Away defeat

Result: PPCFC Academy 2 Kirivong U-19s 5 (Friendly).
The Crown Academy suffered a rare defeat on their travels to Kirivong this afternoon, after taking a 3rd minute lead with a fine individual goal by Mat Sakrovy. A catalogue of defensive errors allowed the home team to draw level and take a commanding 4-1 lead by the half-time interval. Despite 8 changes for Crown after the break, Kirivong extended their lead by taking advantage of a woeful clearance before Oun Ravuth pulled back a consolation goal late on for PPCFC with a good finish.
PPCFC line-up, back row, LtoR: Sakrovy, Chanchav, Senteang, N David, Chandara, Chetra. Front: Piseth, Bony, Pheng, Piphop, Chansopheak.

Birthdays in Augut

August will be a busy month for birthdays amongst the PPCFC playing staff. First, and on the 1st, will be goalkeeper Keo Soksela, who celebrates his 19th birthday on the same day we play Army and having this week been part of the Cambodia NT squad. South Korean import Jang In Yong will be 24 years old on the 5th of the month. The rest of the birthdays belong to our Academy youngsters: 5th - Ky Rina and Chea Chandara; 8th - Kim Chanthy; 11th - Chea Saoyi; 29th - Lim Pisoth; 30th - Tin Ladin. Happy birthday in advance to all of our players with a special day in August, and not forgetting Sin Kakada, who is 16 years old today.

Charity auction

At tonight's Gala Dinner to celebrate the successful conclusion of the IFC International Soccer 9s Tournament, for over-40s, held at RSN Stadium all day today, with 18 teams from 7 countries and over 300 players taking part, a PPCFC jersey signed by the 1st-Team squad was auctioned for an amazing US$7,200 with the proceeds going to charity. 
Kantha Bopha Children's Hospital was the tournament's chosen charity and a fabulous total of over US$70,000 was raised. A gift by the organisers to Rithy Samnang, the Crown President, of a Michael Owen-signed jersey was generously handed back for auction and raised no less than US$20,000. The veterans tournament was won by the Century Lucky Star team from China. Congratulations to the International Football Club of Kuala Lumpur on a very successful tournament and a large sum of money raised for the children of Cambodia.

PPCFC head coach speaks ahead of Monday's big clash at RSN Stadium with Army.
https://www.facebook.com/PhnomPenhCrownFC/videos/1316456585048529/

Balmy effect

The PPCFC squad are pictured before today's training session at RSN Stadium with supplies of Neotica Balm for the relief of muscular aches and pains. Thanks to the Thainakorn Patana Company for their support to PPCFC. In the gym before training begins are Anthony Aymard and George Bisan, putting in some additional hard work on weights. Most of the squad will be heading to Olympic Stadium after training to watch the Cambodia vs Singapore international friendly, to show their support for the national team and their three colleagues in the squad, Thierry, Sokpheng and Soksela.

Torrential rain, a delayed kick-off and even going down to 10-men after a red card didn't stop the Cambodia national team from recording a hard-earned 2-1 victory over visiting Singapore at the National Olympic Stadium in tonight's international friendly match. Chan Vathanaka and Tit Dina scored the goals in the first-half, with PPCFC's Keo Sokpheng in the starting line-up. Bin Thierry and Keo Soksela were unused substitutes. 

Korea Day

The PPCFC vs Army match on Monday evening (1 August), kick-off at 6pm at RSN Stadium, will see an influx of Korean nationals at the match as they celebrate 'Korea Day' at the game. PPCFC's two South Korean players, Jang In Yong and Kim Hyeon Woo, will be joined on the pitch by the quartet of North Korean players in the Army line-up. The Korean community in Phnom Penh will provide entertainment before the match (a female singing & dancing group, Superior F from K've Entertainment), during half-time (an exhibition of Kyeong Mu Do martial arts) as well as providing free samples of sparkling rice wine in a celebration of all-things Korean.

Family support

We want to say thanks to the families of our Academy boys who give their sons great support in their journey to become professional footballers. A great example is the family (pictured) of 12-year-old Tin Ladin, one of four PPCFC Academy youngsters who flew out this morning with the Cambodia U-13 team that will play a festival in China. The family group travelled from their home in Battambang to send off their son at the airport and like the families of our other Academy boys, they provide important family support for their son's football development. A big THANK YOU to the families from the staff at PPCFC. Also pictured are the four PPCFC Academy players, LtoR, Chhoy Laiheang, Yim Makara, Tin Ladin and Sem Phanny, before they board their plane to Beijing.

The three PPCFC players - Bin Thierry, Keo Sokpheng and Keo Soksela - will be part of the Cambodia National Team squad who take on Singapore in an international friendly match at the Olympic Stadium tomorrow night (Thursday), at 6.30pm. Another large crowd is expected to watch the match at the stadium and the game is also live on BTVNews. Both teams have important players missing, which will give a chance for others to show their talent. 
Also tomorrow, 4 of the PPCFC Academy will travel to China to play in the U-13 Soong Ching Ling Cup until 4 August with the Cambodia U-13 national team. They are goalkeeper Chhoy Laiheang, Yim Makara, Tin Ladin and Sem Phanny with one player from our community team, Noreak Titya, joining them. Good luck to the Cambodia team.

In the Vietnamese news

PPCFC are in the Vietnamese media at Bongda @ http://www.bongda.com.vn/chuyen-chua-ke-ve-hlv-phnom-penh-crown-bi-de-doa-thu-tieu-p2-d353723.html
and @ http://www.bongda.com.vn/chuyen-chua-ke-ve-clb-danh-gia-nhat-vuong-quoc-campuchia-phan-i-d353673.html
Their reporters visited RSN Stadium whilst they were in Phnom Penh reporting on the recent AFF U-16 Youth Championships.

Cambodia U-14 results

Congratulations to the Cambodia U-14 national team who played their opening match in the AFC U-14 Regional Football Festival in Brunei this morning. With PPCFC Academy boys Ky Rina and Bros Vutha in the starting line-up, they recorded a 3-1 win against the Philippines. The third Crown Academy youngster in the squad, Chum Sokly, was among the substitutes. The U-14 team will play 3 more matches in the tournament: vs Timor-Leste (27 July), vs Malaysia (29 July) and Laos (30 July). At U-14 level the festival focuses on development, playing games against other national teams and football education rather than competition results, which are of secondary importance.
(27 July) In their second game in the AFC U-14 Regional Football Festival in Brunei this morning, the Cambodia U-14 national team defeated Timor-Leste 11-0. Top scorer was PPCFC's Ky Rina (jersey no.25), who scored 5 goals. Bros Vutha (jersey 24) from PPCFC also started the match. Chum Sokly was on the substitutes bench. The Cambodia U-14s have two more matches in the festival: vs Malaysia (29 July) and Laos (30 July). We should remember that at U-14 level the festival focuses on development, experience and educational values, rather than competitive results. 
(29 July) After last night's celebrations for the Cambodia national team and their 2-1 success over Singapore, there was disappointment this morning for the Cambodia U-14 national team, who lost 5-1 to Malaysia in their third AFC U-14 Regional Football Festival match in Brunei. This came after victories over Philippines (3-1) and Timor-Leste (11-0). Their final match in the festival, which focuses on development rather than results, will be tomorrow against Laos. PPCFC's Ky Rina, Bros Vutha and Chum Sokly are part of the national team squad.
(31 July) The Cambodia U-14 national team ended their AFC U-14 Regional Football Festival in Brunei with a defeat to Laos yesterday, 13-0. It was their second defeat after they won their opening two matches in a four-game series. PPCFC's Ky Rina, Bros Vutha and Chum Sokly were part of the national team squad, who will now return to Cambodia after their experiences on the international stage.

Sam on NT win

Head coach Sam Schweingruber's views on his team's 3-2 success against the Cambodia National Team last night. "The objectives are always different for friendly games than when league points are at stake. We were hoping to be more compact and to press at certain times. It didn't happen often enough - we want to get into the habit as when we did it, we did it well. It was a topic in training this week. And we scored 3 goals so that's good.
In the first-half we were a bit intimidated to start with, not good enough in possession, though it was an amazing headed goal, beautiful, as we had hardly any chances the whole half. I expected better. And a very disappointing goal to concede at the start of the second-half, but it happens at all levels. I was pleased with our response, we had chances in the air, we scored three headed goals and I'm satisfied that what we wanted to happen, worked against good opposition." In the picture, Sam speaks to his players at the final whistle.
Watch the video highlights from PPCFC's 3-2 victory over the Cambodia National Team at RSN Stadium on the club's YouTube channel @https://youtu.be/Zs7XfWxaKyE

Competition winners

Three of our ACADEMY 5 competition winners - Heng Sophanith, Kosol Naro Lan and Nova SilentZz - receiving their signed PPCFC jerseys from our Academy players - Yue Safy, Mao Piseth, Sin Kakada and Yet Chetra - who represented the Cambodia U-16 national team with such distinction during the recent AFF Smart U-16 Championships. They received their prizes at half-time during Crown's 3-2 win over the Cambodia National Team yesterday. Thanks to everyone who joined in the competition, and if you didn't win, try again as we will have more opportunities in the near future.

On opposing sides

Teammates on opposing sides as Kok Boris and Bin Thierry captained their respective teams in yesterday's encounter at RSN Stadium. Both players have made the journey from France to play in Cambodia at the highest level and as comrades-in-arms in winning the Championship together for PPCFC, but it was Boris who will have the bragging rights for the next few weeks, after Crown's 3-2 victory in the friendly practice match.

National Team beaten

Match Report: PPCFC 3 Cambodia National Team 2 (Friendly).3 headed goals gave PPCFC a victory over the Cambodia NT who are preparing for their friendly with Singapore on Thursday. Crown's foreign contingent were the goalscorers with Kim Hyeon Woo, rising high above everyone else to powerfully head the ball home from Seut Baraing's free-kick, for the first goal on 15 minutes. That was after his compatriot Jang In Yong screwed a good opportunity across the face of goal, while Keo Soksela tipped a powerful Chan Vathanaka drive over the cross-bar at the other end. Three minutes after the home side went ahead, Cambodia were back in it when Tit Dina headed in after Vathanaka and Sos Suhana created the space.
Five minutes into the second half, Cambodia went ahead when Khuon Laboravy took advantage of a miskick and set up Keo Sokpheng for a tap-in against his club team. U-16 NT keeper Svang Samnang saved Laboravy's header at the foot of the post, before George Bisan arrived with perfect timing to power in a header from In Sodavid's corner on 63 minutes, to make it 2-2. Both teams made a number of substitutions before Crown trialist Marwin Guine was denied by Keo Soksela, who had swapped sides at the break. On 76 minutes, Bisan scored his second and Crown's third, finding space in the box to head in Leng Makara's deep cross. In time added on, Samnang protected his team's victory with a crucial save from Laboravy's shot as the home team recorded a 3-2 success.
PPCFC line-up (in red), back row, LtoR: Jang, Aymard, Kim, Makara, Bisan, Boris. Front: Sothy, Chanpolin, Baraing, Soksela, Sodavid.

Academy beat Army

Result: PPCFC Academy 7 Army U-19 2 (Friendly). 
Army took the lead after just 42 seconds of this friendly game at RSN Stadium this morning, but then experienced the full force of Crown's comeback before the interval. Sath Rozak collected a hat-trick of excellent one-touch finishes, the third goal a perfect example of first-time passing that tore open the Army defence. Mat Sakrovy also scored, as did Chea Chandara, from the penalty spot after Sakrovy was tripped. After the break, San David and Sakrovy scored before Army's late consolation, in a game dominated by the home team.
PPCFC line-up, back row, LtoR: Chanchav, Panha, V Samnang, Sakrovy, Chandara, Bony. Front row: Chansopheak, Piphop, N David, Rozaak, Punlork.

Cambodia U-16 AFF reports

The AFF Smart U-16 Championship came to a close tonight with the Cambodia U-16s losing 3-0 to Thailand in the 3rd Place Play-off at Olympic Stadium, to end the tournament in 4th position. An excellent showing by Cambodia over the course of the competition, in which they made the semi-finals for the very first time and attracted near-capacity crowds, who in return gave them great support. Congratulations to the whole team and of course our 5 PPCFC Academy players who were involved - Svang Samnang, Mao Piseth, Yue Safy, Sin Kakada and Yet Chetra.
The winners of the Championship were Australia, who drew 3-3 in the final with Vietnam, and then kept their nerve to win the penalty shoot-out 5-3, as they did in the semi-final. Everyone at PPCFC sends their congratulations to the Australian squad, who played against our Academy before the tournament got underway (we won 3-2) and trained at RSN Stadium during their stay. Well-deserved champions. [Picture by FFC].
Other Cambodia U-16 reports:
(July 22) Despite a gutsy, fighting performance from the Cambodia U-16 national team, they lost 1-0 to Vietnam in the AFF Smart U-16 Championship semi-final last night, in front of nearly 60,000 at the Olympic Stadium. PPCFC's goalkeeper Svang Samnang was the man-of-the-match with a fabulous performance between the posts, but despite pulling off some great saves, he couldn't prevent Vietnam's only goal after 28 minutes. The Cambodia team should feel proud of their achievement in performing so well at the championships, and have one more game, the 3rd Place Play-off, on Saturday, against Thailand, at 3.30pm at Olympic Stadium.

(July 19) The Cambodia U-16 national team created history tonight, with a 3-0 victory over Timor-Leste, guaranteeing a semi-final spot in the AFF U-16 Championship for the very first time. They will play against rivals and neighbors Vietnam on Thursday. The match proved to be a great night for the 4 PPCFC players involved in the starting line-up. Svang Samnang started his first game in goal and was rock steady for the 90 minutes. Yue Safy took his captain's responsibility very seriously and stepped up to fire home the opening goal from the penalty spot after 7 minutes. Sin Kakada created havoc with his set-pieces and Mao Piseth crowned his first starting berth with two second-half goals, the second of which was an absolute scorcher. Congratulations to our youngsters and their teammates on achieving this piece of history. 
(July 17) The Cambodia U-16 national team were defeated 6-0 by Thailand last night at the Olympic Stadium in the AFF Smart U-16 Championship, watched by a crowd of around 40,000. Their final group game will be against Timor-Leste tomorrow (Tuesday) with a 6.30pm kick-off and will be televised live by MyTV. We wish the team success in their quest for glory - a victory will take Cambodia into the semi-finals for the first time in their history. Five PPCFC Academy players are in the Cambodia squad; Svang Samnang, Yue Safy, Yet Chetra, Sin Kakada and Mao Piseth. 
(July 14) The Cambodia U-16 national team continued their winning ways last night, beating Brunei 2-0 at Olympic Stadium, in their second group match in the AFF Smart U-16 Championship. Crown Academy's Yue Safy captained the team, which also included Sin Kakada (number 12). On the bench were our own Mao Piseth, Yet Chetra and Svang Samnang. The U-16 team photo is courtesy of FFC facebook. Cambodia have two matches left to secure their passage through to the semi-finals and will play Thailand on Sunday 17 July and Timor-Leste on Tuesday 19 July. Both matches will kick-off at 6.30pm at Olympic Stadium and will be televised by MyTV. Support the Cambodia U-16s in their quest for glory!
(July 13) The Cambodia U-16 national team play their second AFF Smart U-16 Youth Championship game tonight, 6.30pm at Olympic Stadium against Brunei, after a 3-1 win over Laos in their opening match of the tournament. Sin Kakada scored one of the goals and will be looking to get on the scoresheet again tonight. The other PPCFC Academy players in the squad are Yue Safy, who is the NT captain, Mao Piseth, Yet Chetra and Svang Samnang (who has a wrist injury). We wish all the squad continued success. Cambodia NT picture courtesy of FFC facebook.
** Everyone at PPCFC sends their best wishes for a full recovery to Leng Makara and family, after their youngest son underwent surgery at Kantha Bopha hospital, and our sympathy to Keo Soksela and his family, whose grandmother passed away recently.

Back to duty

It's about time I got back to giving a daily commentary on all things football. I've been way too busy for many many months to tap away at my keyboard for hours on end, but its important to publicise what's happening around me, or else who will ever know the crap that goes on.

Last minute

We've just played the first game of the second-half of the Metfone C-League. We are 12 points off the leaders after a goal-less draw with Cambo Tiger. And that in a nutshell sums up our season. Off the pace and off the goal-trail. Lots of reasons for it and how long have you got, but there's little point in crying over spilt milk, we have to grin and bear it, and get on with it. Clubs are allowed to change 2 foreigners and 3 locals in between the 1st and 2nd rounds of the season but at the 11th hour, the federation extended the deadline to the end of this month, as they said some clubs didn't have enough time to get new players, even though everyone knew about it for months in advance. We have been looking at many foreigners over the last few months, a few have been in on try out, unsuccessfully, others we've seen on video and tons more just offered by email and CVs. We have settled on two new faces, but their registrations are taking an age to complete, so we haven't announced them yet. Some names have got out but I won't confirm anything until we have all the t's crossed and the i's dotted. You never know we might just change our minds at the last minute, like the federation.

Off to Court

In case you haven't heard, Phnom Penh Crown were denied entry into this season's AFC Cup Playoff Qualifiers by the AFC themselves. They pointed at one of their obscure statutes and flashed a big HALT sign in front of us. Essentially cutting our legs from under us. We refuse to take this lying down (pun intended) and have appealed the decision to the highest court available to sports teams and individuals, the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Switzerland. Wish us well. Definitely a David vs Goliath scenario. So much to say, but unable to say it at this point in time. Watch this space.

442 on PPCFC

FourFourTwo, the biggest football magazine on the planet, turn their attention to Phnom Penh Crown in their Untold Stories series on SEA clubs. Read more @ http://www.fourfourtwo.com/sg/features/untold-stories-southeast-asian-clubs-phnom-penh-crown-fc#lAA1Yo8uuMpBOeZg.99#:hN0i6GPbjAiwkA

Tiger Tamed

PPCFC vs Cambodian Tiger, Won 2-0, back row, LtoR: Lee, Kelechi, Thierry N, Boris, Aymard, Samnang. Front: Sothy, Chanpolin, Pisa, Baraing, Sodavid

Friday 11 March 2016: Phnom Penh Crown 2 Cambodian Tiger 0 (Friendly).
Two goals either side of the half-time break killed off Tiger at Western Stadium in this afternoon’s friendly match. South Korean trialist Lee Joo-Yong went close with two shots from outside the box in the opening 18 minutes before Svang Samnang came to the rescue with a block as Tiger broke through. In Sodavid’s blast was punched away by Hem Simay, before Chhom Pisa skewed a header wide and with 3 minutes of the 1st-half left, Crown took the lead. A foul on Pisa gave Seut Baraing a sight of goal from 20 yards and his up-and-over curling free-kick found the bottom corner inside the near post. It was Baraing again, just two minutes after the interval, with another free-kick that saw Kok Boris put pressure on Simay and Ouk Sothy found himself with a simple header into an unguarded net for 2-nil. Sothy was inches away from a second headed goal, while Keo Soksela came out smartly to block Suong Virak’s attempted chip. Ouk Serey Ratanak and Chhuot Senteang looked lively up front for Crown, who had attempts from Baraing and Mat Sakrovy stopped by the Tiger keeper, as the visitors claimed a deserved victory.

Saturday 12 March 2016: Phnom Penh Crown Academy 5 CMAC Utd 1 (Friendly).
The Crown Academy continued their winning form with a comprehensive 5-1 win over a CMAC United XI at RSN Stadium Saturday morning. Nop David and Men Piphop put the mixed U-16/U-18 Academy team two goals ahead in the opening 20 minutes, with CMAC’s Aaron Sexton grabbing a goal on the half-hour. The introduction of Ouk Sovann and Mat Sakrovy at half-time strengthened the Academy attack with Sovann supplying Sakrovy for Crown’s third on 63 minutes. In time added-on, Sovann again turned provider for another Sakrovy goal, before Sovann scored a fine individual goal himself in the final seconds.

Girl Power!

Phnom Penh Crown hosted a very successful International Women’s Day fun football festival under the banner of Girl Power! this morning at RSN Stadium. The Crown 1st-team squad and younger Academy boys took part as team captains and cheerleaders, to support and encourage the young girls that came from all over the city to join in. After a series of friendly matches and fun games, the final was decided on penalty kicks (with Thierry and Boris’ team taking 1st place), with prizes for the winning team and runners-up. Thanks to all the girls from COLT and other organisations, as well as our players and staff who joined in to make this a memorable morning promoting girls in sport at RSN. At Crown we encourage participation by women in everything we do, whether it is coaching, community football and our own Ladies football team. We truly believe football is for everyone.

Defeat in week 3

PPCFC vs Naga, Lost 2-1: back row, LtoR: Kelechi, Aymard, Thierry N, Makara, Boris (capt). Front: Soksela, Chanpolin, Boran, Titchhy, Baraing, Sodavid

Saturday 5 March 2016: Phnom Penh Crown 1 Nagaworld 2 (Metfone C-League Week 3):
Crown were caught cold from the start and conceded after just 24 seconds of the game when Kouch Sokumpheak flicked in a right-wing center from Privat Mbarga and the ball bobbled through the legs of Keo Soksela in the Crown goal. In response, Neou Thierry headed over and Long Boran’s far post nod was stopped on the goal-line. Soksela came out quickly to halt Rasheed Omokafe’s run and chip and later in the first-half he did the same to Mbarga, before a one-handed low save to deny Park Yong-Jun. Crown’s best effort came courtesy of a 25-yard In Sodavid free-kick that was smothered at the foot of the upright by Yok Ary.
After the break, Sodavid’s run and shot and Seut Baraing’s deflected drive failed to trouble Naga’s keeper before the home side extended their lead on 65 minutes. Sun Sovanrithy’s deep left-wing cross was headed in unopposed at the far post by Mbarga to give Crown a mountain to climb. Ouk Sothy and Leng Makara sent efforts wide before Sean Pissa joined the action and within 40 seconds he’d reduced the deficit with a glorious curling strike into the roof of the net from just inside the penalty area. The goal came with 10 minutes remaining but Crown couldn’t make their pressure count and their last chance went astray when a Chhom Pisa drive from the edge of the area sailed over the top. It was Crown’s first defeat of the new season in week 3. PPCFC vs Naga: Soksela, Baraing, Titchhy (C Pisa 46), Aymard, Boris, Chanpolin, N Thierry (S Pissa 79), Kelechi, Boran (Sothy 66), Makara, Sodavid. Subs not used:  S Samnang, Yaneat, Senteang, Tola. Goal: Pissa (80). Referee: Chi Samedi.

Sunday 6 March 2016: Phnom Penh Crown Academy 1 FFC National Academy 0 (Friendly).
It was back to winning ways for the Crown Academy mixed team against the FFC Academy at Olympic Stadium this morning. In this 105-minute match of four periods, Crown dominated the first two periods and efforts from Yeu Muslim and Sin Kakada struck the woodwork, while Pov Ponvuthy, Sath Rozak and Mit Samel also went close to breaking the deadlock. FFC pressed in the third period and keeper Svang Samnang showed his class with two brave saves. On 97 minutes Men Piphop created space for himself in the opposition penalty area, taking a Ponvuthy pass in his stride, and rifled the ball home for the only goal of the game, to take Crown’s record to 11 wins in 12 matches against the FFC Academy. It was the first game under new coach Oleg Starynskyi.

Week 2 review

The MCL table after week 2. 3 teams have maximum points after completion of Week 2 of the Metfone C-League 2016. PKR Svay Rieng, Boeungket and Army are all on six points, with PPCFC in 4th spot with four points. The results from Week 2 are:
(Fri) National Police 0 PPCFC 0
(Sat) Nagaworld 0 Army 1 (Myong-Ho)
Boeungket 6 (Ajayi 2, Sovan, Laboravy, Wada, Vathanaka) Western 0
(Sun) AEU 1 (Moneke) CMAC 5 (Okereke 3, Rhoda, Makara)
PKRSvay Rieng 6 (Jong-Ho 3, Atuhaire 2, Samnang) Cambodian Tiger 1 (Tomoki).

Goal-less at Olympic

PPCFC vs Nat Police, back row, LtoR: Kelechi, Pissa, Aymard, Sokngon, Makara, Boris (capt). Front Row: Soksela, Sodavid, Chanpolin, Baraing, Booysen

Friday 26 February 2016 : Phnom Penh Crown 0 National Police 0 (Metfone C-League Week 2).
Crown will see this as two points dropped, after they failed to make their domination of the match count in front of goal. The game started in the worse possible fashion with dangerman Shane Booysen hobbling off after just a minute with a twisted knee, with Long Boran replacing him and Seut Baraing moving into midfield. Baraing tried his luck with a thirty-yard free-kick that goalkeeper Prak Pherun grabbed at the second attempt. A poor pass by Keo Soksela presented Nuth Sinoun with a glorious opportunity inside the Crown penalty box but his weak shot was cleared by Anthony Aymard. Tith Dina’s free-kick found Adekunjo Busayo in space but his header was straight at Soksela. With few clear chances in the first-half, both goalkeepers had to deal with long range efforts with Pherun diving full length to push aside a George Kelechi effort, and Soksela tipping over a Noun Borey drive from wide on the left. Orn Chanpolin’s effort on the break was deflected wide by Sinoun and In Sodavid’s ball behind the Police defence was missed completely by Keo Sokngon in the six-yard box.  In the last minute, another Sodavid  cross was dropped by Pherun but Sokngon’s attempted lob was way off target, and with the final kick, Borey sent a long range effort over the cross-bar.
Kelechi glanced a header inches wide from Sean Pissa’s cross just after the break, Soksela was in the right place to punch away a Sinoun free-kick and then he collected a Oh Ju-Ho shot through a crowd of players. A 30-yard attempt by Boran cleared the bar, Sokngon will feel he should’ve done better when he got on the end of a Leng Makara cross, Kelechi blasted across the face of goal and Seut Baraing’s 20-yard drilled right-foot drive was tipped over by Pherun. Just before the end, Sokngon headed wide at the far post from Kelechi’s pass, he then shot weakly at Pherun from another Kelechi feed and then supplied Sodavid, but he curled his drive over. In the seventh minute of time added on, Baraing sent a free-kick two yards over the top as the game ended goal-less, with disappointment etched on the faces of the Crown players and staff.

Head coach Oriol Mohedano gave his views at the end of the game. “Not a happy day for us. We expected more from the game. We should’ve done better in the first half, but we didn’t attack well. Respect to our opponents in the first half who surprised us with their intensity. The sensations after such a match; we are disappointed, the result it’s not enough for us. We pushed for the win, but it never came.” PPCFC v Nat Police: Soksela, Makara, Baraing, Aymard, Boris, Chanpolin, Pissa (Sothy 70), Sokngon, Sodavid, Booysen (Boran 6), Kelechi. Subs (not used): S Samnang, Thierry N, Titchhy, Senteang, Tola. Booking: Sothy.

Incoming and outgoing

Ukrainian-born coach Oleg Starynskyi (30) arrived at RSN Stadium last week to help the club’s Academy set-up after spending the last 3 and a half years in Malaysia including the past six months as the assistant coach of the Malaysian U-17 national team. Oleg was born in Bila Tserkva, near the Ukraine capital of Kiev, and played youth football for FC Arsenal-Kyiv before spending five years learning the art of film directing at the Kyiv International University. That’s where he began coaching and worked for the Kyiv regional federation and as a youth coach with FC Arsenal-Kyiv, before taking up a coaching post with the Goal Academy in Malaysia for three years. He’s a UEFA B-license coach, with a Coerver coaching diploma. Oleg is pictured above with GM Sam Schweingruber. 

Harry Varley’s has coached his final session with the PPCFC Academy U-15/U-17s. After six months with Crown as Academy Technical Coordinator, as well as overseeing the Football School and our community engagement program, British-born Harry is heading to Grenada in the Caribbean to take on the role as their head of football. He will be in charge for the CONCACAF U-17s Women’s Championship and the men’s Caribbean Cup squad next month. Thanks to Harry for his hard work during his time with the club and we wish him much success in the future with the Spice Boyz.

MCL 2016 - Week 1

Results from Round 1 of the Metfone C-League 2016:
PPCFC 3 (Booysen 3) Cambodian Tiger 1 (Masakazu)
National Police 1 (Osei Tutu) Army 4 (Soksana 2, Vannak, Myong Ho)
Naga 1 (Mbarga) Western 1 (Bunny)
PKR Svay Rieng 6 (Kipson 2, S Samnang 2, Visal, Latif) CMAC 2 (Okereke, Vergez)
Boeungket 3 (Vathanaka 2, Ajayi) AEU 2 (Moneke, Hai). 

Off to a flying start

PPCFC back row, LtoR: Aymard, Pissa, Sokngon, Makara, Kelechi, Boris (capt). Front: Soksela, Chanpolin, Sodavid, Baraing, Booysen.

Friday 19 February 2016 : Phnom Penh Crown 3 Cambodian Tiger 1 (Metfone C-League).
Crown came out on top in an exciting season's opener at RSN Stadium tonight. The visitors began brightly  with Suong Virak skating around home keeper Keo Soksela but he planted his shot into the side netting. Soon after Om Thavrak rose highest to head a corner inches over the bar and Mura Tomoki sent a left-foot shot skidding wide. However, a careless foul by Or Sophoan in the back of George Kelechi gave Shane Booysen the opportunity to put his team ahead on 17 minutes with a well-aimed free-kick from 20 yards. Hem Simay in the Tiger goal pulled off a great 1-handed stop to deny Booysen and then saved from Kelechi's header before Keo Sokngon poked the rebound against the upright. Sokngon saw his header from In Sodavid's volleyed cross rebound off the other post, Simay saved another attempt at point blank range from Crown's No 9 and Sodavid was inches away before Keo Soksela stopped a fierce drive by Sadakuni Tomoyuki just before the interval. An action-packed first-half, with a booking for Seut Baraing on his 1st-team debut on 25 minutes.
Moments after Orn Chanpolin blasted wide with a clear sight on goal ten minutes after the break, it was Booysen who doubled his side's lead when he coolly side-footed in from Sokngon's pass on 56 minutes. New boys Anthony Aymard and Kelechi were both involved in the build-up, while Tiger claimed Thavrak had been fouled by the goalscorer but their protests fell on deaf ears. That signalled the introduction of Tiger's player-coach Kihara Masakazu and he pepped his team up, reducing the deficit with a powerful drive on 72 minutes from Tomoki's pull-back. The home fans continued to cheer their team on and their efforts were rewarded with a third and decisive goal on 83 minutes. Baraing and Booysen worked a short corner routine and the South African's low drive took a deflection off Men Seyha's boot to nestle in the back of the net. Effectively game over though Soksela had to pull off a smart stop from Taing Sopheak, and Sodavid raced clear but finished weakly. Three points for the champions from their first match of their defence of their title.

PPCFC v C/Tiger: Soksela, Makara, Baraing, Aymard, Boris, Chanpolin, Pissa (Thierry N 88), Sokngon (Tola 71), Sodavid, Booysen, Kelechi. Subs (not used): Chanvuthy, Sothy, Boran, Yaneat, Charly, Noeut, Sakrovy, Senteang. Booking: Baraing. Goals: Booysen 3 (17, 56, 83). Attendance: 2,774. 

Crown  head coach Oriol Mohedano gave his brief thoughts after the final whistle, a 3-1 success in his first Metfone C-League game in charge of the team: "In the beginning, we can see lots of passion and fighting but not too much thought as our opponents started well. Then we had the free-kick that changed the score and our confidence grew, step by step, and we started doing what we've been working on in training. Good signs and it went to plan. After going 2-nil ahead, our opponents made it difficult for us but it was a logical victory, against a good team. I must say that Shane (Booysen) arrived on time for us, he hasn't played much in training for us and we hope he's now recovered from his injury. He's very important to our team."

Hat-trick hero Shane Booysen spoke about his game and his goals in the 3-1 win. "I was confident but I'd had no training or pre-season games because of my injury, so I was prepared to come on as a substitute. I'd been away on holiday, so this was my first start and I was nervous, even though I'm an experienced player. When we got the free-kick, I thought it would boost my confidence so I took it. I scored and it really boosted my morale. The first game is really important to set the foundation for the rest of the season. I thought our players fought together as a team, we know each other very well and our combination play was very good.
For the first 15 minutes I was tired, breathing-wise, though legs-wise I was okay. When I got my second breath, it was fine but my match fitness wasn't there at the start. In the second-half our team's confidence grew, we supported each other, we followed the coach's instructions and I could score the goals because of the support of my teammates. Our young players and their extra energy and fresh minds really helps the team.
For free-kicks, it's usually Thierry or me. I took responsibility for this first set piece, though last season I didn't score from a direct free-kick. I saw the goalkeeper and the wall set up for the ball to go one way, so I put it in the other corner. I got the speed and the right angle, it went past the wall and we went ahead. For the second goal, I went for the ball (with Thavrak), it was a 50-50 ball and he slipped in front of me, I stood up and we counter-attacked. I never saw it as a foul, neither of us touched the ball. Sokngon passed the ball, I took it off the defenders toe and the keeper went one way, so I put it the other way. For my third goal, we practiced the move in training the day before, and our training ground routines worked well in the game. I thought if I kick it hard enough, on target, it might go in and it did, with a deflection. I was very happy it went in."

1-1 with Naga

Friendly Result: PPCFC 1 Nagaworld 1.
In this afternoon's pre-season friendly match at the RSN training pitch, both teams scored in the second period of three thirty-minute halves to end the game all-square at one goal apiece. PPCFC used more than thirty players, those on contracts and others on trial and it was one of the trialists, Khmer-Belgian Am Sovythang, who drilled in the equaliser for Crown on 55 minutes after Long Boran's corner was headed down by Michael Osei Tutu, another new face. The leveller came seven minutes after Naga took a fortunate lead when a 25-yard free-kick from Sun Sopanha looped off the back of Osei Tutu and nestled in the far corner, deceiving Spanish goalkeeper Abel Yebenes. Both PPCFC goalkeepers Yebenes and Keo Soksela had to save sharply on a couple of occasions, whilst Crown's best efforts in front of goal fell to Baldwin Ngwa, Kelechi George a couple of times, and Matthew Rhoda. 
New coach Oriol Mohedano spoke of his delight at the end of his first game in charge, a 1-1 draw with Nagaworld yesterday. "My last word to the players was to go out and 'enjoy' the game. Despite a low rhythm, I was pleased as the players tried to play football, and it was good because all players got game-time. I'm happy as we have something to work with and we can do something great. We have to work more on conditioning, but I prefer that the brain is fit, ready to work and understand what's required. I was happy with the mentality of each of the players, they are ready to work hard, but we must be patient. We are building up to 7 February and we need to peak at that time. Today it was a little like futsal with all the changes, but we had a plan to give everyone game-time, and even though some players only had 15 minutes, it's all part of our preparation for the season."

PPCFC are pleased to announce the signing of Spanish goalkeeper Abel Yebenes for the forthcoming season. Abel is 20 years old and has played for the Catalan 1st Division clubs UE Valls and CE El Catllar in Spain for the past two seasons. He was born in Reus in the province of Tarragona in the Catalonia region of northeast Spain and began playing football at the age of four. He spent ten years with his local team La Salle Reus before joining the Academy at Gimnastic de Tarragona, now in the 2nd tier of Spanish football. He spent four years with Nastic, the last two playing in the development squad where Crown's Oriol Mohedano was an assistant coach. His younger brother is also at the Gimnastic Academy. 

The Booyse signs on for 2 more years

PPCFC is very excited to announce that the club's number 11, Shane Booysen, who wowed the club's fans with his lightning quick feet and outstanding ball wizardry in his first season last year, has put pen to paper to sign a new contract for the next two years. After competing a season that included a personal goal tally of 24 goals and collecting his teammates' award as Most Valuable Player, not to mention the fans award for Goal of the Season (against AEU), the Cape Town-born fan's favourite has pledged himself to the club until the end of 2017. 
Shane has just returned to RSN from a break to see his family in South Africa and was delighted to sign for two more years. "Last year was the most dramatic season in my career, even the last day ended in drama. Overall it was a very good season, not only for me but for the team. I think together we grew a lot, with everything that happened it made us even closer, it made us champions not just as a team, but as individuals as well, because we had to overcome so much. For myself, it was a good season and I'm looking forward to doing the same and even adding more if I can. My contribution to the team was good, I did what I could, I set some personal goals, I achieved most of them, but overall, I think I could've done better. Knowing myself and knowing the potential of the team, I think we could've won the league easily, but due to the circumstances, we still managed to retain our title, which was the important result.
Looking forward, the upcoming All Star matches are a big bonus for me, having been selected for the team. I feel really honoured and very pleased to have this opportunity. I returned a bit late to pre-season training, so it's an interruption but at the same time it will give me match fitness and the experience of playing against the two highest-level clubs in Thailand. So it's all good. I played a friendly match against each team (Muangthong and Buriram) for my old club in Thailand, it was a good experience, so I know what to expect and I know what's expected of me as well. I'm looking forward to the games." 
Shane, now 27 years old, signed for Crown in March of last year, scoring two goals in his first friendly match against BBU in February, with head coach Sam Schweingruber saying at the time: “We are delighted Shane has signed with us, he was our target player to get on board. He is both experienced and talented and his outstanding technique has in the past weeks excited teammates, staff and fans." The excitement was to continue throughout the season. Shane was born in Cape Town, the second-largest city in South Africa and began playing football at Ajax Cape Town as a ten-year-old. Four years later he joined the full-time Hellenic FC Academy, one of the best in the country, for three years and appeared for the Western Province U-17s. In his mid-teens he moved to the country’s most successful club Mamelodi Sundowns and played for their reserves for two years before spells at Gleneden United, back to Ajax Cape Town and a loan stint in the National First Division with Ikapa Sporting. In March of 2014, he took the decision to pursue his career goals abroad, moved to Thailand and played regularly for Rbac Mittraphap and Bangkok Christian College-Tero in the Thai Regional League Division 2 before joining Crown.

Clean sweep for Academy

The PPCFC Academy and community boys, celebrated their clean sweep success at the 7 Makara Youth Cup tournament hosted by Boeungket Angkor at Premium Sport Club today. All three age category finals, at U-12, U-14 and U-17 were won by the PPCFC teams and the youngsters celebrated their success with club president Rithy Samnang, when they returned to RSN Stadium. A special mention to Yim Makara (U-12) and Ros Darapich (U-14) who won the Golden Boot in their age groups as the tournament's leading scorers.
These are the results from today's successful 7 Makara Youth Cup played at Premium Sport Club and organised by Boeungket, where PPCFC teams won all three age categories. In the U-12 section, PPCFC entered two teams, one from the Academy and one community team. Well done to all of our young players and to our coaches on their successful tournament.
PPCFC A U-12: 
vs 3G W4-0: vs Zaman W6-1: vs Boeungket W6-1; vs CIA 1 W2-1 (semi): PPCFC B W5-2 (final). Top scorer: Yim Makara - 11 goals.
PPCFC U-14:
vs MIS W3-2: vs CIA W5-2: vs WIS W3-0: vs 3G W6-1 (semi): vs 3G W1-0 (final). Top scorer: Ros Darapich - 7 goals.
PPCFC U-17:
vs Boeungket A D0-0: vs Boeungket B W1-0: vs Fansport W2-0: vs CIA W12-0: vs Ping Peang W7-1: vs Fansport W2-1 (semi): vs Boeungket A W2-1 (final). Top scorer: Pov Ponvuthy - 8 goals.

Oriol joins PPCFC

Oriol Mohedano

ORIOL MOHEDANO APPOINTED AS HEAD COACH
PPCFC is very pleased to announce the appointment of Oriol Mohedano as the club’s First-Team Head Coach. With Sam Schweingruber unable to undertake his duties for the immediate future, Oriol will be in charge of the team as they prepare for the start of the new 2016 Metfone C-League (our first MCL game is on 7 February) and Hun Sen Cup campaigns. 
Oriol was born in Barcelona in Spain, he is 29 years old, and is a UEFA A-License coach with playing experience in his home country and a coaching pedigree that has seen him enjoy roles in Spain, Switzerland and Finland before this, his first coaching position in Asia. A 1-year contract has been agreed.
As a defensive player, he represented junior club Penye Cornella before joining Club Atletic Roda de Bara in the Catalan First Division in Spain (the 5th tier of Spanish football), but a broken leg ended his playing career prematurely at the age of 23. His interest in coaching grew quickly, starting his UEFA C-License as a youth coach with UE Cornella, where he stayed for three years, before a return to CA Roda de Bara for just over a year, and then moving to Segunga Division club, Club Gimnastic de Tarragona (2nd tier of Spanish football) for three more years, and guided the U-18s to the Catalan Championship. It was at Nastic, one of the oldest clubs in Spain, that he gained his UEFA A-License award. In July 2014, Oriol moved to join Servette FC in Geneva, Switzerland for a year and was assistant coach to the U-18 Swiss championship-winning team. He recently spent three months as the assistant coach at FC Legirus Inter in Finland before joining PPCFC.
In taking on the role at Crown, Oriol commented: “I have been speaking to Sam (Schweingruber) for the past six months about our mutual passion for football, its methodology and about working together to share the workload at PPCFC. I see this as a natural step in progressing my coaching career, I am always seeking to improve myself and I am ready for the responsibility that this role will bring. This club has a clear identity, with a very young squad and I am motivated to develop the youngsters. I too am a young coach and I’m happy with this opportunity to join a club with such high ambitions, this is a great club, recognized as the best in Cambodia and my target is to continue to produce high quality football. I’m not shy, I have no limits and I will aim as high as possible.
“I recognize that football is a spectacle, like a theater for people to come and enjoy, I want there to be a common feeling between the players and the fans. I promise we will work hard and we need the fans to support us and help us to victory. When the relationship is good, it’s a fantastic feeling, magical, like a family, so I ask the fans to be ready, we want to give them something to love, something beautiful.”