid for by Kuwait, agreed. "You should not congratulate me. All the credit goes to the players. I just had three practice sessions with the players and I don't know them very well. So I asked them before the match, how they want to face the game. They said, coach we want to win the game. We want to play a pressing game in the first few minutes. I told them, yes let's do it! So all the credit goes to them."
Does his salary as the coach go to them to I wonder? Is this player power in action? Maybe Lee Tae-Hoon would do well to ask his players how they wanted to play in the next game against Tajikistan on Wednesday in the 2nd match of Group C. And then the South Korean FA, who pay Lee's salary, can pass that onto the players. They certainly couldn't do any worse. We have to ask the question how a country of 300,000 fishermen and hotel personnel can so comprehensively beat a Cambodian team (drawn from a population of 14 million) after just three training sessions with their new coach. Lee has been in charge of the national team since August and between the unsuccessful 3-game stint in the Suzuki Cup and qualification for the current competition, he's had almost unrestricted access to his national squad for that whole period, playing a plethora of friendly games, including a 4-1 spanking by a Korean university team, and training sessions. Yet despite all that we arrive in the Maldives without key players, left behind by the coach in a fit of pique, and get another walloping, this time meted out by a team below us in the FIFA rankings. I'm not surprised as we suffered an ignominious loss to one of the region's whipping-boys in Macau as well, only scraping through 5-4 on aggregate. All in all it doesn't add up to carrying great armfuls of optimism into Wednesday's game against the strongest team in Group C from the ex-Russian republic of Tajikistan. I fear the worst. I am equally concerned that we could find ourselves out in the international wilderness with World Cup qualifying matches coming up in the middle of the year, which if we carry on in the same vein, will most likely result in the same disappointment. Cambodia are ranked in 30th place amongst the Asian qualifiers and will know their World Cup opponents on 30 March.

Sunk in the Maldives

Ali Ashfaq nets for Maldives in the 41st minute; he went onto score a hat-trick

A 1st half of woe for the Cambodia national team in Male. Maldives, the home nation in this AFC Challenge Cup Group C qualifying match scored in the 1st and the 41st minute to take a 2-nil lead into the half-time interval, in front of 8,000 spectators. From the live commentary on maldivesoccer.com it looked like the Maldives had most of the ball in the 1st 45 minutes, with Khuon Laboravy finally getting Cambodia's first shot on target in the 39th minute. Maldives took the earliest of leads when Mukhuthar Naseer netted in the opening minute from an acute angle. The worst possible start for Cambodia. With the half-time break approaching, the Maldives, through their influential skipper Ali Ashfaq scored their 2nd goal, leaving Cambodia with a mountain to climb. We did a little better in the 2nd half but two more goals from the talismanic Ali Ashfaq, in the 83rd and 87th minutes left Cambodia to lick their wounds after a 4-0 defeat. The starting line-up for Cambodia: Mic, Raksmey, Pancharong, Piseth, Tiny, Sothearath, Sopanha, PM Udom (C Rithy 74), Laboravy (Chhoeurn 45), Nasa (Pheng 44), Sokumpheak. Unused subs: Bunchhay, Rady, S Rithy, Soksana, T Udom, Veasna. The Group C favourites are Tajikistan and they beat arch-rivals and neighbours Kyrgyzstan 1-0 in the earlier kick-off, with an own goal three minutes from time.
Cambodia's South Korean coach Lee Tae-Hoon admitted his team were well beaten. "The Maldivian side were too good for us. They played superbly today. We have got some very young players and we are gaining experience from these matches. The opponents that we face in these matches are very good and it's a good experience for the players. They would learn from the mistakes they did today and hopefully they would improve in the next game."

Cambodia's starting line-up v Maldives: Back Row LtoR: Mic, PM Udom, Sopanha, Piseth, Tiny, Laboravy. Front Row; Sothearath, Pancharong, Nasa, Sokumpheak, Raksmey.

A tough ask for Cambodia

The Cambodian national team prepare for departure

It pains me to say it but the Cambodian national team will really have their work cut out to progress from their AFC Challenge Cup group matches, that are being staged in Male, in the Maldives this week. On paper the Cambodia team are ranked by FIFA as the 2nd best team in the group in 154th place, though with home advantage I expect Maldives to put in that extra effort when the teams meet later tonight. Maldives are ranked in 161st place and will be no push-overs. The best team in the group are undoubtedly Tajikistan (ranked 148th) and they grabbed third place in the 2010 Challenge Cup competition, so the match against Cambodia on Wednesday (23 Mar) will be a tough ask for our boys. Incidentally, Tajikistan won the competition in 2006 and were runners-up in 2008. The final game on Friday (25 Mar) will be against 174th placed Kyrgyzstan, but they finished in 3rd spot in 2006 and have a good club pedigree in the President's Cup. All 3 of Cambodia's matches begin at 11pm Cambodian time.

In the 2010 qualification group matches for the AFC Challenge Cup, Cambodia went down narrowly to host country Bangladesh (0-1) and Myanmar (0-1) and beat Macau (2-1) but it wasn't enough to get through the group stage. The Maldives also didn't get through their group, held in Male, despite wins over Philippines (3-2) and Bhutan (5-0), as a 3-1 defeat against Turkmenistan was their undoing, on goal difference. The other country to play in the group qualifiers was Kyrgyzstan, who went through courtesy of more goals scored after two drawn matches against Nepal and Palestine. Once they were through to the competition proper, Kyrgyzstan started well with a 2-1 win over India before bowing out with defeats against North Korea (4-0) and Turmenistan (1-0). As for Tajikistan, they were automatic qualifiers for the finals last year, and despite a 2-1 loss to Bangladesh in the opening game, they roared back to beat Sri Lanka 3-1 and Myanmar 3-0 to reach the semi-final. They lost 2-0 to Turkmenistan but did claim 3rd place with a 1-0 win over Myanmar.

Crown's league fixtures

Phnom Penh Crown's Metfone C-League fixtures for 2011 look like this:

Sat 2 Apr v Naga Corp A 3.30pm
Sun 10 Apr v Rithisen A 4.10pm
Sun 1 May v Prek Pra H 4.10pm
Sat 7 May v Chhlam Samuth A 2.10pm
Sat 14 May v BBU H 4.10pm
21-25 May AFC President's Cup
Sun 29 May v Kirivong A 2.10pm
Sat 4 Jun v Army H 4.10pm
Wed 8 Jun v National Police H 3.30pm
Sun 19 Jun v Preah Khan H 2.10pm
Sat 9 Jul v National Police A 2.10pm
Sun 17 Jul v Rithisen H 4pm
Wed 20 Jul v Prek Pra A 3.30pm
Sat 30 Jul v Chhlam Samuth H 4.10pm
Sat 6 Aug v BBU A 2.10pm
Sat 13 Aug v Kirivong H 2.10pm
Sun 21 Aug v Army A 2pm
Sun 28 Aug v Naga Corp H 4pm
Sun 4 Sep v Preah Khan A 3pm

All matches will be played at the National Olympic Stadium at the kick-off times shown.
There will be no end of season play-offs in 2011. The regular season winners of the C-League will be crowned champions. That will please the traditionalists like me.

Community relations

The Academy boys itching to get on the jet-skis

The family of Rithy Samnang (black shirt) hand over a bicycle to the school's best student

The Academy boys from Phnom Penh Crown did their bit for community relations this morning, getting up at 4am and heading south to the Cambodia-Vietnam border at Chrey Thom, on the banks of the Bassac River, to help recognise and reward the students at Sampeau Meas school located in the border town. A few hundred yards from the school stands the Crown Casino and Hotel and the family of Crown president Rithy Samnang offers support to the school each year, with a reward for the best students and gifts for the remainder, totalling some 700 students. The Academy boys were called in to help distribute the gifts and to show the students that there are now opportunities if you excel at sports, as well as highlighting for the Academy boys another facet of their education; giving back. Local officials and the Academy staff of Bouy Dary and Kao Kiry also took part and I went along too, for the ride. As well as the distribution of gifts, everyone at the ceremony got an ice-cream or two, which went down really well, and then the Academy boys returned to the casino property where they were allowed to enjoy the jet-skis and banana boat on the Bassac river, under supervision. They loved it. Following lunch in the casino restaurant, it was back on the bus for the two-hour drive back to the capital. I must say how well-behaved the Academy students are and they've quickly become a real credit to the club. Until a few weeks ago, they could've been sat in the audience awaiting their own gift, but they appreciate the opportunity they've been given and I'm sure will enjoy more occasions like this in the future.

The gifts and the students waiting their turn

The Academy students pass out gifts to the schoolchildren

The schoolchildren acknowledge their gifts

The school students waiting patiently for their gifts and ice-cream

I grab a seat at the back of the group and chat to 14 year old Srey Mom

No rest for the Academy students as they clear up after everyone had left

The banana boat boys getting ready for their adventure

3 boys on each jet-ski; they didn't want to come off

A look at the Bassac River at 7.15 this morning