My shot at the 30

Hok Sochetra (right) with assistant coach Meas Channa

I wondered if the new Cambodian national coach, Hok Sochetra, might need the heads-up about who to include in his first squad of players for the AFF Suzuki Cup qualifiers that are coming up in early October. He's already indicated that he will put out a list of possibles by the end of this week, with a view to getting them together as often as he can during the next three months. Having just spent the last few months working with the U-22 national squad, I'm sure he will already have a batch of those players in mind to form a youthful backbone to his new senior squad, adding a number of experienced older and wiser heads to steady the ship. Here's my suggested squad of thirty players that the new coach might just consider calling up for his first training session sometime soon. Let me know if you agree or want to put other names in the frame.
Goalkeepers: Sou Yaty, Um Vichet (both Army), Sar Sophea (PKR), Peng Bunchhay (Boeung Ket).
Defenders: Lay Raksmey, Moul Daravorn, Nen Sothearoth (PKR), Pheak Rady, Sok Sovan, Tieng Tiny (PPCFC), Touch Pancharong, Khiev Vibol (Boeung Ket), Say Piseth (Nat Police).
Midfielders: Chhun Sothearoth (BBU), Suon Veasna, Chan Vathanaka (PKR), Sos Suhana (PPCFC), Sun Sopanha, Sun Sovannrithy (Naga), Tith Dina (Nat Police), Um Kumpheak (Boeung Ket), Pov Phearith (Army).
Forwards: Chuon Chum, Kop Isa (Naga), Kouch Sokumpheak, Khim Borey (PPCFC), Khuon Laboravy (PKR), Keo Sokngorn (Boeung Ket), Phourng Soksana, Chhin Chhoeun (Army).

Ito causes a stir

The National Police team who remain in 2nd place in the C-League

Naga failed to leap-frog over the Police and stay in 3rd spot

With Preah Khan Reach sitting at the top of the Metfone C-League table, the first match this afternoon saw 2nd placed National Police face the team a spot behind them, NagaCorp. A win for Police would've put them top but as it turned out, the two teams cancelled each other out and had to settle for a 2-2 draw. Naga drew first blood through top scorer Chuon Chum on 20 minutes. The former national team player is in the middle of a purple patch in front of goal, though he'll curse that he missed a great chance later in the half. Police levelled when Srey Udom smashed a shot against the cross-bar and Man Ritavann was first to the rebound. With Police still celebrating, Naga's Sun Sopanha sent in an inswinging corner that Thong Chanraksmey made a hash of and punched the ball into his own net. On the stroke of half-time Police's Tith Dina equalized for a second time and that's how the first half ended, and the match. I don't even recall a serious chance for either team after the break. Police have certainly been the surprise package this season, a team without stars but hard-working and able to grind out results and they hold onto second spot, a point behind PKR.


Dan Ito was the star of the show in this afternoon's second match. Japanese-born, he's journeyed around Asia for the past decade and his latest port of call is Build Bright United. No less than fourteen countries have welcomed the 36-year-old midfield playmaker and he showed that he has picked up a thing or two along the way. I won't mention all of his clubs but they include Woodlands Wellington, Saigon Port, Kitchee, Penang, DPMM and more recently Manang Marshyangdi in Nepal. He wasn't BBU's only foreigner either, as they have added Nigerian Badmus Bolaji to their team as well. As it turned out, Ito led from the front on his debut and despite winning and then failing to convert a penalty, he powered in a header and then set up the final goal in BBU's 4-2 success over Chhlam Samuth. Bolaji opened the scoring for the students before Bisan George thundered in an exocet-like free-kick to level, only for Ito's powerful far post header to put BBU back in front a minute later. Two goals after the break from Prum Putsethy, the second laid on by Ito, were spaced either side of another Bisan George effort, which he headed onto the bar and as it dropped it hit the back of keeper Hem Simay and crossed the goal-line. A notable debut for the second Japanese player in the C-League, after Takahito Ota who is playing with National Police.

Japanese import Dan Ito (36) gets a welcome to Cambodian football

BBU ran out comfortable 4-2 winners against Chhlam Samuth

The Preah Khan Reach team that lined-up yesterday against PPCFC

Bojan is the man

Bojan Hodak faces the press after Kelantan clinched the Super League

Over in Malaysia, former Phnom Penh Crown coach Bojan Hodak has been elevated to god-like status by the Kelantan fans as he guided their club to their second successive Malaysian Super League championship title yesterday. 25,000 home fans watched the team thrash third-placed Perak 6-0 to confirm their league success. The hero-worship for the Croatian coach began in earnest when Kelantan claimed the Malaysia FA Cup for the first time in May and the league title merely adds more weight to a reputation that will be further enhanced if his team can progress through the AFC Cup quarter-finals due in September. Hodak was the coach at Crown for the first half of last season before he left for a spell as assistant coach at Shandong in China, arriving in Kelantan in March. Since then, the only way has been up.

Under the spotlight

Match officials in the Metfone C-League are a constant source of bemusement for the fans and players alike. Let's take both of Saturday's games. Khuon Virak was the referee for the Phnom Penh Crown v Preah Khan Reach clash and made three decisions that appeared to change the game. I'm watching from the stands (without the benefit of video replay) and he awarded Crown a free-kick an inch outside the box when Sok Pheng was floored, though it looked as though the incident was two yards inside the penalty area at least. Minutes later, Chan Chaya headed in after Kingsley Njoku had headed the ball across the six-yard box. Both the referee and his lineman were on their way back to the middle when the Preah Khan team surrounded Virak. After thirty seconds of jostling, pushing and screaming in his ear, the referee was persuaded to go to his linesman who changed his mind and did indeed see a handball by Njoku, even though he failed to flag for it at the time. Njoku was booked and the goal chalked off. But why didn't the match officials see it first-time and avoid all the subsequent furore? Very late in the game, Crown defender Chan Dara appeared to push a PKR player in the back inside the penalty area but Virak waved play on to everyone's amazement, and Crown's relief. And don't even get me started on Virak's failure to caution some of Preah Khan's players for repeated infractions.

In the second game of the afternoon, in which the Army just managed to squeeze past a plucky Western University team 2-1 with goals by Phourng Soksana and Pov Phearith, referee Chi Samedy was the center of attention. Late in the game, with Western pushing for an equalizer, the referee bizarrely red-carded Army keeper Sou Yaty for a challenge, which I thought should've gone the other way. As Yaty trudged slowly off, the Army players pointed at a raised linesman's flag for an earlier offside call - this time the linesman did see an infringement and kept his flag up to catch the referee's attention (which is what the linesman in the earlier game had failed to do) - so Samedy rescinded the red card, Yaty re-took his place between the sticks and Army hung on to win the game.

Watching both matches was the newly-revealed head coach of the Cambodia national team, Hok Sochetra. I'm not sure when he takes up the position or when the current incumbent, Lee Tae-Hoon formally closes the door behind him, but the appointment has caught a lot of people by surprise. Sochetra was the golden boy of Cambodian football, scoring goals for fun in the 1990s before having a stint as player-coach at Samart United, who he led to the 2002 league title. He went into hibernation for a while before re-emerging as an assistant coach with Preah Khan Reach and then more recently has been responsible for the national futsal team and was called into assist with the U-22 squad that were just knocked out of the AFC Asian Cup. He was one of a batch of Cambodian coaches who qualified for the AFC A-licence in early March and this recognition appears to have won over the Cambodian football federation, who have now appointed him as the man to lead the country in the upcoming AFF Suzuki Cup qualifiers in Myanmar. To assist him in his new role, he's turned to a few of his former national team colleagues with Ieng Saknida, Meas Channa, his younger brother Hok Sochivorn and goalkeeping coach Suong Phirum coming on board. By comparison, the appointment is akin to Alan Shearer being made the England head coach, the fans' favourite as a player and now expected to repeat the success as national coach. Sochetra definitely has his work cut out to gel a team together ahead of the Suzuki Cup matches in October, and very little time to do it.

A point apiece

PPCFC line-up v PKR. Back Row LtoR: S Pheng, Tiny, K Njoku, Obadin, Rady, Dara. Front: Sovanna, Seiha, Chaya, Sokumpheak, Borey

The eagerly-awaiting match of the day ended all square at the Olympic Stadium today as fifth-placed Phnom Penh Crown twice led league leaders Preah Khan Reach but were twice pegged back and had to settled for a point apiece in their Metfone C-League showdown. 2-2 was the final score and there was little to choose between the two sides for much of the game. Crown had to start without influential midfielder Emmanuel Frimpong, whilst PKR were missing Sok Rithy in the heart of their defence. On 17 minutes, a nice interchange on the edge of the PKR box allowed Khim Borey to set up Sok Pheng, who cut inside and fired Crown ahead with a low drive inside the near post. Goalkeeper Samrith Seiha twice came to Crown's rescue as he dived bravely at the feet of first, Bologun Olawale and then Khuon Laboravy to deny the Preah Khan strikers what were clear goalscoring opportunities. Two decisions by the match referee went against Crown as the half-time break approached. With three minutes remaining, Lay Raksmey was booked for a challenge on Sok Pheng that was clearly inside the penalty area but referee Khuon Virak deemed the incident was an inch outside the box and Kouch Sokumpheak's free-kick came to nothing. On the stroke of half-time, referee Virak bizarrely cancelled out a second Crown goal after both he and his assistant initially agreed on its legitimacy. Pheak Rady's deep free-kick was headed back across goal by Kingsley Njoku and Chan Chaya stooped to head the ball over the line. The Preah Khan team reacted furiously, surrounding the referee and jostling him into checking with his linesman. Their deliberations ended with the goal chalked off and Njoku booked for handball. Deep into injury time, Olawale was again denied by a brilliant tip over from Seiha as Crown went in a goal ahead at the break.

It took just four minutes from the restart for PKR to conjure up an equalizer from nowhere. Crown failed to close down David Njoku and he unleashed a thunderous twenty-five yard strike that gave Seiha no chance. The scorer was booked for donning a t-shirt in memory of the recently deceased coach Solomon Damagudu. Eight minutes later and Crown were back in front when Khim Borey's twenty-five yard low drive arrowed into the corner after PKR failed to clear their lines. Both sides made changes in an effort to force the game but it was a mistake by the otherwise excellent Samrith Seiha that led to Preah Khan's second equalizer. On 65 minutes, Seiha slipped as he kicked out of his area, the ball landing at the feet of David Njoku and his perfectly-flighted chipped return sailed over Seiha's head from 35 yards out. Clear-cut chances were few and far between though Sokumpheak reacted well to a quick free-kick only to fire into the hands of Sar Sophea at the near post, whilst Chan Dara made an important clearance to deny Sok Chanraksmey at the other end. And that was it. Two goals and one point apiece. Crown coach David Booth commented at the final whistle. "I thought we should've closed down their first goal, we had five players on the edge of the box and he's hit a screamer. Same with the equalizer, we've got possession and we're winning the game, and you're really looking for a bit of patience and quality and its a scuff from the keeper that's cost us again. I don't know how many times I've said it, but our mistakes have cost us games. We should be at the top of the league if you take away the really bad mistakes that have cost us goals. It's very frustrating as second half I thought we played quite well, we looked dangerous, they looked vulnerable. It's just a mistake that has taken the gloss off the game."
PPCFC line-up: Seiha, Dara, Rady, Tiny, Obadin, Sovanna (Asonibe 70), Sokumpheak, Borey (H Pheng 88), Chaya, S Pheng (Suhana 64), K Njoku. Subs not used: Ary, Da, Vanthan, Lika, Sovan, Srin, Sothy, Makara. Bookings: Obadin, K Njoku.

Final words from PPCFC coach David Booth just before kick-off

Referee Khuon Virak with the captains, made two crucial decisions at the end of the 1st half

Kouch Sokumpheak looking focused before the teams enter the field

The Jet in charge

Blow me down with a feather. The Cambodian football federation never cease to surprise me. The federation president has just announced that the new head coach of the Cambodian national senior team will be Hok 'The Jet' Sochetra. Until recently he was a youth coach at Preah Khan Reach and number three in the Cambodian U-22s coaching set-up. In one quick blink of an eye he's been elevated to senior head coach. More on the appointment later. For the time being, here's a piece on the new boss that I did in November 2008, when he was coach of Post Tel. How times change.

The legendary Jet

Of the ten competing teams in the Cambodia Premier League, Post-Tel FC lie second from bottom. Even a name change in August from Intry Kraham Post FC hasn't done the trick, but at least they have as their coach, the most famous name in Cambodian football history. Hok 'The Jet' Sochetra is a legend in his homeland. His goal-scoring prowess saw him net 42 goals in 64 appearances for his country, even though for many of the games, he ended up on the losing side, such is Cambodia's form as one of the poorer teams in world soccer. Under German coach Joachim Fickert they did enjoy a flicker of success in the 1997 President's Cup and Southeast Asian Games and Sochetra was feted for his somersault celebration after scoring in a defeat to China. He stopped playing for the national team after the 2000 Tiger Cup competition when he landed a job with the Samart cell phone company, and his new employers refused to let him play for the team. He was just 26 years old. At the time experts rated him one of the top two strikers in Southeast Asian football and the telephone company had hired him for his popularity and promotional value, then refused to let him play! In the international wilderness, Sochetra gained weight and wasn't the same man when his employers relented and he received call-ups for a World Cup match against the Maldives and for the Tiger Cup in 2002. Lacking his renowned deadly finish in front of goal, Sochetra called it a day on the international scene despite his superlative scoring record and instead got on with a coaching role, both as an assistant coach to the Cambodian U-23 squad and as player-coach with the new Samart United team, who won the Cambodian League Championship in their first season in 2002. He spent a few seasons in charge at Samart, who changed their name to Hello United and then Phnom Penh Empire, playing sporadically until calling a halt to his playing career when taking over the reins at Intry Kraham Post, now called Post-Tel FC. If anyone can bring about a change in fortunes for the team by the sheer weight of their personality, then Hok 'The Jet' Sochetra can.

Who's in the frame?

The word on the street, so to speak, is that the Cambodia football federation will announce the name of the new head coach of the Cambodian national football team within the next week. It'll be good when they finally get around to doing it as the important AFF Suzuki Cup qualifiers are coming up in three months time (5-13 October in Myanmar) and in between time we have the bulk of the second half of the Metfone C-League to get through, whilst Phnom Penh Crown will then be involved in the AFC President's Cup in late September and the National Police team are off to Vietnam for a cup tournament. Not exactly leaving the new head coach with much time to prepare. No doubt, the coach, once appointed, will want to test out various players for his senior squad and will call on the clubs to release their players for training and friendly matches. Which will be inconvenient to say the least, as the clubs go hell for leather to make the four play-off qualifying places in the domestic league championship and then the sudden death deciders. I can definitely see a club v country problem rearing its ugly head in the near future. Planning the season to allow the national team to prepare properly for these Suzuki Cup qualifiers obviously didn't enter the heads of the federation planners.

That said, the main interest will be the name of the new head coach. The federation spokesman has already stated that they want to go with a local man, claiming that the country is now suitably stocked with A-licence coaches who can do the job. If they believe their own hype then they are living in cloud cuckoo land. The country may now have ten or so coaches - no-one is quite sure as the federation haven't officially announced the results of an A-licence coaching course that was held here a few months ago - but having the certificate is a long way from being able to coach a national team in international matches. The one man with previous experience in the role is Prak Sovannara, the coach at Naga and the country's AFC coaching instructor. He must be in the frame for the top job again, as will no doubt his brother, Prak Sokmony, who recently returned from an unsuccessful AFC U-22 Asian Cup qualifying attempt in Laos as coach of the U-22s. Other names bandied about include Pen Phat, a Khmer national team player from the 1960s who's since resided in France and coached at lower league levels over there, whilst an outside bet might be Ieng Saknida, assistant coach in the ill-fated Lee Tae-Hoon era which is now drawing to an ignominious close. The main problem is that all of them, including Sovannara to an extent, lack the essential ingredient of solid international coaching acumen at a suitably high enough level. They simply don't have the benefit of coaching national teams under their belt. My preference would be for a proven foreign coach to come in, bringing his experience and brains to the team and to help guide some of the younger local coaches who could be groomed to take over at a later date. I don't believe Cambodian football is yet ready to stand on its own two feet at national team level - the country's FIFA ranking fell seventeen places to an all-time lowest position of 192 in this week's latest table - and it requires suitable experience, maturity, guile and expertise to recover from the disastrous series of results under the departing coach.

Cambodian football fans need to see some semblance of improvement in their national team. Everyone wants to see the team winning, but we have to walk before we can run and we have not seen anything to shout about for too long. In fact the senior team has not even played a competitive or friendly match for more than a year. So the Suzuki Cup in October will be a tough test, with Cambodia one of five teams seeking the two qualification places. Myanmar, Brunei, Laos and Timor Leste are the others. With a new coach, an unknown squad of players that are still to be determined, and just three months to gel it all together, the man that the federation finally get around to appointing, will certainly have his work cut out in order to succeed.

Singapore shots

PPCFC Academy in Singapore with Ray Parlour (yellow) and coach Bouy Dary

A camera malfunction meant that a group shot of the ten Phnom Penh Crown Academy boys who returned with the runners-up trophy from their visit to Singapore last weekend doesn't exist. Instead here are a couple of photos of most of the youngsters, who will know that they should've really won the Singapore Sixes U-14 Charity competition but had to settle for second spot. The day before the matches began they had a coaching session with ex-England and Arsenal player Ray Parlour, who was the guest of honour for the weekend.

The PPCFC team before a game. Back LtoR: Samnang, Chanpolin, Baraing. Front: Senteang, Muslim, Ponvuthy

Academy praised

In Sodavid, the Academy top scorer in Singapore with six goals

Phnom Penh Crown Academy coach Bouy Dary praised his charges for their runners-up spot in last weekend's Singapore Cricket Club International Soccer Sixes U-14 Charity tournament but felt there was much to learn from the experience for the ten players who made the trip. "We were dominant in every game, including the final but we lacked concentration at the start of the last match, conceding twice before playing well for the rest of the game. We pulled it back to 2-2 but we should've scored half a dozen. Our finishing was not great and its frustrating because Bali had only two chances in the whole game. When it came to the penalties we missed twice and I think it was down to nerves. Everyone who watched the game told me the boys played exceptionally well but they must take their chances when they come along. Another lesson to learn." Dary took ten youngsters to Singapore for the two-day competition, though only nine actually played any game-time as Phoeun Sopheak is still recovering from his knee injury. The nine were: Svang Samnang, Men Piphop, Seut Baraing, Orn Chanpolin, Chhuot Senteang, In Sodavid, Yeu Muslim, Ken Chansopheak, Pov Ponvuthy. They were keen to better their third place from the previous year's competition and did exactly that, though they will kick themselves for not bringing back the winners trophy. There's a possibility of a trip to Thailand later this month for a series of games but more pressing is a match against a Banteay Meanchey representative team tomorrow (Wednesday) morning at RSN Stadium.

On the first day of the Soccer Sixes competition, Crown began like a runaway train. Playing two seven minute halves and six-a-side for each of the group matches, they met the Hevea MK Palembang team from Indonesia in the 1st game and led with two early goals from Seut Baraing before wrapping up the 4-0 win through Ken Chansopheak and Yeu Muslim. Next up was the Muhammadiyah Association from Singapore and they were easily dispensed 6-0. Muslim started the rout, Orn Chanpolin and In Sodavid both chipped in with two goals each before Pov Ponvuthy added the icing on the cake. Sodavid made an immediate impression in the third match with two goals in the first two minutes. He netted his hat-trick after Ponvuthy and Chansopheak had also scored in a 5-0 success over the Youth Football Home team from Phuket in Thailand. So far so good. The next morning the Rumah Faith Home from Malaysia were easily brushed aside in the 18 minute semi-final, with Crown winning 6-0 and looking on course for the trophy. Chanpolin, Ponvuthy, Chansopheak (2), an own goal and Sodavid were the goalscorers and Crown were through to the U-14 Charity Cup final where they would face last year's champions, Bali Sports Foundation from Indonesia. Two lapses of concentration handed the edge to Bali early doors only for Chanpolin and Ponvuthy to score and level the final tie. Rueing a few missed opportunities, the match went into three penalty-kicks per team and with two misses, Crown lost out 2-1 on sudden death spot-kicks.

What's next for the national team

The Cambodian U-22 national team conclude their AFC U-22 Asian Cup qualifying group matches this evening, when they play the hosts Laos at 7pm. Cambodia have already failed to qualify, winning their opening game against Hong Kong but falling well short in their next three matches against Thailand, China and North Korea. They'd like to save some face by beating Laos, but the host nation will also want to keep face with their own fans, so the likelihood is that Laos will prevail. I'll bring you the final result later tonight. Update: Cambodia managed a point from their final Group F match with a 3-3 draw with hosts Laos U-22s tonight, thanks to a penalty save from keeper Sou Yaty eight minutes from time. Chhin Chhoeun and Tith Dina put Cambodia ahead twice in the first-half but they still went in level pegging at the break. Laos took the lead just before the hour and then sub Phourng Soksana made it 3-3 minutes later. Pov Phearith came on as a sub and with two yellow cards in two minutes late on, saw red. Despite having the majority of possession, the home team couldn't quite satisfy a crowd of 9,800 with a winning goal.

Once the Cambodian team and coaches return from Laos, the Football Federation will have to make some snappy decisions about the future of the senior national team. They have already revealed that South Korean coach Lee Tae-Hoon is on his bike back to Korea after a thoroughly dismal 21 months in charge. The Federation have indicated in the media that they will look to go local with their next appointment. Presumably, they were hoping that Prak Sokmony's stint in charge of the U-22s would come up smelling of roses, but that hasn't happened. Despite the Federation's bravado of saying Cambodia now has a batch of coaches with A-Licence credentials, they are woefully devoid of credible international-level experience except Prak Sovannara, currently at the helm of NagaCorp. He would be the obvious choice, but the Federation may have other irons in the fire. We'll have to wait and see what they pull out of the hat this time around.

The next big competition involving Cambodia is not that far away. Qualification matches for the 2012 AFF Suzuki Cup will take place in early October in Myanmar against the hosts, Brunei, Laos and Timor Leste. Two teams will then progress to the competition proper, which will be split between hosts Thailand and Malaysia at the end of November. The complete lack of an international playing schedule of matches for the senior national team in preparation for the Suzuki Cup competition is a recipe for disaster, but will not come as a surprise to anyone. The last game for the senior national team was their World Cup fiasco in Laos last July. A year ago. All matches since that time have been at U-21, U-23 and U-22 level. This contrasts starkly with the Philippines for example, who have already scheduled twenty-plus matches for their national team leading up to the Suzuki Cup, including a tour of the United States, hosting a 4-team tournament as well as training camps in Bahrain and Japan. Now that's what I call planning ahead.

Titanic clash

They don't come much bigger than this coming Saturday's titanic clash between Phnom Penh Crown and their arch rivals Preah Khan Reach in the resumption of Metfone Cambodian League hostilities after a three-week break for the AFC U-22 competition. The two clubs come from opposite ends of the football spectrum, with Crown a successful private enterprise who've rejuvenated Cambodian football in the last few years, while Preah Khan are old school, backed by the Military Police, essentially the establishment of Cambodian football. The tables are turned for this game. Usually, it's Crown who are heading the table and punishing all before them, but this time around, Preah Khan are numero uno and Crown languish in fifth place, one spot outside the play-off places. After a topsy-turvy first half of the campaign, Crown need to get their game head on and stave off the unthinkable, which would be to not qualify for the end of season play-offs. This test against the current league leaders and against newboys Boeung Ket the following Wednesday, will demonstrate if Crown have got their act together in time to make a push for the four qualifying places. This match was originally scheduled as an end of term showdown until the football federation in their wisdom, decided to bring it forward to this coming Saturday (7 July) with a 2.30pm kick-off at Olympic Stadium. Also on Saturday, Western Uni meet the Army. The National Police versus Naga match on Sunday looks to be a tasty tussle while Chhlam Samuth face BBU in the later game. Then on Wednesday 11 July, Phnom Penh Crown are back at Olympic to meet 4th place Boeung Ket in a 2.30pm start. The two teams are already developing a grudge mentality having each won a game in their previous two meetings. Crown won 1-0 in the Hun Sen Cup, whilst the Rubbermen won the league encounter, 2-1.

Cup Final Heartache

Pov Ponvuthy celebrating one of his goals in last year's Soccer Sixes

It hurts to lose any match by way of a penalty shoot-out but it hurts even more when it's a cup final. Now the Phnom Penh Crown Academy know exactly how that pain feels after going down 2-1 on penalties in the final of the Singapore Cricket Club International Soccer Sixes U-14 Charity Tournament earlier this afternoon at the Padang cricket ground. Coming into the final the Academy boys had swept all before them with 21 goals scored in four matches and none conceded. That is until they faced last year's U-14 Singapore cup winners, Bali Sports Foundation from Indonesia. Bali took a quick two-goal lead in the final and led at half-time. The Academy youngsters recovered in the second period, pulling the game level with goals from Orn Chanpolin and Pov Ponvuthy to make it 2-2 at the final whistle, but it was the sudden-death penalties that finally undid the Academy. They lost 2-1 in the shoot-out and had to settle for second place, an improvement on last year's performance, but still a bitter pill to swallow after showing so much promise leading up to the final. Coach Bouy Dary and his ten-strong squad will return to Phnom Penh tomorrow, when I'll bring you a full report from the tournament.

U22s beaten again

Catching up with the latest football. However, nothing new to report as the Cambodia U-22 national team, taking part in the qualifying group matches for the AFC U-22 Asian Cup suffered another defeat yesterday afternoon. This time it was North Korea's U-22s that strolled to a 3-0 win with two first-half goals and another late on to settle the game. Korea and China are the two teams that qualify for next years' final stage, with one game of the qualifiers still to come. Cambodia have now lost three of their four qualifying games, with a single success over Hong Kong to show for their efforts. They meet hosts Laos, who beat Hong Kong 2-0 yesterday, in their final match on Tuesday evening. What had promised much after their thrashing of the Philippines in their final warm-up match before the competition began, has turned into the damp squib that we've all become accustomed to over the past two years under the previous coaching regime. This time around a Khmer coach, Prak Sokmony, has been at the helm but the results have an all too familiar ring to them.

Best possible start

The Phnom Penh Crown Academy boys are overseas again. Well, ten of them are anyway, in Singapore, invited by the organizers to take part in the Singapore Soccer Sizes 2012 tournament, more specifically in the U-14 Charity Cup involving teams from at least seven nations. Yesterday they were in a football clinic with ex-Arsenal star Ray Parlour. This morning they played three games in a mini-group and won all three matches, rather convincingly, to move through to the semi-finals of the cup, which will be played tomorrow (Sun) morning just after 9am. Their results this morning were as follows:
PPCFC 4-0 Hevea MK, Palembang (Indonesia)
PPCFC 6-0 Muhammadiyah Assoc (Singapore)
PPCFC 5-0 Youth Football Home, Phuket (Thailand)
Last year the Crown youngsters did well to finish third in the U-14 competition but they are one year older and wiser this time around and it certainly showed in today's group games. Head coach Bouy Dary is in charge of the boys and sent me the results by sms as the internet connection in the hotel is so poor. I should have more information tomorrow.
Sunday update: This morning the Academy boys continued their winning way in the semi-final meeting with Rumah Faith Home from Malaysia. A 6-0 win puts the Academy through to this afternoon's final, where they will meet Bali Sports Foundation from Indonesia, who were last year's champions. So far so good, four matches, 21 goals scored and none conceded.

China success

The Cambodian U-22 national team found the going too tough again this afternoon, failing 3-0 against the China U-22s in Vientiane, Laos in their qualifying encounter in the AFC U-22 Asian Cup. Two goals either side of the half-hour mark gave Cambodia a mountain to climb against their better-on-the-day opponents, who netted again near the end of the game to seal their third straight qualifying win to lead the Group F table. Cambodia now meet North Korea on Saturday, who beat Hong Kong 1-nil this afternoon.

Restoring normality

With confidence on the rise after beating Hong Kong and fans back home clamouring for a first-ever win against the Thais, the Cambodian U-22 team went into yesterday's second match in the AFC U-22 Asian Cup qualifiers with more hope than usual. Sadly, a 4-0 reversal to the Thailand U-22s in the Laos capital of Vientiane sent hopes and dreams crashing and restored some semblance of normality. Quite simply, the Thais were too strong and scored twice around the half-hour mark, then finished the job with two goals in the last twenty minutes. Sok Sovan and Chea Samnang were left out of the starting line-up but will likely return for the next match, on Thursday, against group leaders China, who brushed aside Hong Kong 5-1. North Korea overcame the hosts, Laos 2-1. So its back to the drawing board for Prak Sokmony to lift his team ahead of their toughest task, with matches against North Korea (Saturday) and Laos (Tuesday) to follow. I must admit the defeat against the Thais came as no surprise.

Who will host?

The Spartak Stadium in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan

Dushanbe's Central Stadium in Tajikistan

The National Olympic Stadium in Phnom Penh

The three stadiums under consideration to hold the 2012 AFC President's Cup final stage in September are in the country capitals of Phnom Penh (Cambodia), Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan) and Dushanbe (Tajikistan).
The National Olympic Stadium in Phnom Penh, home to Cambodia's champions Phnom Penh Crown, has a capacity of around 50,000. Cambodia is the only country of the three bidders, not to have hosted the final stages before. The stadium played a small part in the 1966 World Cup when North Korea faced Australia twice in qualifying, as Cambodia was deemed a suitable neutral location. The matches attracted 40,000 fans with North Korea winning both games. They went onto reach the quarter-finals.
The Spartak Stadium in Bishkek has a capacity of 23,000 and is home to Dordoi, the Kyrgyzstan champions. In 2008 the home team met Regar-TadAZ from Tajikistan in the AFC President's Cup final at the Spartak Stadium in front of 10,000 fans. The home team lost on penalties.
Tajikstan's capital city is Dushanbe, their champions are FC Istiklol and the capacity of their Central Stadium is 22,000. Tajikistan have hosted the AFC President's Cup final before, in 2009, in the city of Tursunzoda at the Mettalurg Stadium, as the home team were Regar-TadAZ. They again defeated Dordoi in the final 2-0 in front of 10,000 spectators. The AFC Competitions Committee will decide the hosts in July.

A dream start

The Cambodian u-22 team will be drinking in the sweet smell of success this morning after opening their AFC U-22 Asian Cup qualifying with a 3-2 victory over Hong Kong U-22s yesterday afternoon. Their win will give them renewed confidence to face Thailand on Monday in their next game, especially with the Thais suffering a 4-2 defeat by North Korea. Prak Sokmony's youngsters opened the scoring on ten minutes through Sos Suhana before Hong Kong drew level five minutes after the break. Two quick-fire goals from Phoung Soksana and Nen Sothearoth midway through the second half put Cambodia in the driving seat with a very late consolation from their opponents making it 3-2, in front of 200 spectators. Defender Sok Sovan was hospitalised after he collapsed on 54 minutes after getting an elbow to the head, but was later released to join his colleagues at their hotel to celebrate their unexpected success. In the other Group F match, China scored twice in the 1st half to defeat the hosts, Laos.

"We played beautiful football"

Bouy Dary, head coach of Cambodia's U-14 national team

I caught up with Bouy Dary this week to look back at his experiences as the Cambodia U-14 head coach and his team of promising youngsters, who returned recently from the AFC U-14 Festival of Football, impressing many with their style of play, their positive attitude and their sportsmanship throughout the tournament, which took place in Kota Kinabalu in Sabah, Malaysia earlier this month. In their nine matches, Cambodia drew three and lost six of their games, in what Dary described as a very promising series of performances against such nations as Australia, Thailand and Vietnam. The AFC themselves do not release the results of the games played at the Festival. They prefer to keep the competitive edge out of the Festival and to concentrate more on the teamwork, friendship and sportsmanship elements of the 12-nation tournament.
"I couldn't ask any more from my boys," said Dary. "We surprised everyone with our style of play. We played beautiful, passing football, all of the players have improved and they proved they could play at the highest level that their age allows. The two teams that I selected were of equal ability, everyone followed the style of play we set out for them. I must single out Long Phearath, who was fantastic. He was quite outstanding, especially against the bigger boys, as was Mat Nuron. But everyone played their part, it was a real team effort.
The boys have learnt so much. They were exposed to the culture of the different people they met from so many countries. They have learned a lot from the games they played and how to adapt their own game to different opposition. They learned from the AFC green card system of fair play and sportsmanship. Many of the boys had never flown before, but they followed our plan and were able to adapt to all the new experiences they faced quickly and easily. Personally, I took on board what the AFC were keen to promote, that the development of the boys at this age is more important than winning. I also gained a good insight and understanding into how other countries operate, which is important for us to learn from other nations.
We played good football in each match and we played fair. I am proud of the way the team performed on and off the field. Absolutely no problems. As a coaching team we also worked really hard and I can say it was a successful experience for all concerned. We were fit, our recovery was good but when we played against some of the teams like Vietnam and Thailand, they were very big by comparison and that made it hard, particularly in the attacking and defending thirds. I'm not sure about the ages of the teams we played, it's not an excuse but I looked at the teams on and off the field and many of them acted far older than their age and their attitude was very different. We held our own in most of the matches but some of the teams played the long ball and used their superior height to best advantage.
Cambodian boys are physically smaller at this age, it's all down to their background and their diet. You can see that in some of the boys who come from a good stable background, they are physically stronger. We need to work on their balance, improve their strength, their body weight and I believe they will be ready at sixteen or seventeen. I feel confident that if we look after our young players, get them good accommodation, the right food and diet and play games against good foreign opposition over the next two years, that we will improve and be in a position to win games at the U-16 level of competition. These teams are not better than us, many of our boys are already tactically and technically better, but we must look after them. It's so important. I talk to the boys a lot to encourage them, as a team and individually. They must work hard to improve and show their commitment, but now they know what the other teams are like and they can see for themselves there is no difference. That will give them great encouragement. We need to keep this group together for the next two years and I hope the Football Federation will help me to do this."
Bouy Dary is also the head coach of the Phnom Penh Crown Academy, who supplied 17 of the 22-strong squad that the Cambodia U-14s took to the AFC Festival.

Bouy Dary working with his U-14 national team squad

The bare facts

Soon to depart, Lee Tae-Hoon

The departure of Lee Tae-Hoon as the head coach of the Cambodian national football is pending, though I'm not sure why he hasn't left already as the senior team have not had a match since their World Cup debacle in Laos in July of last year, and he was overlooked as the coach of the U-22 team that open their AFC Asian Cup account later today. As football is a results-driven sport, let's take a look at Lee Tae-Hoon's twenty-one months in charge of the Cambodian team, following his arrival in August 2010, through the results his teams achieved. In competitive football, his selections played 21 matches, winning four times, drawing three and losing 14 games. They scored 29 goals and conceded 54. The competitions included the AFF Suzuki Cup, AFC Challenge Cup, FIFA World Cup, Mekong BIDC Cup, SEA Games and the Hassanal Bolkiah Trophy. His teams also played what could be classed as serious friendly matches. In these, his record was played 8, won 1, drawn 1 and lost six, scoring 6 goals and conceding 16. I haven't included the results of  another 15+ matches which his teams played against Metfone C-League clubs as warm-up games. Obviously, results don't tell the whole story, and I have covered in depth in many previous posts about my thoughts on his selections, his tactics and his results. I won't go over old ground again. Suffice to say I wasn't his greatest fan and really felt that he lost the plot when he gave such scant importance to our World Cup qualifying ambitions last year. That was simply inexcusable. Here are the results in black and white:

Competition Results:
22 Oct 2010 v Laos (AFF Suzuki Cup) Away. Drew 0-0
24 Oct 2010 v Timor Leste (AFF Suzuki Cup) Away. Won 4-2 Borey 3, Sinoun
26 Oct 2010 v Philippines (AFF Suzuki Cup) Away. Drew 0-0
9 Feb 2011 v Macau (AFC Challenge Cup Qual) Home. Won 3-1 El Nasa 2, Laboravy
16 Feb 2011 v Macau (AFC Challenge Cup Qual) Away. Lost 2-3 Borey, El Nasa
21 Mar 2011 v Maldives (AFC Challenge Cup) Away. Lost 0-4
23 Mar 2011 v Tajikistan (AFC Challenge Cup) Away. Lost 0-3
25 Mar 2011 v Kyrgyzstan (AFC Challenge Cup) Away. Lost 3-4 Sokumpheak, Rithy
29 Jun 2011 v Laos (World Cup Qual) Home. Won 4-2 Laboravy, El Nasa 2, Sokumpheak
3 Jul 2011 v Laos (World Cup Qual) Away. Lost 2-6 aet Chhoeun, Sokumpheak
9 Oct 2011 v Laos (Mekong BIDC Cup) Home. Won 2-0 Soksana, Laboravy
12 Oct 2011 v Myanmar (Mekong BIDC Cup) Home. Drew 2-2 Udom pen, Saray
14 Oct 2011 v Thailand (Mekong BIDC Cup) Home. Lost 1-2 Sovan
7 Nov 2011 v Indonesia (SEA Games) Away. Lost 0-6
9 Nov 2011 v Singapore (SEA Games) Away. Lost 1-2 Chhoeun
11 Nov 2011 v Thailand (SEA Games) Away. Lost 0-4
13 Nov 2011 v Malaysia (SEA Games) Away. Lost 1-4 Chhoeun
25 Feb 2012 v Brunei (Hassanal Bolkiah Trophy) Away. Lost 2-3 Udom pen, Vathanaka
27 Feb 2012 v Vietnam (HBT) Away. Lost 1-2 Vathanak
29 Feb 2012 v Timor Leste (HBT) Away. Lost 0-1
5 Mar 2012 v Malaysia (HBT) Away. Lost 1-3 Sothearath
Record: Pld 21 Won 4 Drew 3 Lost 14 Goals For 29 Agst 54


Friendlies:
18 Sep 2010 v Vietnam U-23 Away. Lost 0-2
21 Sep 2010 v Vietnam U-23 Away. Lost 0-3
5 Dec 2010 v Ulsan University Home. Lost 1-4 own goal
7 Jun 2011 v Malaysia Olympic XI Home. Won 1-0 Laboravy
28 Oct 2011 v Nepal U-23 Home. Lost 0-1
14 Jan 2012 v Malaysia U-23 Home. Lost 0-1
27 Jan 2012 v Ulsan University Home. Drew 3-3 Vathanaka, Chhoeun, S Udom
29 Jan 2012 v Ulsan University Home. Lost 1-2 Vathanaka

Record: Pld 8 Won 1 Drew 1 Lost 6 Goals For 6 Agst 16

Up for the cup

Three countries in collaboration with their league champion clubs from Cambodia, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan have registered their interest to organise the finals of the AFC President’s Cup to be held in September. President's Cup finalists Phnom Penh Crown, Istiklol and Dordoi are in the race to win the rights to host the AFC President's Cup finals, the third tier of AFC club football in Asia. Palestine’s debutant Al Amma’ri, Khan Research Laboratories (KRL) of Pakistan and defending champions Taiwan Power Company make up the numbers in the final to be played amongst six clubs in a league-cum-knockout format, with the top two sides playing in the final.
The AFC will carry out inspection visits to all the three interested bidders before the AFC Competitions Committee meeting in July gives the final verdict on the hosts of the 2012 edition of the cup, which started back in 2005. Dordoi, the two-time winners of the competition, topped Group B ahead of Phnom Penh Crown in May’s qualifying round held in Phnom Penh, while Istiklol won the qualifiers leaving Palestine debutants Al Amma’ri in 2nd place when they hosted Group C in the qualifiers held in May 2012. Defending champions Taiwan Power Company won both their matches in Group A to qualify ahead of KRL.

Fixture changes, again

Blow me down, the football federation have gone and done it again. They've dabbled once more with the fixture list for the second half of the Metfone C-League for some spurious reason that the Police team will be involved in some cup tournament in Vietnam. No details, just that it's a done deal. So now, Phnom Penh Crown will begin a few days earlier than expected on Saturday 7 July and will face Preah Khan Reach, rather than playing them in the final domestic encounter of the regular season. I have never known a football federation in any country make sweeping changes to the fixtures during the season, unless there has been a series of postponements due to bad weather. In the case of Cambodia, they had to amend a bunch of games because they forgot that the U-22 national team were playing in the AFC U-22 Cup, which was careless in the extreme, and now they have altered most teams fixtures again, because they've belatedly found out the Police will be playing away. Presumably they will not change the dates of the play-offs, but frankly, no-one has any idea what they will do next. They certainly have no idea.

U-22s on their way

The Cambodian U-22 squad just before departure for Laos

The Cambodian U-22 squad pose for an undated photo, most likely taken in the last day or so, before they depart for the AFC U-22 Asian Cup qualifying matches in Laos. It was published on facebook rather than through any official channel and there's only twenty players, so presumably the squad has been reduced. Or two of the players were stuck in the loo. The ones absent from the photo-call are Um Vichet and Ke Vannak, both Army players. And yes, there are no less than five coaches and a physio on the front seats. There's been no official announcement of the squad or their schedule before the games kick-off this coming Saturday when Cambodia meet Hong Kong. Below are the U-22s fixtures, in which I expect them to struggle, despite their morale-boosting 5-1 success against the Philippines recently. Tournament qualifiers are a far different kettle of fish especially when you are meeting the likes of China, Korea and Thailand. They will take no prisoners.

• Sat 23 June: Hong Kong v Cambodia
• Mon 25 June: Thailand v Cambodia
• Thu 28 June: Cambodia v China PR
• Sat 30 June: Cambodia v Korea DPR
• Tue 3 July: Laos v Cambodia

Mind the dog-shit

It's that time of year again when I get intensely annoyed that this player or that player is playing for a university team in the local educational institutions cup competition in Cambodia. I think it's called the National Football Championships and involves 24 teams from higher educational institutions, technical colleges and provincial teacher training centers. I'm told it starts this week. I've written about this before, and here's what I've said previously. What we have is the ridiculous situation that a lot of the country's very best players, even those in the Cambodian national team, are turning out in mickey mouse games for various university teams, risking injury and tiredness, playing on ill-kept pitches covered in dog-shit, etc, in the middle of the C-League season. I am gob-smacked that this is allowed to happen. I believe it's tied to getting a scholarship to study at a particular university. However, the idea of contracted professionals essentially being forced to represent their university, or else they may lose their study place, is nonsensical in the extreme to anyone that has an inkling of what professional sport is all about. In my view, this has got to stop, players must not be forced to play these farcical matches or else it will continue to devalue the sport and their own professional league. Players on contracts can play for their club and their national teams and that's it. They can't go down the park and play with their mates, they can't play in futsal competitions and they can't play for PUC against AEU, or whatever these university teams are called. If the question is about funding the individual's further education, then that is something he should build-in as part of his professional contract, or pay the university study fees himself. Both the clubs and the football federation have got to be much stronger on this. Bottom line, no contracted player should be allowed to do it. This is a perfect example of where Cambodian football needs to step up into a new era of professionalism.

All square

National Police drop down to 2nd place after a 1-1 draw

The opening match in yesterday's final day of the Metfone C-League programme for the next three weeks, saw longtime leaders National Police lose ground by only drawing 1-1 with the Rubbermen of Boeung Ket. BK keeper Peng Bunchhay was at full stretch to make two saves early doors before National Police opened the scoring with five minutes of the first half left to play. Top scorer Nelson Oladiji had the simplest of tasks to score from a yard out after Srey Udom headed on Sim Vutha's inswinging free-kick. It was pretty much even-steven throughout and Boeung Ket finally levelled on 71 minutes when Friday Nwakuna's pull-back gave Sumaila Momoh the space to jig his way through the back-line and score with a composed finish. Soon after Keo Sokngorn had two chances to secure the win for the Kompong Cham-based club but fluffed them both, to see the game out at 1-1. Preah Khan Reach have now taken over top spot in the table, with Police a point behind and Boeung Ket in 4th.

Boeung Ket came from behind to draw 1-1 with National Police

Pre-match snaps

Captain Tieng Tiny and debutant Samrith Seiha, with Odion Obadin

More photos from this afternoon's Phnom Penh Crown match with Western University, in which Crown ran out convincing 5-0 winners and moved into fifth spot in the Metfone C-League table. Western Uni remain rooted firmly to the bottom spot.

Tieng Tiny leads out the PPCFC team in red

Referee Neang Sorithya tosses with the two captains

A peek inside the Crown dressing room before kick-off with coach David Booth and his players

The Western Uni line-up that succumbed 5-0 v PPCFC

Crown coast

PPCFC v Western Uni. Back Row LtoR: Njoku, Rady, Dara, Obadin, Frimpong, Tiny. Front: Suhana, Sovanna, Chaya, Seiha, Borey

Phnom Penh Crown were expected to win with an avalanche of goals this afternoon, as they faced the Metfone C-League's bottom club, Western University in the late kick-off at Olympic Stadium. The expected glut of goals looked probable with Crown leading 3-nil within thirty minutes of the start, but the goal-feast failed to materialize and a 5-0 victory at the final whistle is the minimum that Crown supporters will be happy with. Inside the first ten minutes, chances came and went for Crown as Chan Chaya and Kingsley Njoku fluffed good openings and when Njoku did smack the ball into the net, he was flagged offside after Emmanuel Frimpong's deflected free-kick came back off the goalkeeper. On 16 minutes, a Njoku effort did finally count, as he fired his drive across Western keeper Ngoy Boranoch and into the far corner after good approach play from Pheak Rady, Sos Suhahan and Chaya. Crown made it two just four minutes later as Western failed to deal with a free-kick into their area and University defender Chan Vannak mis-cued his clearance straight to Khim Borey, who simply couldn't miss from six yards out. A minute before the half-hour and captain for the day, Tieng Tiny moved upfield, took a pass from Njoku and showed his strikers how to finish with a neat low drive into the far corner for goal number three. As the first-half came to a close, Crown's Odion Obadin headed powerfully over the bar from close-in and Chhun Sovanna sent a 25-yard drive inches wide.

Two headed attempts by Khim Borey at the start of the 2nd half signalled a similar story to the first period, with Crown well on top but lacking that bit of quality in the final third. Sos Suhana should've done better when he played a one-two with Borey and with only the keeper to beat, blasted his shot over the cross-bar. Njoku raced away but sent his drive the wrong side of the post as Crown made two substitutions just before the hour mark. One of the new faces, Hong Pheng then showed the University defence a clean pair of heels and finished with a low drive on 64 minutes to put his team four goals in front. Fellow new arrival Sok Pheng had a drive well held by Boranoch and seconds later ballooned a simple chance miles over the bar. Crown were still on the hunt for goals and got a fifth just three minutes from the end of normal time. Tiny sent a searching ball over the top of the University defence with Suhana racing clear, before playing a one-two with Sok Pheng and finishing with ease, much as he did for the Cambodian U-22s in midweek. Late on Sok Pheng was unlucky to see his drive rebound off the woodwork, and Suhana was denied by Boranoch, while Tiny was on hand to snuff out the danger when Pong Sambo managed to elude Samrith Seiha in the Crown goal. The former Army keeper had a quiet debut for Crown and was a virtual spectator for most of the match. Game over and a 5-0 win for Crown that takes them into fifth spot with sixteen points from 11 matches.
PPCFC line-up v Western:  Seiha, Dara, Rady, Tiny, Obadin, Sovanna, Frimpong (Sothy), Borey, Chaya (S Pheng), Njoku (H Pheng), Suhana. Subs not used: Ary, Srin, Da, Vanthan, Sovan, Lika, Sophanal, Makara. Bookings: Dara.

Tigerish Crown

1st half starters for PPCFC. Back LtoR: Piphop, Sodavid, Samnang, Chanpolin, Baraing, Sovann. Front: Ponvuthy, Phearath, Muslim, Chansopheak, Rozak.

Honours were even at the end of an enthralling youth game this morning as the Phnom Penh Crown U-14 Academy team met their older and stronger opponents from Preah Khan Reach's U-16 squad at RSN Stadium. With a two year advantage, the PKR team easily towered over most of the Crown youngsters and used their height and weight advantage to try to knock the Academy off their game. It didn't work. Crown stuck to their game-plan of quick incisive passing and frustrated their opponents by retaining possession and tackling tigerishly when they didn't have it. Playing three halves of thirty minutes each, Crown had the pick of the opening session, with Ken Chansopheak and Yeu Muslim bringing out good saves from the PKR goalkeeper. With much of the game being played in the middle third, chances were at a premium until halfway through the third period. Svang Samnang made a good save in the Crown goal but from the resultant corner, PKR scrambled the ball over the line to open the scoring. Undeterred, Crown pushed forward and with just five minutes remaining, Orn Chanpolin and Chhuot Senteang combined to feed Long Phearath and his accurate left foot drive found the bottom corner for the leveller. And that's how it stayed, 1-1. An excellent game for the football purists with PKR playing their part but they were unable to quell the enthusiasm and battling qualities of the Crown Academy youngsters.

2nd half starters for PPCFC. Back Row LtoR; Sovann, Sakrovy, Chanpolin, Titchhy, S Samnang, Senteang. Front: K Chhaya, Chanchav, Neout, T Chhaya, V Samnang.

Chhuot Senteang lines up a shot on goal

Cam I have a rest please coach? Pov Ponvuthy in deep contemplation

Yue Muslim hangs on the coach's every word

Kirivong shocker

Ek Sopheap's two late goals gave Kirivong a 3-1 success v Army

The Army suffered a surprise defeat in this afternoon's Metfone C-League matches at Olympic Stadium, whilst Preah Khan Reach just about managed to scrape a win in the later game. The Army, with six of Cambodia's U-22 squad starting against Kirivong, simply didn't make their superiority count when it mattered, after taking a half-hour lead through Meak Chhordaravuth's arrow header at the far post. Both keepers made good saves but the Army dominated possession without creating enough chances. They were made to pay when Mohamed Zaky scored an identical header on 70 minutes to equalise and with their tails up, Kirivong pressed home their advantage. New face Ek Sopheap proved to be the Kirivong hero with two goals in two minutes, at the very end of normal time. He slammed his first goal past Sou Yaty from ten yards out and then broke clear from the half-way line, kept his nerve and finished calmly to give his team a rare success.
In the 2nd match, Preah Khan Reach would've expected to steam-roller Chhlam Samuth from the kick-off but it never quite worked out like that. In fact the team languishing in one of the two relegation places were bolstered by no less than seven new signings and it showed, as their grit and determination blunted the PKR strikeforce, who boasted Khuon Laboravy and new face Olawale Bologun. PKR's class told in the end but they can't be happy with only Nen Sothearoth's goal separating the two teams. It came on 72 minutes and carried a stroke of good fortune as his cross caught the wind and sailed into the top corner via the gloves of new keeper Hong Ly. With a few minutes remaining, Chhlam Samuth's skipper Sunday Ayodele looked to have worked a shock leveller but after taking it around keeper Sar Sophea, he inexplicably chose to pass to a teammate instead of smashing the ball home, and the chance was gone. The last two matches to be played tomorrow, before a 3-week break in the league programme, see Boeung Ket take on the season's surprise package National Police, whilst Phnom Penh Crown need a win over bottom club Western Uni to kick-start their revival.

Kirivong ran out 3-1 winners v Army

The Army failed to capitalize on their possession and lost

Preah Khan were unconvincing in their 1-nil success

Chhlam Samuth will feel happy with 70 minutes before going down 1-0