Controversy reigns

BBU, in blue, are debating whether to walk off the pitch or not in this afternoon's match

Not sure I'll have time to bring you all the details tonight from this afternoon's Metfone C-League games, so here's a brief rundown. In the 1st match, controversy surrounded the equalizing Naga goal against BBU, but the students never gave up and eventually won the game 2-1, making a big dent in Naga's hopes to pressurize Phnom Penh Crown at the top of the table. The match was stopped for 15 minutes as BBU complained bitterly about an offside that the referee never gave and at one time they looked set to walk off the pitch. It didn't happen and the bottom line is that they should've played to the whistle, not to the linesman's flag. More later. In the 2nd match, Preah Khan Reach ran out 3-0 winners in a straightforward victory for them, with coach Rith Dikar back on the bench, presumably having changed his mind about leaving the club.

Campbell's boys sink Rithysen

Chhlam Samuth's livewire hat-trick hero Olabode Abosede

New head coach Jimmy Campbell will be pleased with his team's result though it was touch and go at times before Chhlam Samuth finally put paid to plucky Rithysen in the first of the afternoon's Metfone C-League matches. Two first-half goals from livewire midfield ace Olabode Abosede separated the sides for most of the half until Rithysen's Etim Esin reduced the arrears just three minutes before the break. Abosede netted his first on 25 minutes, eventually sticking the ball in the net after initially firing at the goalkeeper and then against the crossbar. His 2nd, on 37 minutes, was an easier affair, finding himself in space from Kao Viso's pass and calmly finishing whilst Rithysen were down to ten men through injury. Rithysen's Keo Dara was looking sprightly and his mis-hit shot fell to Etim Esin, who rounded the keeper and pulled the trigger to get the bottom-club back into the match. Five minutes after the break, Rithysen's bulky defender Zidougha Paris got away with a yellow card for pulling his opponent back when a red card was warranted. Though it was only a matter of time and on 67 minutes, his late tackle, again on half-time substitute Sunday Ayodele, earned him a 2nd yellow and a red card. On 72 minutes Chhlam Samuth's Abosede marked his first C-League hat-trick with a stunning volley from fifteen yards out, meeting a Dauda Sanni pass with a perfect strike. However, Rithysen refused to lie down and four minutes later Keo Dara raced clear and finished with confidence to give his side hope, despite their numerical disadvantage. Chhlam Samuth's mid-season signing from Kirivong, Sunday Ayodele then took the game by the scruff of the neck with two goals in the last six minutes to put the result beyond doubt. On 84 minutes his lob over Rithysen keeper Oum Veasna was helped over the line by a defender and in the 1st minute of stoppage time, he nodded home from a yard out, after missing a similar chance moments before. 5-2 in Chhlam Samuth's favour and a victory that would see them leapfrog over Prek Pra and out of the relegation placings.

Chhlam Samuth, on their knees praying for a win, which they got

Rithysen, down to 10 men, went down 5-2 to Chhlam Samuth

Njoku in a flash

"12 seconds, it took me that long," says a surprised Kingsley Njoku on his remarkable goal

Crown line-up: Back Row LtoR: Narong, Sopanha, Tiny, Obadin, Sothearith. Front Row: Ota, Virak, Chaya, Bunchhay, Narith, S Pheng.

A goal by Kingsley Njoku just twelve seconds after arriving on the pitch was the icing on the cake for Phnom Penh Crown, as they coasted to a 4-0 win over perennial strugglers Prek Pra Keila, though they didn't find the Muslim-backed club a pushover by any means. Determined to maintain their lead at the top of the Metfone C-League, Crown coach David Booth made just 1 change to his starting line-up, reintroducing San Narith at right-back. Prek Pra had the first shot on target when Adebayo Jimiv tried his luck from 30 yards, with Peng Bunchhay tipping the effort over the crossbar. However in the 3rd minute, Crown got their noses in front when Odion Obadin's ball forward was flicked on by the head of Sok Pheng and Suong Virak used his speed to outrun the defence and kept his cool by slipping the ball under Yok Ary in the Prek Pra goal. Pra Pra's only other shot on target in the whole game came two minutes later when Feut Sulkiply slipped his marker but fired straight at Bunchhay and that was the last we saw of Prek Pra's goal threat. Sok Pheng was wayward with his finishing on the half hour before Virak was denied a 2nd goal by a fingertip Yok Ary save a minute before the break. In the first minute of time added on, Sun Sopanha timed his pass to perfection, the recipient, Chan Chaya ran on, sat Yok Ary on his arse with a dummy before firing the ball into an empty net for Crown's second goal.

It took just four minutes of the 2nd half for Crown to increase their lead. Sopanha's deft touch set Suong Virak skating clear and as Yok Ary left his line, he slipped the ball to Sok Pheng who simply couldn't miss from a yard out. Pheng did miss two more guilt-edged chances, the 2nd bringing out a brilliant point-blank save from Ary before he was replaced by Kingsley Njoku on 55 minutes. The substitution was made as Crown lined up for a corner and Njoku made his way into the penalty box. Sopanha's corner to the near post was flicked on by Chan Chaya and Njoku had the simplest of tasks to touch the ball over the goal-line, a mere 12 seconds after entering the field. Perhaps the quickest goal ever scored by a player in the C-League? Kouch Sokumpheak, sporting a new auburn hair colour, joined the fray and should've done better when presented with a good opportunity by Virak, but he shot weakly at the keeper. Virak then fired a fierce 25-yard effort into Yok Ary's hands. On 72 minutes, substitute Hong Ratana also found Ary a difficult obstacle to by-pass as the keeper blocked his shot. Three minutes later Ratana lofted his shot over an empty goal from 25 yards after Ary had left his line, chasing after Njoku. The Nigerian striker was tackled as he was about to pull the trigger moments later from ten yards out and then fired a drive across the face of goal after being forced out wide.

That was it as far as goalmouth action was concerned with Crown coach David Booth's brief aftermatch assessment; "I'm pleased we won again but there's room for improvement. We gave them too much space and possession, especially in the first-half. We can get better. We scored good goals but we didn't press the advantage when we had it. The uneven ground didn't help but our passing wasn't good enough today And we slowed the game down too much. To be honest there wasn't much to choose between the two sides in the first half except that we scored our goals. At half-time I asked for more forward movement and it worked. The second half was a little better but I set high standards, I want us to be a good team with good players. We'll talk this week and try to organise things a bit better ahead of our next game."
Crown line-up: Bunchhay, Narith, Sothearith, Tiny, Obadin, Narong, Ota, Sopanha, Virak (Ratana 70), Chaya (Sokumpheak 63), S Pheng (Njoku 55). Subs not used: Visokra, Bunna, Dara, Vanthan, Sovan, Sovannrithy, Sophat, H Pheng. Bookings: None.

Prek Pra failed to muster any goal threat after five minutes, going down 4-0

Referee Neang Sorithya had a perfect game and began with this perfect coin toss

Thul Sothearith leads out his Crown teammates in blue

Crown coach David Booth (right) with his no 2, Bouy Dary

Kouch Sokumpheak sporting his new auburn hair style. He tried to say that the sun bleached his hair, but we know better.

Remarkable goal

Phnom Penh Crown beat Prek Pra Keila 4-0 in this afternoon's Metfone C-League game with goals from Suong Virak, Chan Chaya, Sok Pheng and a remarkable goal by Kingsley Njoku, just 12 seconds after he entered the field of play as a substitute. It could be the quickest-ever goal scored by a player in Cambodian football. The victory keeps Crown firmly at the top of the league table. In the 1st game of the afternoon, Chhlam Samuth, helped by an Olabode Abosede hat-trick, put paid to bottom club Rithysen 5-2. More from both games later.

Football masterclass

The starting XI for the Crown Academy this morning

Mat Sakrovy opens the scoring after just 3 minutes from close range

What was seen as a potential test for the Phnom Penh Crown Academy boys turned out to be a rout against the Festival U-13 champions from Kompong Chhnang this morning. The youngsters from the Cambodia Foundation Organization that triumphed in last week's Festival of Football for U-13s were simply no match for the passing ability of the Crown Academy, who took charge of the game early on and never released their grip. The final score of 13-1 was kind to the visitors, with the Academy boys missing as many as they scored. Mat Sakrovy netted the first after three minutes, added a second ten minutes later before Ken Chansopheak and Orn Chanpolin with a long range effort doubled the score. Two goals near half-time, both great efforts from Pov Ponvuthy, gave the Academy a clear 6-0 lead at the interval. Coach Bouy Dary rang the changes at the interval and Long Phearath, who was in goal for the 1st half, stepped up as striker and scored two goals within five minutes of the restart. His reward for the two goals was to be dropped into defence. Vat Samnang scored a stunning 20 yard free-kick, before Phoeun Sopheak moved up from defence to score the first of a notable hat-trick, displaying neat ball control and a cool finish way beyond his years. Theang Chhaya, the game's smallest player, raced through to score before the visitors got their consolation goal from a well-directed free-kick. Sopheak completed his hat-trick with another solo effort as the referee brought the one-sided game to a close and the Academy recorded a memorable 13-1 victory. It was essentially a masterclass in youth football and impressed the watching Andy Smith, the managing director of Crown's Academy partners, the Asia Pacific Football Academy, who'd come to Cambodia from New Zealand to assess the progress being made by the Academy boys.

Ken Chansopheak blasts another 1st half goal as the Academy lead 6-0 at the break

The Academy team at the start of the 2nd half

Phoeun Sopheak rounds the goalkeeper for his hat-trick goal

The Academy boys with club president Rithy Samnang, APFA's Andy Smith and coach Bouy Dary

Coach Bouy Dary issues instructions before kick-off

In Sodavid in his pre-match warm-up routine

The gallant CFO team from Kompong Chhnang, the Festival U-13 champions

Test for Academy

The Crown Academy boys line up for the cameras

The recently concluded Festival of Football for U-13 teams saw the Cambodia Foundation Organisation from Kompong Chhnang lift the trophy, with a 3-2 success over Phnom Svay in the final at Kambol. The championships included club teams from Preah Khan Reach, BBU and Naga Corp as well as teams from provinces as far away as Mondulkiri, Preah Vihear and Koh Kong. Now the big test for the Festival U-13 newly-crowned champs comes tomorrow morning at 9am when they face the Phnom Penh Crown Elite Academy team at Crown's training headquarters at Tuol Kork. The Crown boys who began life at the residential Academy in February are living the dream of every youngster in the country, being professionally coached and playing football every morning, whilst receiving a private school education every afternoon. They've recently returned from successful trips to Singapore and Vietnam and just a few weeks ago captured the Barclays Capital Indochina Starfish U-14 Boys Championship. The Crown Academy boys were selected after trials around the country in 17 provinces and the 22 youngsters who make up the Academy intake include boys from the following geographical locations; Phnom Penh 4, Kandal 3, Sihanoukville 3, Koh Kong 3, Banteay Meanchey 2, Pursat 2, Battambang 2, Siem Reap 1, Kompong Cham 1, Takeo 1. Attending tomorrow's game will be Andy Smith from New Zealand, the Managing Director of Crown's partners, the Asia Pacific Football Academy.

Care to dance?

Would you care to dance? Odion Obadin (12) and Naga's Phorn Ratana.

I just had to post this photo, taken by Antony Sutton of the Jakarta Casual blog when he was on a recent visit to Phnom Penh. It was an incident during the Phnom Penh Crown v Naga Corp match played at the Old Stadium. I won't bother you with the result as that's water under the bridge, suffice to say that the action depicted was in the 1st half and involves Crown's defender Odion Obadin and Naga goalkeeper Phorn Ratana, as they challenge for a free-kick. I don't believe they've met before, but this is what you'd call a very close encounter. As always happens in Cambodia football, the goalkeeper reacted as though he'd been attacked by a gang of thugs and stayed down for about five minutes. But then if Odion Obadin had run into me at full steam, I'd take a few moments to collect my thoughts, and my dignity. You can see more of Obadin when Phnom Penh Crown meet Prek Pra Keila at the Olympic Stadium tomorrow at 4pm. League leaders Crown look set to have a full strength squad to choose from, no injuries and no suspensions, as long as Kouch Sokumpheak is fully recovered, and coach David Booth has to perm his best starting eleven from a squad all bursting to get on the pitch. Prek Pra will, as usual, be supported from the stands by their vociferous supporters, which always makes their games a bit more lively. The Cham community of Prek Pra on the outskirts of Phnom Penh, have certainly rallied around their football team and come out in force every time Prek Pra are scheduled to play.

Kirivong strike it rich

The midweek Metfone C-League game turned into another success for Kirivong, the club who shed a few players in the mid-season break, with a 2-0 success over a dejected Army team, who had welcomed back their skipper Thong Udom to the starting XI. Both goals came after the half-time break with Song Dara netting the first from distance and then Nelson Oladiji making sure of the points from the penalty spot. Even with his erratic finishing, he would find it hard to miss from the spot. That's consecutive wins over the Police and Army for Kirivong, who have begun the 2nd half of the season like a runaway train. The Ministry of Defense meanwhile are in real danger of seeing their season unravel before their eyes after two successive defeats.

A review in Khmer

Phnom Penh Post - Khmer edition

Although the deal is now done and Lee Tae-Hoon has already been given a new 1-year contract as the head coach of the Cambodian national team, the Phnom Penh Post newspaper (Khmer edition) today highlights some of the fans' views (including my own) regarding the recent course of events, that saw the national team bundled out of the FIFA World Cup at the first attempt, losing 8-6 to Laos over the course of two legs. It's all done and dusted now, the South Korean will be at the helm of the national team and U-23 for another twelve months, but at least some fans get to vent their views, as well as a few comments from the national team spokesmen. I believe the English edition will carry it tomorrow.

Update: The Wednesday edition did indeed carry a longer analysis under the title Lee Tae Hoon comes under fire, in English. I was quoted as an established blogger on Cambodian football. Apparently my harshest assessment was reserved for the selection policy employed by the coach. They then included some of my comments from my blog postings. In another part of the article, the coach apparently told his team after the 6-2 defeat in Laos. "I am the only person who is responsible to this loss, it's not you all." Unfortunately the coach didn't follow that up by falling on his sword. The FFC spokesman, May Tola admitted; "...although it has not been great or perfect, the FFC has done everything possible to support the team considering our limited means and many tasks to implement." Except that is, arranging suitable international friendly matches, selecting the best players plying their trade in Thailand, taking a full squad to Laos for the 2nd leg and agreeing another 1 year contract for the coach. May Tola also asserted that the South Korean is a skilful coach who has a long vision to build up the national team. On allegations of match-fixing during the WC qualifiers, Tola said that the FFC had set up an adhoc committee to investigate. "We will firstly need the coach to make a report and we will watch the match again to see if our players have done their best and whether the accusation of match fixing/selling has any substance." This particular allegation, which always seems to crop up in Asian football when things go badly, is not something which I support, at all.

Dikar ducks out

Rith Dikar facing the press after Preah Khan won the Hun Sen Cup

An interesting development over at Preah Khan Reach where their former player and head coach, Rith Dikar has decided to end his stint at the club's helm, preferring instead to put his energies into his commitment with the Cambodian U-19 national team for the foreseeable future. Dikar, who took over as head coach when Prak Sovannara was replaced in March 2010, guided the Military Police-backed team to the Hun Sen Cup at the start of this season, the club's first trophy success. However, his youthful team have not been able to maintain that level of success in the Metfone C-League campaign and despite lying in third place, their head coach, who was one of a consortium who finance the team, has decided to throw his lot in with the national coaching staff ahead of the AFF U-19 Youth championships in Myanmar in September. A former national team player himself for eight years from 1999 to 2007, he previously coached the country's U-17 team and is building a solid reputation for developing young talent.

Rewarding failure

It would appear that those in charge of Cambodian football are more than happy for the national team coach, South Korean Lee Tae-Hoon (pictured), to keep his job, despite a pretty spectacular run of dismal failures since he took the job last August. The deputy director of the football federation, May Tola has confirmed that the coach has been handed a 1-year contract and indicated that he's doing well in the post. If failing to progress past the first round in the AFF Suzuki Cup (we lost out on goal difference in October's qualifying stage), the AFC Challenge Cup (after a win over Macau over 2-legs, we lost miserably in the Maldives group matches in March) and now the FIFA World Cup is a sign of success, then I'd like to know what they would term as doing badly. It's hard to imagine a poorer set of results. Presumably, those in charge deem recent wins over a poor Malaysian Olympic team, success against a Vietnamese second tier side and a 4-2 success over Laos, all at home, as a run of results deserving merit. I don't. I regard the victory over Laos as the only redeeming factor in a long list of poor results for the national team. The second leg, where Lee Tae-Hoon's team failed to stem the flow of goals from a rampant Laos team, that progressed to meet China with a 6-2 win after extra time, was painfully predictable. We have developed a nasty habit of conceding early goals.

That said, with Lee Tae-Hoon firmly in place for another twelve months, his focus will now shift from the full national team to the U-23s, as the SEA Games in Indonesia is the next big international competition on the horizon, with the 2nd edition of the BIDC Cup preceding it in Phnom Penh in October. But then, according to the national team camp, the focus has always been on the U-23s anyway and the World Cup matches were just an inconvenience to their future plans. Cambodia's record in the SEA Games does not make great reading, so the coach will have his work cut out if he's going to improve on recent years. However, it appears that Cambodia's football hierarchy have faith in his abilities, judging by their recent vote of confidence. Just for the record, in 2005 in the Philippines, we lost to Malaysia 0-5, Philippines 2-4 and Thailand 0-1. In Thailand in 2007, we suffered defeats to Indonesia 1-3, Thailand 0-8 and Myanmar 2-6. Our 2009 sojourn in Laos saw a 4-1 win over Timor Leste but defeats to Thailand 4-0, Malaysia 0-4 and Vietnam 1-6. So there's lots of room for improvement in our SEA Games record. The football competition at the SEA Games is always competed for at Under-23 level.

Sinoun makes his mark

Naga came through 3-1, even without their top scorer

Without their Metfone C-League top scorer Julius Oiboh, ineligible through suspension, Naga Corp introduced mid-season signing Nuth Sinoun in his place and the former BBU, Royal Navy and Preah Khan Reach striker repaid his new coach, Prak Sovannara, with two goals within 24 minutes of his debut. Naga always had too much for plucky Prek Pra, buoyed by two recent wins and backed by their vociferous fans, but guts and heart are no substitute for organization and tactical awareness, and Naga showed both to take the points and stay a point behind leaders Phnom Penh Crown. Sinoun, a former national team player, took just three minutes of his 1st game to make his mark. Tiet Chandarasokha's run and cross was collected by Sinoun, who stroked in his drive from 20 yards out. Prek Pra were back in it almost immediately but Philip Ali missed a sitter before Sos Souhana produced a goal of rare quality on ten minutes. Initially he lost the ball out wide, regained it and shimmied his way past two players and as he entered the box, he let fly with a thumping shot that was still rising as it crashed into the net. A fabulous solo effort for the national team squad player. Naga were back in front on 24 minutes as Sinoun was in the right place at the right time to tuck home a center from Omogba Esoh from close in. The striker then missed the chance of a 1st half hat-trick when he failed to add the finishing touch to Chin Chom's inch-perfect cross at the far post. Lost of huffing and puffing after the break but Naga were always in control as Prek Pra tired and it was Chom who headed in their third goal on 72 minutes, finishing off a Sumaila Momoh cross from a yard out. Ali fluffed an easy chance in time added on but by then it was too late and Naga ended the game 3-1 in front.

Prek Pra went down 3-1 to Naga this afternoon

Troubled Kirivong take charge

Kirivong put their troubles behind them to win 3-2 versus National Police

Kirivong, believed to have recently lost the backing of their influential sponsor and who have ditched two of their Nigerian contingent during the mid-season break, put their problems behind them to beat the National Police 3-2 at Olympic Stadium this afternoon. The result was closer than the game itself with Kirivong always creating the best openings and looking assured of the 3 points until Police grabbed a late goal in time added on. In Nelson Oladiji, Kirivong have one of the most unpredictable players in the Metfone C-League. He gets lots of opportunities in front of goal, manages to stick a small percentage of them in the net and the rest of the time, he holds his head in his hands when he misses sitters such as the one he fluffed on 67 minutes. From a yard out he managed to fire a shot so wide that it hit the corner flag when everyone had assumed he would score. It was Oladiji that could've given Kirivong an early lead but failed on two occasions before he turned provider for Heng Koem Houng who slid his shot under the Police keeper for the first goal on the half hour. Police's Long Nasy was in on goal but had his shot stopped by keeper Koum Makara, though the keeper was left exposed when the Police grabbed their 39th minute leveller. Say Piseth's free-kick into the heart of the box found Sim Vutha all alone and he made no mistake from close range.

Three minutes after the break, Tith Dina's wayward pass saw Nelson Oladiji in a challenge with Police keeper Thong Chanraksmey, and Mom Sophol took advantage of the loose ball to fire Kirivong back in front. Oladiji and Ouk Thon spurned chances for the Takeo-based team before the game degenerated into a 20-player melee when Ngoun Chansothea tried to pull a prostrate Sos Nasiet off the pitch. Three players were booked for squaring up to each other by referee Neang Sorithya, but remarkably the watching military police, who usually join in any fracas, were conspicuous by their absence. Referee Sorithya was getting carried away and with his 6th booking of the game, he flashed a yellow and then red to Kirivong's Houng, only to realize his error and cancelled out his own red card. On 82 minutes, Kirivong looked to have settled the result when In Vichheka let fly with a left foot screamer from 20 yards that sailed into the top corner to make it 3-1. As Kirivong tried to run down the clock, Police netted a late reply when Long Nasy rattled in a drive after an attempted punch from Kirivong keeper Makara fell to him, but it was too little too late.

The National Police couldn't hold off Kirivong in today's C-League game

BBU spring surprise

BBU, trying to blend in with their surroundings, beat Army 3-0

In Saturday's first match at the Olympic Stadium, BBU showed glimpses of their early season form to put three goals past the Army without reply. The result was a bit of a shock as the Army have the best defensive record in the Metfone C-League but they fired blanks yesterday and the students of Build Bright took full advantage. It was all pretty mundane stuff for the 1st half with Army doing much of the pressing and even though Hem Simay in the BBU goal had a day where he flapped at everything, the Army couldn't muster a shot on target. BBU caught the Army out when a combination of Pheak Rady and keeper Oum Vichet failed to deal with a high bouncing ball and Pech Sina got a toe to it and lobbed the only goal of the 1st half on 18 minutes. Numerous substitutions and stoppages marred the 2nd half before BBU went further ahead on 67 minutes. Heng Sokly was all alone at the far post but his mis-cued shot was going wide until Pech Sina turned it in with a high foot and his 2nd goal of the game. A double save by Oum Vichet kept the score down, as he pushed an Oum Chandara free-kick onto the post and then bravely blocked a Seng Kosen follow-up from close range. But the young Army keeper had no chance to stop BBU's third goal on 73 minutes when Kosen crossed to Chandara, and the reliable wideman fired home his team's final goal. In the last minute Heng Sokly held off a defender and looked to have netted a fourth only to see his shot roll agonizingly wide. BBU will hope that this result will kick-start their season, while Army will lean heavily on the return of injured skipper Thong Udom to shore up those defensive frailties that were exposed against BBU if they still harbor league title intentions.

A 3-0 defeat for the Army was a blow to their title hopes

The two teams file out before the start of Saturday's game

An entry for the perfect toss of the season from referee Sang Sopheak

Crown post five

PPCFC v Rithysen: Back Row LtoR: S Pheng, Sopanha, Dara, Obadin, Tiny, Narong. Front Row: Ota, Virak, Chaya, Bunchhay, Sothearith

Phnom Penh Crown began the second half of the Metfone C-League season with an expected victory over relegation-threatened Rithysen, which pleased their new English coach David Booth. "I'm pleased that we won but we should have scored more goals. Our preparation this week was severely disrupted with the weather and the inability to find out who was available, but the players did a professional job today. It was difficult to judge as the opposition seemed a little weak but at 5-0 I've got to be happy. It was also nice to see goals from different departments of the team. I felt that we should press the opposition and push onto them and it worked." With the new coach arriving just a week ago, the players were out to impress in his first match in charge, with suspensions ruling out San Narith and Kingsley Njoku and illness relegating Kouch Sokumpheak to the bench.

The match started pretty much as it would continue throughout the first half, with nippy wingman Suong Virak outpacing his marker and firing in a low cross which Sok Pheng failed to connect with in front of goal. Pheng was guilty of another missed opportunity on ten minutes when he hesitated to get his shot away after rounding the Rithysen goalkeeper. Two minutes later, the Crown striker forced a diving save out of the Rithysen custodian, Oum Veasna, following another dazzling run and center by Virak. It was then the wingers' turn to try his hand at breaking the deadlock but his powerful drive was cleared off the line by Mat Rofazy. Given time and space on the right wing, Virak was terrorizing the Rithysen backline. Wave after wave of Crown surges finally got their rewards on 16 minutes. Sun Sopanha's pass released Virak on the right wing, he evaded one tackle on the byeline, pulled back his cross to which Pheng got a touch to divert to the waiting Takahito Ota on the edge of the penalty box, and his accurate right-foot drive found the corner of the net.

Almost immediately, Sopanha slalomed around two tackles but saw his toe-poke pushed out by Veasna, Chan Chaya flashed a near post header inches wide and Virak took advantage of a wayward pass but failed to get any power behind his shot. The inevitable second goal arrived on 21 minutes as Sopanha again sent Virak racing in on goal, and though his first-time shot was blockled by Veasna, the dimintive winger smashed the rebound into the Rithysen net. It was no more than Virak deserved for his buzzing wing play. Sok Pheng went close with two more chances, one a free header that he should've got on target, Sopanha and Ota also tried their luck with long-range efforts before Crown netted their third goal six minutes before the half-time interval. Sopanha's touch released Chaya and his quick-feet on the edge of the box eluded two tackles before Oum Veasna mistimed his dive at Chaya's feet, bringing down the Crown striker and earning himself a yellow card. Tieng Tiny stepped up to blast the penalty kick into the net, sending Veasna the wrong way and giving Crown a 3-0 lead at the break.

The second half began in the same vein, Virak failing to get a stronger shot in on goal after Chaya's run and cross set him up, but Crown took their foot off the peddle and allowed Rithysen's Etim Esin a couple of chances, which he flashed wide. The introduction of Hong Ratana for Chaya saw Crown back in the driving seat and a push in the back of Ratana by San Osman gave Crown another penalty. Skipper Thul Sothearith stepped up to fire his spot-kick past Veasna on 70 minutes. Takahito Ota tried his luck with a couple of range finders from the edge of the box, the first of which was an inch away from the upright. On 83 minutes Sok Pheng finally got on the scoresheet, when Virak took on two defenders and pulled his center back to the waiting striker, who toe-poked his shot under the diving Veasna from fifteen yards out. Kouch Sokumpheak, who'd been ill before the game, gave a cameo performance for the last five minutes and Sok Pheng then missed the easiest chance of the game, firing high and wide from Kenneth Nwafor's incisive pass. Crown ran out 5-0 winners, a job well done and they remain firmly in the number one spot in the league standings.
PPCFC line-up: Bunchhay, Dara, Sothearith, Tiny, Obadin, Narong (Nwafor 77), Sopanha (Sokumpheak 85), Ota, Virak, Chaya (Ratana 66), S Pheng. Subs not used: Visokra,Bunna, Vanthan, Sovan, Sovannrithy, Sophat, Sochivorn, H Pheng. Bookings: Ratana, Obadin.

Rithysen stay at the bottom after their 5-0 reversal to the leaders Crown

Today's footy snaps

Thul Sothearith, as usual, leads out the Crown team against Rithysen this afternoon

I fell asleep when I got home after the match today, hence the delay in the match report. However, here are some photos from the game to keep you occupied in the meantime.

The Crown bench before the game, with David Booth taking his place for the 1st time

Suong Virak, scorer and speedy wingman

David Booth, center, chats to his coaching team after the 5-0 win

Crown's players take a breather after their 7th win in 10 league games

David Booth gets the lowdown on the match stats from Chhim Chantharith

One for the family album, with David after his 1st match in charge

Booth is pleased

Takahito Ota was happy to open the scoring in today's C-League game

David Booth presided over his 1st game in charge of Phnom Penh Crown this afternoon and declared; "I'm pleased that we won but we should have scored more goals." The English-born coach has had his players in training for just five days since taking over and with suspensions and injuries ruling out a few of the team's regulars, he will have been happy with the 1st half performance in particular, as Crown took the game to bottom of the table Rithysen. The fact that they only led 3-nil at the interval will call for some extra shooting practice in training I'm sure. They eventually ran out 5-0 winners to maintain their position at the top of the Metfone C-League table. The goals were spread around with Takahito Ota netting on 16 minutes, Suong Virak adding a 2nd on 21 minutes and Tieng Tiny scoring from the penalty spot six minutes before the break. Thul Sothearith stepped up for Crown's second penalty, and scored, on 70 minutes before Sok Pheng wrapped it up with 7 minutes left on the clock. More from this one-sided match later. In the afternoon's 2pm kick-off BBU surprised the Army, by inflicting a 3-0 defeat on the military side.

Discipline faux pas

Referee Khuon Virak, as he likes to see himself (courtesy of Nick Sells)

Time for another moan. The disciplinary system in Cambodian football needs reviewing in my opinion. Teams play just 18 league matches a season. So for a system to suspend a player for 1 match after receiving 2 yellow cards is a big deal to the clubs. If he collects 4 yellows, he gets two matches. In my view, a player should only be suspended after accumulating 4 cautions. If a player gets a red card, he also gets a 1 match suspension, which is acceptable. Having such little leeway before a player receives a suspension has a big impact, especially as referees like Khuon Virak and Thong Chankethya hand out cautions like confetti in the C-League and their decisions can have a big impact down the line. Midfield and defensive players are especially prone to picking up yellow cards and missing games. Take tomorrow for example. Phnom Penh Crown are expected (I say that because the federation have been slow to confirm) to be without 4 players, out through suspension. 3 of them are midfield players, San Narith, Sun Sopanha and Phoung Narong. The joke part of it is that Sopanha is suspended for 2 league games after picking up what amounts to four cautions, yet the federation were more than happy for him to play twice for the Cambodian national team in the World Cup qualifiers in between the games he will miss for his club side. Because it suited them. Also missing the Crown match against Rithysen tomorrow will be striker Kingsley Njoku. He's been cautioned twice this season. He was booked against Naga for complaining about a free-kick and was then shown a yellow card for simulation by Khuon Virak against National Police, when it was blatantly obvious to everyone but the match official, that Njoku was fouled and should've been awarded a penalty kick. That decision by Virak, which was woeful in the extreme, now means that Crown are without their striker for 1 match - a prime example of why the system is too rigid and inflexible. To be frank, Njoku's yellow card against the Police should've been rescinded after the federation disciplinary committee reviewed the video evidence from the game - but this is Cambodia so that's not going to happen is it. And Njoku will miss tomorrow's match as a result.

Campbell's new home

The second round of the Metfone C-League kicked-off yesterday at Olympic Stadium. I didn't attend the game but there was a new face in charge of one of the teams, namely Scottish-born coach Jimmy Campbell, better known as the man who runs the team that Cambodia has entered into the Homeless World Cup for the last couple of years, not to mention one of his hobbies, teaching salsa dancing. As a player he trialled with Dundee, Motherwell, Charlton Athletic and Northampton Town and played at junior level in Scotland. He first arrived in Cambodia in 1994 before moving to Australia two years later. As coach at the NGO, Happy Football Cambodia-Australia, it's been the latest in a series of coaching opportunities over the past 15 years where he's operated in Europe, Australia and Cambodia before taking up his new position with Chhlam Samuth in the C-League. How he finds the time I'm not quite sure. Unfortunately for him and his team, they were up against Preah Khan Reach in his first game and predictably suffered a 3-0 reversal with national players Tum Saray and Khuon Laboravy netting before half-time and Chea Samnang adding a third just after the restart. PKR move into third place in the league table while Campbell will have his work cut out in steering Chhlam Samuth away from the relegation zone. The pick of this weekend's matches sees leaders Phnom Penh Crown entertain bottom-club Rithysen on Saturday (4pm) and then Sunday, Naga meet the revitalized Prek Pra (also 4pm).

International news

The Cambodian U-16 squad, sorry I misspelt that, it should read the Preah Khan Reach U-16s + 4 others, are off to Laos to take part in the AFF U-16 Youth Championship and will come up against the same age level teams of the Philippines, Vietnam, Myanmar and Singapore in their group. Whilst the Preah Khan Reach presence in the full national team was pretty overwhelming, the U-16s and for that matter, all age levels, are full to brimming with players from the Military Police-backed club. If you didn't know it, you'd think they were the only club side in the country. Their players obviously impressed the U-16s national team coach who is Japanese, Daisuke Yoshioka, and who appeared to guarantee success in an article in local Khmer-language media recently. Nice to hear someone bragging about their team, it's good to have confidence, so we'll be waiting for the coach and his Preah Khan Reach boys to bring the cup back to Cambodia. If only it was that easy. When the Cambodian U-13s went to the AFC U-13 Festival of Football in Malaysia recently, they too had a squad overflowing with Preah Khan Reach youngsters but the results were so poor that nothing appeared in print after the tournament was over. Here's hoping.

Goals were the order of the day in the 2nd legs of the FIFA World Cup 2014 1st qualifying round, with Vietnam's Le Cong Vinh hitting five, to add to his hat-trick from the 1st leg, as his country demolished Macau 7-1 away from home, and 13-1 over the two legs. We already know that Laos whacked six goals past Cambodia in the 2nd leg to win 8-6 on aggregate, to turn around the result after they were beaten 4-2 in Phnom Penh a few days earlier. The official attendance in Vientiane was 9,000. China await Laos in Round 2. The Philippines defeated Sri Lanka 4-0 to progress, whilst Malaysia held their breath, losing 3-2 in Taiwan, but slip through on the away goals rule after a 2-1 success at home. They will meet Singapore next. Also scraping through were Myanmar who beat Mongolia 2-1 on aggregate. Nepal whammed in five in Timor Leste without reply to stroll through, whilst Palestine also progressed past Afghanistan, 3-1 on aggregate. Biggest crowd of the day was the 18,000 that watched Myanmar beat Mongolia 2-0. Eight round one winners join 22 higher ranked teams – including Singapore, Thailand, Maldives and Indonesia – for home-and-away matches in the second round of the Asian qualifiers, to be played later this month. The 15 victors from those ties will join Asian giants Japan, South Korea, North Korea and Australia in the third round.

Finally, nice if you can get it...the Chinese real estate company Dalian Wanda is coughing up more than $77 million over the next three years to boost China's under-performing football teams. It'll include hiring world class foreign coaches and sending young players to Europe for training. The sport has lurched from crisis to crisis in recent years with corruption scandals, match-fixing and violence on and off the pitch to blame. The good news for China is that they now have Bojan Hodak in their coaching ranks at Shandong, the likeable Croatian having left Phnom Penh Crown just over a month ago.

More Academy kudos

Phnom Penh Crown are getting their name known across Asia not only through their successful first-team but also through their Elite Academy, who have just completed a visit to Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam, on the back of picking up the 3rd place trophy at the recent high-profile Singapore Soccer Sixes competition. The Vietnam trip, for eleven of the Academy's 22 players (the other eleven took part in Singapore a week earlier), was a good learning experience for the youngsters, with international exposure one of the key aims of the Academy, as they played three games, recording two wins. They kicked-off with a 6-3 success against the Vinamilk-Arsenal Soccer School, based in Saigon, in a 7-a-side game, with Srang Titchhy (pictured) starring with five goals and Nak Samnang claiming the other one. They then took on the experienced Thai Son Nam U-14s and despite a year or two in age favouring the Saigon-based team, it was the Crown youngsters who ran out 2-0 winners, with Nak Samnang and Theam Chhaya netting. In their final match of the day, Men Piphob gave Crown the lead but they finally succumbed to the team from HCMC District 8, 1-3. Academy head coach Bouy Dary pronounced himself very pleased with the youngsters performances in all three games, with tiredness playing its part in the final fixture. There were a lot of positive comments from those watching as to the skills and team-work demonstrated by the Academy team, and coupled with the success in Singapore, these first two ventures on the international front have rubber-stamped the initial success of the Academy, which is only in its sixth month of existence. The boys who made the trip to Saigon were: Pech Sovanarath, Men Piphob, Ok Sovanna, Nak Samnang, Nob Devid, Saveng Samnang, Long Phearath, Theam Chhaya, Choun Chanchav, Kim Chhaya, Srang Titchhy.

Fall from grace

The Cambodian starting XI v Laos: Back Row LtoR: Mic, Sopanha, Rithy, Tiny, Laboravy, Rady. Front Row: Chhoeurn, El Nasa, Pancharong, Sokumpheak, Sothearath [pic Ung Chamroeun]

Final score: Laos 6 Cambodia 2 (aet). The worst possible start for the Cambodian national team in Laos in their World Cup qualifier, with the home side taking the lead on 19 minutes through Lamnao Singto, restored to the attack, despite looking a bit overweight in the first leg, when he came on as a late sub. Cambodia led4-2 from the 1st leg and needed to keep Laos quiet at the start of this 2nd leg. They didn't. Laos went two-ahead on the half-hour when lanky striker Khampheng Sayavutthi netted a header to put Laos level on aggregate and ahead on the away goals rule. But Cambodia came steaming back with a goal from Chin Chhoeurn to make it 2-1 on the stroke of half-time. Cambodia lead 5-4 on aggregate. 45 minutes to go. This is making me dizzy. Laos scored again 2 minutes into the 2nd half through Souliya Syphasay to make it 3-1 and 5-5 on aggregate, with Laos ahead on away goals, again. Why do we insist on conceding early goals? On 55 minutes Lamnao Singto grabbed his 2nd and Laos' fourth to go 4-1 ahead though if Cambodia score again, it will be all-square, on aggregate. Talk about topsy-turvy, edge of the seat stuff. Would you believe it, Cambodia have scored a 2nd, through Kouch Sokumpheak on 75 minutes and though it's 4-2 to Laos it's 6-6 on aggregate, and away goals all square. There's got to be more to come...in fact there will be 30 more minutes with extra time already underway. 4 minutes into extra time and Laos storm back in front, 5-2, through Visay Phaphouvanin, who replaced Lamnao Singto a minute before the end of normal time. That's what I mean about substitutes that can change a match. On 112 minutes Sysomvang Kanlaya, another sub, netted from the penalty spot to make it 6-2 to Laos and to end Cambodia's World Cup hopes for another four years. [This article was updated as the match progressed].
The Cambodian starting eleven saw Sam El Nasa replace Tum Saray from the 1st leg team, so the line-up looked like this (with subs): Mic, Rady (Raksmey 49), Pancharong, Tiny, Rithy, Sothearath, Sopanha (PM Udom 75), Chhoeurn, Laboravy, El Nasa (Dina 54), Sokumpheak. Subs not used: Vichet, Vichheka, Saray, Souhana. Bookings: Mic, Rithy, Sothearath. The Cambodian bench looked very thin with no-one that could change the game, with the coach's squad selection coming back to haunt him.

The Cambodian coach, Lee Tae-Hoon, has now presided over the abject failure at the first hurdle in the Suzuki Cup, the AFC Challenge Cup and now the World Cup. That takes some beating as the most piss-poor record of a national team coach and yet he had the opportunity to call on players performing in a better standard of football than ever before, and refused to do it, so he has no-one to blame but himself. His stated desire to concentrate on the U-23 team (with another BIDC Cup and the SEA Games in his sights later this year) will not go down well with the national team fans. To imply that he wasn't interested in the World Cup competition should not be forgiven or forgotten by the fans. To me that simply stinks. To prepare so poorly for the World Cup games with two scraping-the-barrel friendlies, was crap in the extreme. But if you think that his dismal record will force the football federation into making a change, then think again. The coach's salary is paid for by the Korean FA, so don't expect any change to the status quo. Improving the country's international football image isn't worth spending money on in the eyes of those in charge. I could prattle on longer, but I've been identifying the weaknesses of the selection policy and so on for a while now, and whilst the first leg victory gave everyone a lift, it was back to what we've been accustomed to in the 2nd leg. How a team that could barely get into our box in the 1st leg, could score six in the 2nd leg is just one question we should be posing the coach in the after-match inquest. The only quote I've seen from Lee Tae-Hoon so far is; "Our team found it hard to control their emotions when travelling abroad." Ah, so that's the reason for our World Cup debacle. Nothing to do with your selection, tactics and coaching ability then.

Hours to go

Just a couple of hours to go before Cambodia take on Laos in the Lao capital of Vientiane with a great chance of progressing into the 2nd qualifying round of the FIFA World Cup. Cambodia lead 4-2 after the 1st leg last Wednesday and a repeat of their last game in Laos, a goal-less draw in the Suzuki Cup last October, would go down very nicely indeed. A two-legged affair against China later this month, who are 100 places above them in the FIFA world rankings, awaits the eventual winners. The game isn't being screened live on Cambodian television so it'll have to be the internet for up-to-the-minute reports from the match. Whilst I'm waiting, I had a look at the stats for the first leg matches played last week and was surprised, and pleased, to see that the 15,000 crowd (published by the FFC after the game) that turned up at the Olympic Stadium and roared the team to victory, was the third highest attendance in the 1st round. Malaysia, who have been the most successful Asean team in the past two years, attracted 45,000 fans to see their 2-1 win over Chinese Taipei, whilst Vietnam, another hot-bed of football fanatics, had 20,000 for their 6-0 demolition of Macau. Nepal had 9,000 against Timor Leste (and then 15,000 in today's return leg), 5,300 saw Bangladesh beat Pakistan 3-0, 4,000 in Sri Lanka for their 1-1 draw with Philippines and another 5,000 at the Afghanistan v Palestine tie. The lowest crowd, as you might expect, was at the Mongolia v Myanmar encounter, just 3,500.

First impressions

David Booth addressing his new charges at his first training session

Phnom Penh Crown's new head coach David Booth met most of his playing squad this afternoon at their first training session for a week and the first one with the new man at the helm. The players have had a week off since their last C-League victory over the National Police, though for some it meant more football than ever. Many of the squad have taken part in National Championships for educational institutions, which for someone like Thul Sothearith, the Crown captain, has meant 4 games in 7 days for Norton University, whilst others have been involved in playing and training with the national team. A mid-season break for the players has been anything but. The idea of playing for their university side, in return for which they get free education, rankles big-time with me and is something that I'm keen to see stamped out. Playing so many games in a short period in a mickey-mouse competition when you are a contracted professional is simply ridiculous. In talking to David after the training session it's something he's had to cope with in previous jobs and which is all part and parcel of working in Asia. As for today's first session, the players warmed up with some ball work, sprints and then a two-touch game for an hour after a few words from David to introduce himself. You could hear the words, "passing, moving, supporting," clearly ringing out in both English and Khmer. Chan Dara was one player not joining in as he was nursing an injury, picked up playing for his university side. I rest my case. The real work will start on Monday and Tuesday, when the national players return and David can get his whole squad together to prepare for next Saturday's game against Rithysen.

Assessing the sprinting power of his players

"This is who I am and this is what I expect from you"

Odion Obadin volleys the ball back to his teammate

"Do you want to be a passing team or a running team?" The answer was passing.

David prepares his squad for the match practice

A final few words from the new coach before the session draws to a close

Warming down session as the storm clouds approachDavid gets up close and personal with his squad