A busy day for Crown

Korean All Stars line-up before this afternoon's warm-up match

A busy day for Phnom Penh Crown. First thing this morning, the Crown Academy boys beat the Army team 4-1 in a friendly match at RSN Stadium. Chhuot Senteang scored twice and a goal apiece from In Sodavid and Mat Sakrovy settled the game in Crown's favour. Mid-morning there was a team manager's meeting at the office of the football federation where playing colours, etc were agreed between Crown and the Korea All Stars Union team ahead of tomorrow's friendly match at the Olympic Stadium. There is construction work taking place at the stadium so access is limited. There were also two games being played on the pitch later today, which is far from ideal ahead of tomorrow's televised match at 3.15pm. After lunch the Korean players had a warm-up session on the RSN Stadium pitch before playing a thirty-minute practice match at jogging pace against a makeshift team of Korean expats. Late afternoon, the Crown players took to the field for their own training session and were introduced to Fritz Schmid, who'd arrived in the city earlier in the day. Fritz is mentoring Crown coach Sam Schweingruber for the next two weeks and will bring his vast experience and knowledge to Crown training sessions during that period. Fritz is the current number two with the Austrian national team, who are involved in World Cup qualification, and is a long-time FIFA instructor. To round off his first day in the country, he was attending a wedding tonight.

Fritz Schmid (right) and Bouy Dary at today's training session

Fritz Schmid offers advice to Bin Thierry

"I'm with you for the next two weeks, let's have some fun"

Fritz spoke French to Crown's trio of French-Khmers. LtoR: Dani, Boris, Thierry and Fritz

Fun with Football

Dribbling skills on display from this young girl at Crown's 1st festival

Whilst the club is preparing for their international pre-season friendly on Sunday against a team of Korean and Japanese League players (3pm at Olympic Stadium), Phnom Penh Crown hasn't forgotten its promise to hold regular community engagement events. So on Monday 10 December, which is Human Rights Day and a public holiday, they will hold their second Football Is Fun Festival at their RSN Stadium in Tuol Kork. Boys and girls, aged between 8-12 will be welcome to join in the fun from 1.30-4.30pm, with the Crown 1st team players taking responsibility for teaching the children some simple football skills like heading, passing, dribbling and shooting before the children join together for some fun matches. The focus is purely on having fun with football. Also joining in will be Fritz Schmid, who is also a FIFA Grassroots instructor, so this is second nature to him, and comes at the beginning of his two week mentoring stint with Crown's head coach Sam Schweingruber, the man behind this community event. Crown have identified the need to widen the scope of the football club and to build foundations with both the locals as well as encouraging young children to be passionate about football. Afterall, the future of the game lies with youngsters.

The Koreans are coming

South Korean international Kim Kun Hoan has spent the last 5 years in the J-League

The eagerly-awaited pre-season friendly with a difference for Phnom Penh Crown, has been confirmed for Sunday 9 December, at the Olympic Stadium, with a 3.15pm kick-off and will be screened live on Apsara TV (TV11). The opponents are a team of South Korean professional players, playing under the banner of Korea All Stars Union FC, and all of them perform for clubs in the top echelon of the Korean and Japanese Leagues. This standard of player has not been seen in Cambodia before, as the only Korean team we are accustomed to is one of the University also-rans, Ulsan University, who have played the Cambodian national team a few times. This touring team will be considerably better than them. Heading their player roster will be 26-year-old, 6ft 4 inch defender Kim Kun Hoan who played in the 2008 Olympics and made his senior debut for the Korean national team against Oman. He has played in the J-League for the past five years with Yokohama Mariners, Montedio Yamagata and currently, Sagan Tosu, who finished 5th in the J-League last season. Four of the visiting squad play in the J-League, with the remainder all performing in the top league in Korea, rated as the best domestic competition in all of Asia. The visitors, who have all played for the Korean university national team where they developed a bond of friendship that has brought them on tour to Cambodia, will arrive on 7 December, train the following afternoon and then head to Sihanoukville for a few days R&R after the match before heading home and the start of their domestic season in March. Tickets for the match cost 4,000Riel to sit in the main grandstand. Crown will wear red, the All Stars will wear white.

Not a bed of roses

David Booth at a recent press conference in India

It's not been a bed of roses for former Phnom Penh Crown head coach David Booth since he took over the helm at Salgaocar FC in the Indian Premier League. His team remain without a win since his arrival and with six points from eight matches, they currently reside in the bottom five places, though a run of home games this month will give them something to look forward to. Scoring goals has been a problem for his team especially with Philippines striker Angel Guirado absent due to his involvement with his country's successful AFF Suzuki Cup campaign. Amongst Booth's squad is an Australian striker with a name to be reckoned with. Sean Rooney was with Newcastle Jets before joining Salgaocar in August from Indonesian Super League club Deltras. Forthright as ever, one of David's comments after a recent defeat was; "I do not have a magic wand. Even if a new coach comes in, there should not be huge problems in adapting," he explained. The vastly experienced Englishman was one of the first foreign coaches to be successful in Indian football when he won the Federation Cup with Mahindra United in 2003. He also won the President of Maldives Invitational Soccer Cup with them that year and then in his second job in India, he got newly-formed Mumbai promoted to the I-League in 2008. In his second spell with Mahindra, he took them to a fourth-place finish in the I-League and was voted Coach of the Year before the club were disbanded. In his first season in Cambodia with Crown, he guided them to the C-League title and the final of the AFC President's Cup.

2nd December beaten on 2nd December

PPCFC starting XI. Back LtoR: Seyha, Pisa, Makara, Rady, Kano, Chamrouen. Front: Sothy, Morslim, Suhana, Phearun, Borey

With their second game in as many days, Phnom Penh Crown were able to give their whole squad a good run-out this weekend, wrapping it up with a 4-0 success over local team Pii Thnou (2nd December) at RSN Stadium this afternoon. Three first-choice players including captain Khim Borey started this afternoon's match, the rest of the starting line-up were players who didn't get much or any game-time in the 4-2 win over the Senate yesterday. In goal for 2nd December was ex-Crown stopper Hong Visokra and he was the busiest player for much of the match as Crown took the game to their opponents. Fifteen minutes in, with Visokra having already saved one-handed from Leng Makara, Borey shaped up to take a penalty kick, awarded for handball, when the referee changed his mind and gave an offside. Minutes later he wiped out a run and neat finish by Sos Suhana, again for offside. On 23 minutes, Crown got the ball in the net and this time it counted. Ly Morslim sent a tempting cross into the box and Makara stuck out a foot and directed the ball inside the far post. Visokra was required to keep out efforts from Makara, a double-save from Hong Pheng and Chhom Pisa and stood tall when Pheng broke clear and found the goalkeeper standing in his way just before the break.

Five minutes after the restart, Crown surged further ahead as Ouk Sothy's precision pass split the defence and Chhom Pisa sprinted clear, rounded the keeper and slotted into an empty net. Visokra picked up where he'd left off, keeping out efforts from Sothy and Bin Thierry but had no chance when Pheng confidently dispatched a penalty kick on 66 minutes, given for a trip on Thierry. Two minutes later, Thierry's whipped free-kick from wide right had Visokra scrambling at the foot of his post, but he could only manage to push the ball into the path of Makara, who tapped home gleefully. The chances kept coming for Crown. Sothy skipped past four players only to see his drive pushed aside by Visokra, with Pheng smacking the loose ball against the upright. Thierry was keen to get his name on the scoresheet, after netting his 1st goal the day before, but his target practice was just off with three shots from outside the box going agonizingly wide. The game ended with Crown registering an easy 4-0 success.
PPCFC v 2nd December: Chamrouen (Ary 46), Kano (Da 76), Phearun, Seyha (Srin 58), Rady, Sothy, Pisa, Suhana (Thierry 55), Morslim, Makara, Borey (Pheng 27). Bookings: None.

Hong Pheng concentrates as he scores from the penalty spot

Right winger Ly Morslim takes aim at goal

More from the Senate

Bird's-eye view of pre-match instructions

Phnom Penh Crown's latest pre-season practice match was a 4-2 win over the new faces in the C-League this season, Senate Secretariat, played yesterday afternoon. Here are some photos. The Hun Sen Cup qualifying regional matches begin tomorrow and will be played in six locations until 11 December. Group games will be played in Kampot, Siem Reap, Svay Rieng, Battambang, Ratanakiri and at Cheng Meng, just outside Phnom Penh. Crown join the competition in the group stages to be held in Phnom Penh between 20 Dec-24 Jan. They will play against two qualifying teams on 27 Dec and 10 Jan before their final group match against Preah Khan Reach on 24 Jan.

Bouy Dary with his Crown team before the game begins

Happy slappy time for the Crown squad

Bin Thierry flicks the ball over the keeper for his 1st Crown goal

This volley from Bin Thierry was pushed onto the post by the Senate keeper

Beating the Senate

PPCFC starting XI v Senate. Back LtoR: Srin, Thierry, Seyha, Boris, Pheng, Lika. Front: Da, Seiha, Dani. Suhana, Borey - click to enlarge

Phnom Penh Crown beat the Senate Secretariat team, one of two newcomers to the Metfone C-League this coming season, in a pre-season practice match at the RSN Stadium today, 4-2, but should've murdered them. Crown were without their head coach Sam Schweingruber, who's in Myanmar leading a FIFA grassroots course, which was scheduled before he took the Crown job. Without Pheak Rady and Chea Dara who were nursing injuries, the home team opened the scoring on 18 minutes once Khim Borey had been felled 30 yards out. Bin Thierry's fizzing free kick was pushed out by Senate keeper Mak Theara only to the feet of the onrushing Borey, who tapped the ball home. Two minutes later and Borey rolled home his second after Kok Boris has muscled his way past the last defender and set up his teammate for a simple goal. A minute later and a clumsy tackle by Ngoy Srin gave the Senate a lifeline and they netted from the spot-kick. Thierry and Borey sent long range efforts wide before Sos Suhana moved onto Borey's pass, outfoxed the keeper but saw his goal-bound attempt hacked clear from the line by a defender. Theara was in acrobatic form to deny a vicious Thierry drive just before the half-time interval.

Samrith Seiha's fingertips kept Crown's noses in front at the very start of the second period. And just five minutes after the re-start, Crown edged further in front. The first goal for Bin Thierry had been coming and it finally arrived when a Kok Boris pass fell to him, and he flicked the ball past Theara and rolled it in to an empty net. A minute later and Borey flashed a free-kick a foot wide of the upright from 25 yards. The Senate were not going down without a fight and a missed header by Thourng Da allowed them to nip in for their second goal on 55 minutes. With Ouk Sothy added to midfield, Crown then took firm control and did everything but score with a glut of chances going begging at regular intervals. Borey sidestepped perfectly and took aim for his hat-trick, only to send his drive too high. Thierry was on the hunt for more goals and saw two efforts blocked low down by Mak Theara, with the 2nd shaving the upright. Suhana and Pheng were both guilty of leaning back and firing their drives over the bar, whilst Borey was gifted a free header six yards out, from Thierry's pin-point cross, but he powered his header the wrong side of the post. With eight minutes remaining, Boris picked out Thierry, who in turn provided a gorgeous cross which Ouk Sothy, arriving late, headed inside the post for Crown's 4th. There was still time for Borey to put Suhana in on goal, but like his teammates, his whipped shot went high and wide. A satisfactory result for stand-in coach Bouy Dary, but I'm sure the squad will be working on their finishing in the week ahead after this showing.
PPCFC v Senate: Seiha (Chamrouen 81), Da, Seyha (Sothy 63), Srin, Lika, Boris, Dani, Suhana, Thierry, Pheng, Borey. Subs not used: Ary, Phearun, Kano, Morslim, Makara, Pisa. Bookings: None.

On the job mentoring

Fritz Schmid (left) with Austrian head coach Marcel Koller

Sam Schweingruber may be a FIFA coaching instructor for grassroots football, but he's not afraid to admit he's got a lot to learn as head coach of Phnom Penh Crown. Despite his involvement with Cambodian football at different levels over the past decade, the Crown job is his toughest yet and he is learning 'on the job' whilst applying the principles that have served him so well in the past six years with the SALT Academy and other roles. Giving him a helping hand is fellow Swiss national, and current assistant coach of the Austrian national team, Fritz Schmid, who will be spending a couple of weeks with Sam and the Crown club from 8 December, as part of a 1-to-1 mentoring program. Schmid is no stranger to Cambodia, having coached grassroots coaches here in his capacity as a FIFA instructor, as well as given his free time to help the SALT Academy. He has also worked in tandem with Sam at three coaching workshops in the past. Schmid, who is an expert at fitness, sports medicine and injury rehabilitation, has a coaching CV of considerable experience, having been a FIFA and UEFA instructor for more than twenty years as well a coach with top teams such as FC Basel (where they won 4 league championships and 4 cups in Switzerland), with Zurich Grasshoppers and a brief spell with Tottenham Hotspur. In addition, he's been a sports journalist, a skiing and swimming instructor and now he is number 2 to Marcel Koller with Austria fighting an uphill battle to make the World Cup finals. For Sam, learning from someone like Schmid will be invaluable as he approaches his first season as head coach of a senior team. In addition, the Crown squad will also benefit from the two-week close involvement with a senior European coach.

Success in Singapore

Hats off to the winning U-15 Girls team from Cambodia

It's not often that Cambodian football can report a success on foreign soil. So hats off to the squad of sixteen Cambodian girls, all in the U-15 age range, who went to Singapore this week, under the tutelage of Phnom Penh Crown's head coach Sam Schweingruber, and recorded a 3-0 success. Goals from Sopheavy (2) and skipper Kimhoeng. And if to add insult to injury against their highly-rated opponents, it was against the Singapore U-17 national team as well. Sam tells me it was fully deserved, Singapore were restricted to one chance in the whole game whilst the Cambodian girls, with all but one of the squad coming from Battambang, were totally dominant. Great stuff. The girls were training with and playing against the Phnom Penh Crown Academy boys before their Singapore trip and the link-up proved fruitful. Sam has a foot in both camps, having coached grassroots and girls football in Battambang for the past six years before joining Crown, and this show of force by the Cambodian girls team is a demonstration of all the hard work put in by the Battambang-based SALT Academy and Mighty Girls coaches and of course, the girls themselves.

Crown come home

PPCFC v PKR. Back LtoR: Seyha, Pheng, Ary, Thierry, Rady, Borey (capt). Front: Da, Makara, Dani, Sothy, Lika.

With a starting line-up affected by injury and suspensions, Phnom Penh Crown didn't manage to pull off the unlikely result they were hoping for, going down 3-0 to local rivals Preah Khan Reach in the final Pool B game of the Binh Phuoc TV Cup, played in Dong Xoai in Vietnam. With their second win in three games, Preah Khan qualify for the semi-finals later in the week. Assistant coach Bouy Dary reported that the Crown team played better than against Hanoi in their previous game but couldn't find the net against their more experienced opponents, with PKR breaking the deadlock on 15 minutes through Moul Daravorn and then scoring twice more just after the hour and on 72 minutes, courtesy of Sok Chanrasmey and Sam Pidor. Crown will now head back to Phnom Penh to continue their pre-season preparation with a match against the South Korean All Stars and the beginning of their Hun Sen Cup competition, where they are also due to meet Preah Khan.
Crown line-up v PKR: Ary, Da, Seyha (Hasan 75), Rady (Srin 85), Lika, Dani (Dara 79), Sothy (Suhana 46), Thierry, Pheng, Makara (Pisa 75), Borey. Subs not used: Seiha, Phearun, Kano, Morslim. Bookings: none. 

Facing the Koreans

As part of their pre-season preparation, Phnom Penh Crown will meet a visiting team from the best footballing nation in Asia, if you trust the World Cup and AFC Champions League form-book. South Korean football has been at the top of the Asian football rankings for the last few years, so it will be an exciting comparison for Crown, who are scheduled to meet the Korean All Stars Union FC at the Olympic Stadium on Sunday 9 December, with the KO set for 4.30pm. The game will be shown live on TV11, so the kick-off time has still to be confirmed. So who are the All Stars Union team you might ask? They're a group of friends, who are coming to Cambodia to play this match and enjoy a holiday during their off-season, and who just happen to be packed to the gills with experienced professionals who ply their trade in the top divisions of both the Korean and the Japanese Leagues. This is not a minor university team like Ulsan University, who gave the Cambodian national team a run for their money in the last couple of years, but a team made up of players with genuine experience in the highest levels of Asian football. Korean football is known for its competitive nature, physical prowess, pace and hard work combined with a high level of technical ability, so Crown can expect a tough pre-season warm-up game ahead of them. The game is likely to be televised.

Of the visiting squad of sixteen players, only defender Kim Kun Hoan has worn the shirt of the Korean Republic national team. The 26-year old, who has played in the J-League for the past five years with Yokohama Mariners, Montedio Yamagata and Sagan Tosu, played in the 2008 Olympics and made his senior debut against Oman. Four of the squad currently perform in the Japanese League. Defender Choi Jae Eun is with V Varen Nagasaki, joining the J-Leaguers from Incheon United. Midfielder Kim Jung Hyun is just 22 and plays with FC Gifu, whilst Moon Joo Won played with Daegu and Gangwon in Korea before moving to Sagan Tosu. Eight of the squad are with clubs in the Korean top flight with a key man to watch being 23-year old striker Jung Sung Min, the K-League reserve's top scorer before stepping up to the Gangwon team last year. The others are: Lee Ho (Gangwon, Daejeon Citizen), Kang Woo Ram (Bucheon, Daejeon), An Dong Hyeok (Gwangju), Lim Hyun Woo (Daegu), Jung Chul Woon (Gangwon, Daejeon), Han Deok Hee (Incheon, Daejeon), Kim Nam Chun (FC Seoul), joining Pattaya United's Ko Jii Man and two Kwangwoon University players, Song Chi Hun and Lee Hu Gwon. After playing against PPCFC, the Koreans will head to Sihanoukville for a few days R&R before heading home and the start of their domestic season in March.

Choi Jae Eun from V Varen Nagasaki

Striker Jung Sung Min from Gangwon

With FC Gifu in the J-League, Kim Jung Hyun

Kim Kun Hoan has spent the last 5 years in the J-League

Midfielder Moon Joo Won was last with Sagan Tosu in Japan

Cup action

The AFF Suzuki Cup kicks-off later today when Vietnam line up against Myanmar in Bangkok in Group A. Also in the same group, and playing each other immediately after, are hosts Thailand and Philippines. Tomorrow Indonesia and Laos start the Group B matches, which are being played in Malaysia, with the host country and Singapore also in the fray. You will recall that Cambodia failed to qualify for the final stages after losing all four qualifying matches which took place in Yangon - versus Timor Leste 5-1, Laos 1-0, Brunei 3-2 and Myanmar 3-0 - which saw Cambodia finish bottom of the rankings and sounded the death knell for coach Hok Sochetra. Since Sochetra's departure, the country's football federation have decided not to appoint a successor as they have no matches in the pipeline. Saving a few pennies and stalling the development of the country's national team at the same time. All the Suzuki Cup matches will be live on TV across the region, including Cambodia.

Back to earth

PPCFC line-up: Back LtoR: Srin, Boris, Pheng, Seiha, Thierry, Rady. Front: Seyha, Sothy, Makara, Dani, Borey (capt) - click to enlarge.

Their fine pre-season form came back down to earth with a bump this afternoon, when Phnom Penh Crown came unstuck against the Hanoi T&T U-21 team in the 2nd Pool B game of the BPTV Cup, played in Dong Xoai in Vietnam. Coach Sam Schweingruber commented; "The result looks worse than the performance and wasn't really fair to be honest. They had 4 chances and scored three excellent goals. We had 60%+ possession of the ball but we didn't create enough chances. 2nd half we were better but just couldn't find the breakthrough and they caught us again on the counter-attack." Without the injured Sos Suhana (hamstring) from the start, Crown went behind on 15 minutes and on the stroke of half-time conceded a second from a header. After the break, Hong Pheng was unlucky not to score and Pheak Rady went off with an ankle injury, before Hanoi broke away and netted a 25-yard scorcher on 78 minutes. A minute before the end of what was ultimately a disappointing day for Crown, it went from bad to worse. A hard challenge from Kok Boris was seen by the referee as too aggressive and he flashed a red card, to add to four yellow cards for Ouk Sothy, Bin Thierry, Khim Borey and Ngoy Srin. That means Boris, Sothy and Srin will miss the final group match against Preah Khan Reach on Sunday. Injuries are likely to rob Crown of Rady, Suhana, Mart Hasan (ankle) and Thourng Day (sickness) for the same game too. Just for the record, PKR hammered the Laos TV team 17-0 in the 2nd game of the afternoon.
PPCFC line-up: Seiha, Dani, Seyha (Phearun 88), Srin, Rady (Lika 59), Boris, Thierry, Makara (Dara 70), Sothy (Pisa 75), Pheng (Morslim 88), Borey. Subs not used: Chamrouen, Da, Kano, Hasan. Bookings: Sothy, Thierry, Borey, Srin; Boris (red card).

Crown kick-off in style

PPCFC v Laos TV line-up: Back LtoR: Srin, Boris, Seyha, Rady, Pheng, Thierry. Front: Makara, Seiha, Suhana, Dani, Borey (capt). Click to enlarge

The BPTV Cup burst into life for Phnom Penh Crown this afternoon as they demolished their first opponents in Pool B of the competition, the Laos National TV team. Crown ran out easy 5-1 winners but with more composure in front of goal it should've been a lot more. Head coach Sam Schweingruber admitted his team began nervously before taking control and destroying the opposition after the interval. Captain for the day, Khim Borey slotted home a 20th minute penalty kick to calm Crown nerves after Men Seyha was felled on the edge of the box. If they thought they'd have it their own way, the Laos team thought otherwise and levelled eight minutes later, and it needed a brilliant one-handed save by Samrith Seiha to keep it that way, moments later. Borey fluffed a couple of good opportunities as the teams went in all-square at the break. Ten minutes into the second half and Hong Pheng's tricky run and persistence paid off with a lucky bounce that allowed him to slot Crown back in the driving seat. Another ten minutes later and substitute Mart Hasan finished calmly following a Bin Thierry pass that sent Pheng to the bye-line and his pull-back was inch perfect. Thierry and Kok Boris had long range efforts tipped over before Pheng headed his second on 76 minutes, standing all alone as Seyha's cross was floated in. Borey rounded off the scoring spree, with a simple tap-in after another Seyha run and sweet low cross. Bookings for Boris, Pheak Rady, Ngoy Srin and Ouk Sothy were undeserved according to the coach and may count against Crown later in the competition. They will now meet the Hanoi T&T U-21 team on Friday. Hanoi were three goals to the good against Preah Khan Reach in the earlier game before PKR stormed back to draw 3-3. 
PPCFC line-up: Seiha, Dani, Seyha, Srin, Rady (Lika 75), Boris (Dara 75), Thierry, Makara (Hasan 49), Suhana (Sothy 58), Pheng (Pisa 80), Borey. Subs not used: Ary, Da, Phearun, Kano. Bookings: Boris, Rady, Srin, Sothy. To see the match highlights on YouTube, click here.

Official website on the mend

The Phnom Penh Crown official website - http://www.phnompenhcrownfc.com - has been unwell for a few months. Like a sickly child. In actual fact it's not been updated for quite a few months, until today. With the help of a Crown fan in the United States, Matt Kun, the website is nearly back to full fitness and is up and running, albeit gingerly, at last. It will be thoroughly updated over the coming weeks but I'm happy to report its over the worst and will go from strength to strength ahead of the upcoming new season. In its absence, the club's Facebook page has taken up the mantle and with over 3,000 likes, its become an online Mecca for Crown football fans with a thirst for club news.

The BPTV Cup draw

The PPCFC squad enjoy a photo op at Gold City Casino. Click to enlarge

Phnom Penh Crown will kick-off their pre-season preparation in Vietnam tomorrow when they meet unknown opposition in the form of a Laos TV team, in Pool B of the invitational Binh Phuoc TV Cup 2012, being played in Dong Xoai, the capital of Binh Phuoc province, located just north of Ho Chi Minh City. The Crown team left Phnom Penh on Sunday morning, stopping for lunch at the Gold City casino on the border at Trapeang Sre, before heading to their hotel in Dong Xoai. The draw for the tournament, two groups of four teams each, was made at the team manager's session this morning and paired Crown with local rivals Preah Khan Reach, as well as the Laos TV team and the Hanoi T&T U-21s from Vietnam. The draw for Pool B is as follows;
Wed 21 Nov: v Laos TV - 3:30pm
Fri 23 Nov: v Hanoi T&T U-21s - 1:30pm
Sun 25 Nov: v Preah Khan Reach - 1:30pm
The semi-finals will be on Wednesday 28 November and the final two days later, Friday 30th. In the other group, C-League champs Boeung Ket face the national U-21s from Laos, Ho Chi Minh City and hosts Binh Phuoc. Two teams from each group will progress to the semi-finals. Crown head coach Sam Schweingruber will select from a squad of 22 players. Club captain Kouch Sokumpheak is with the squad but is still some way off returning to the team, still undergoing rehabilitation from the knee ligament injury he suffered in July.

The PPCFC squad out shopping in Dong Xoai, Vietnam

Hard luck story

The starting PPCFC Academy line-up. Back Row ltor: Sakrovy, Piphop, Sodavid, Samnang, Baraing, Chanpolin. front: Noeut, Phearath, Muslim, Chansopheak, Rozak

No one likes a cheat to prosper. Hence the vexation at the end of this morning's friendly game between the Phnom Penh Crown Academy and the Preah Khan Reach U-16s, which the latter won 3-2. The PKR goalkeeper pole-axed Chhuot Senteang, conceding a stonewall penalty and his dangerously-high tackle merited a red card. He got a yellow and then saved Ouk Sovann's spot-kick that was hit too straight. It should've been PKR's second dismissal of the game, after two yellows in the space of a minute for one of their strikers five minutes before half-time. Sportingly, Crown allowed PKR to return to eleven players for the duration of the 2nd half. Today was the sixth meeting between the two teams in the past six months and the older PKR team continue to hold the advantage, winning three of the games, with three draws completing the results; 1-1, 0-1, 2-2, 3-3, 3-5 and today's 2-3 reverse for Crown.
On a soggy RSN pitch due to overnight rain, PKR began strongly and were two goals up after 14 minutes, after Crown twice surrendered possession in dangerous areas and were made to pay. It was 20 minutes before Crown tested the PKR keeper for the first time. On 32 minutes, PKR were reduced to ten-men after a rush of blood, twice, by one of their players. A misplaced back-pass gave Mat Sakrovy an early opportunity to reduce the arrears, which he gobbled up, two minutes before the break. After half-time, Crown at last found their feet and their passing game, with Mat Nuron finding Orn Chanpolin and his 22-yard super strike levelled the scoreline twenty minutes into the 2nd period. Ten minutes later and another defensive error allowed PKR to nose back in front. A couple of minutes after that and Senteang was floored and forced to limp out of the game, after a shocking goalkeeper's challenge, but Sovann's penalty was too tame. In the final minute, Sraing Titchhy's free-kick was tapped home by Yeu Muslim but a linesman's flag went up late to deny Crown's U-14s the draw their efforts deserved.

Chhuot Senteang is denied by the goalkeeper

Ouk Sovann's penalty kick was saved

The last minute tap in at the far post by Yeu Muslim was flagged offside

The Academy adopt the club's new happy-slappy pre-match routine

Up close and personal

PPCFC Coach Sam Schweingruber offers up his pre-match instructions

A few photos from the Phnom Penh Crown camp, taken on Monday when the Crown team beat Naga Corp 1-0 in a pre-season friendly match at RSN Stadium. Crown now travel to Vietnam on Sunday for a two-week tournament to continue their pre-season preparation, with the Hun Sen Cup competition due to begin on 20 December.

Mart Hasan controls the ball in pre-match warm-up

Pre-game team bonding, with happy-slappy replacing the team huddle

Hong Pheng challenges the Naga keeper Rovinyothin

Half-time team talk with coach and players

After-match knocks and strains for Boris, Rady and Thierry

Crown sink Naga

Khim Borey heads the game's only goal on 49 minutes

Coach Sam Schweingruber won't allow his young Phnom Penh Crown team to rest on their laurels after their 1-0 win over the vastly experienced Naga Corp this afternoon. Last season's beaten play-off finalists Naga have added even more know-how to their line-up but found Crown's youthful line-up a tough nut to crack. With just a few weeks together as a squad under their belt, Schweingruber will be pleased that his side won a tough battle against seasoned opponents in just their third outing under his control, before they head off to Vietnam for their pre-season tournament on Sunday. Practice matches like this are not necessarily good indicators for the coming season as teams try out new tactics and formations and make numerous changes in each match. Schweingruber will certainly err on the side of caution, with Naga creating nearly as many chances as his team, though it was Crown's most experienced player, Khim Borey, who was the difference, grabbing the only goal of the game four minutes into the 2nd half. For Naga, no less than 5 ex-Crown players were on the pitch at various intervals including new arrivals Tieng Tiny and Chan Dara, as well as Sun Sopanha, Sun Sovannrithy and San Narith.

The PPCFC line-up: Back Row LtoR: Borey, Pheng, Seyha, Boris, Rady, Srin. Front Row: Thierry, Makara, Da, Suhana, Seiha. Click to enlarge.

The match was played at Crown's RSN Stadium and it was Bin Thierry who offered up the first strike, playing in a central midfield role alongside fellow import Kok Boris, winning the ball off Om Thavrak and sending a low drive a foot wide after three minutes. Ngoy Srin was alert to divert a goal-bound shot from Kop Isa, before Leng Makara's header brought a diving save from Naga keeper Pich Rovinyothin. A raking cross-field pass from Khim Borey found Hong Pheng in space but his curler missed the upright by a yard. On 34 minutes, Borey raced onto a Boris through ball, headed over the stranded Rovinyothin and rolled the ball into the net. The referee initially awarded the goal, only to rule it out when he spotted the linesman's late flag. A few minutes later Thierry sent another long drive skidding wide before Boris thumped the ball from 25 yards out, only to see Rovinyothin throw himself full-length to his right to paw the ball away. Isa volleyed over the top to bring the first-half to a close.
The 2nd half opened up with Crown in control and within four minutes of the restart, Khim Borey ghosted into the six-yard box to head Bin Thierry's precise corner kick down and past an impotent Rovinyothin for the game's opening goal. Five minutes later and Borey's deft pass saw Leng Makara whip in a powerful drive which the keeper did well to block with his body and clear the danger. Twenty minutes gone and Crown conceded a free-kick just twenty yards from goal. Chuon Chum arched the ball over the wall and onto the post with Pen Stephane whacking the loose ball against the other upright as Naga came closest to scoring. With Kouch Dani probing from left-back, he tried his luck with two shots from outside the area, both going wide of the target. Srin was booked for pulling back Chhim Sambo and from the resulting free-kick, Tiny's punt was pushed over from under the bar by Yok Ary in the Crown goal. And that, in terms of chances, was it. Crown were visibly elated to have won against their much-favoured opponents and will take the positives from their battling qualities into the rest of their pre-season programme.
Crown line-up: Seiha (Ary 46 (Chamrouen 80)), Da, Seyha (Dani 62), Srin (Lika 83), Rady, Boris (Hasan 62), Thierry (Pisa 83), Suhana, Makara, Borey (Sothy 69), Pheng. Subs not used: Phearun, Kano, Dara, Morslim. Bookings: Srin.

The starting line-up for Naga Corp including ex-PPC Sopanha, Dara and Narith

Academy back in gear

PPCFC Academy in the first-half v Army

It has been exactly a month since the Phnom Penh Crown Academy youngsters played their last match. And it showed. The boys were rusty in the early stages of their match this morning, against an Army team who were mostly boys a year or two older than the Crown Academy line-up. Though their passing game on a soggy RSN Stadium pitch wasn't up to their usual standard initially, they were still too good for the Army team, and their shooting came to the fore, particularly in the first-half. In fact I recall only one serious attempt on goal by the Army team in the whole 90-minute match, when Ouk Sovann cleared off the goal-line. At the other end, Crown took a three-goal half-time lead and with a completely changed line-up at the interval, went onto record a 4-0 victory. Long Phearath ventured forward to open the scoring on ten minutes with a left-foot stinging half-volley from a wide angle. Twenty minutes later In Sodavid picked his spot, the top left-hand corner, with a powerful sidefoot from 22 yards out. On the stroke of half-time, Orn Chanpolin lashed in another screamer from 25 yards, which gave the hapless keeper no chance. 10-men Crown had played for twenty minutes without centre-half Sraing Titchhy who twisted his ankle. After the break, the Army successfully repelled Crown's advances until ten minutes from time when Mat Sakrovy cut inside his marker and unleashed another thundering effort into the top corner. Four fabulous strikes, all from outside the penalty box. Another successful day at the office for the Crown Academy.

The 2nd half Academy team

In Sodavid breaks into the Army penalty box

Half-time team talk from coach Bouy Dary

Back Row, LtoR: Kiry (coach), Ponvuthy, Chanchav, Sodavid, Piphop, Senteang, Titchhy, Chanpolin, S Samnang, Baraing, K Chhaya, Sakrovy, Sovann. Front Row: Phearath, T Chhaya, David, Muslim, Noeut, Chansopheak, Ronaldo, Nuron, Rozak, V Samnang, Dary (coach)