Naga Corp’s inspired signing Julius Oiboh produced another magical brace as the former champions romped home 4-0 winners against title holders Phnom Penh Crown in a highly volatile Metfone C-League tie at the Old Stadium yesterday.

The victory, coming as it did on top of Naga’s shock defeat at the hands of Prek Pra Keila last week, catapulted the side to the top of the table on 19 points, one ahead of Ministry of National Defence, although Crown, currently on 17 points, have a game to play this weekend.

“I am very happy the team came good and we could play our normal game,” Naga coach Prak Sovanara said after the match. “The loss against Prek Pra rankles, but we have to get over it and move on.”

The contest was as good as sealed well before the breather as Naga shot to a fifth-minute lead and rapidly stretched it to four without reply.

The side’s new African recruit, Momoh Sumaila, showed his mettle during the first few moves on the left wing as he latched onto a loose ball and worked his way past a couple of defenders to find the mark on a very tight angle.

Within minutes of the strike, utter confusion between Crown goalkeeper Heng Bunchhay and deep defender San Narith helped Naga poach the second goal through Teab Vathanak.

With a 2-0 cushion, Oiboh burst on the scene with two  meticulous solo efforts to break Crown's back.

Shockingly, the reigning league champions could  count only a couple of corners and one gentle attempt by Kouch Sokumpheak in the whole first half.

It was clear that frustration was creeping into the Crown ranks as Naga took absolute control. In this most demanding phase of the match, the referee had a tough time  imposing order on the field.

Defender San Narith was the first to attract the match offic-ial’s ire as a verbal argument followed a foul called on the player. As the dissent spread to several other players, Narith picked up his second caution and had to leave the pitch.

His sending-off merely compounded Crown’s agony and made it seemingly impossible for them to get back into the match. Approaching half time, Sokumpheak had a verbal duel with the referee, picking up a caution for his threatening behaviour.

Tensions boiled over to the second session as some  Crown players began playing rough in the guise of playing tough.

Oiboh was painfully stubbed on the foot while chasing a ball and twice bundled out on hard tackles. There were notable infractions by Naga players as well, making supervision an extremely testing task.

Amid mounting pressure, Crown managed a few good breakaways, one of which ended in Soung Virak hitting the upright.

His own second attempt off the rebound was amazingly tipped over by Naga stopper Phorn Ratana, who held his line competently.

With time running out, striker Kingsley Metu’s angular shot on the run was inches wide, an affirmation that it was indeed a bad day at the office for Crown, who had just returned from their 4-0 loss in the Singapore Cup on Thursday night.

There were some half- chances for Naga to add one more to their tally, but they had to rest content with a dry second session.

Phnom Penh Post

Ahead of their June 29 World Cup qualifier against Laos, Cambodia scored a morale-boosting 1-0 victory yesterday over the Malaysian U23 Olympic team in a  friendly at Olympic Stadium.

The only goal of a match ravaged by rain during the last 20 minutes came early in the first session when Kouch Sok-umpeak’s right foot brokered no answer from the visitors’ goalkeeper, Khairul Fahmi Che Mat.

This is the first win for Cambodia in recent times against a squad from their South East Asian rivals.

The Kingdom’s South Kor-ean coach, Lee Tae Hoon, was guarded in his appraisal, saying the victory was a good sign but he definitely wanted more from the team.

“I want them to perform at a higher level of efficiency,” Lee told the Post.

“There were some good phases during the match, but there were also some terrible choices. What we need is a good balance.”

Striker Sokumpheak put his mark on the fixture after just 10 minutes by displaying superb individual speed and ball control after getting hold of an aerial delivery from mid-field.

He craftily unlocked the defence and crashed the ball through Che Mat to send the sizeable band of home supporters into raptures.

In terms of possession, the hosts were clearly doing a grand job. With a tight back line monitoring the break- aways, the Malaysians were under enormous pressure.

Seconds before the break,     however, came a rare moment of anguish for the Cambodian defenders when a melee brought Malaysian defender Mohamad Fadhli Shas within arm’s length of Ouk Mich, with a goal firmly in sight. Amazingly, the Cambodian stopper recovered in time to avert the danger.

Light rain greeted the players on their return from the break and the floodlights were switched on to deal with the gathering gloom.

Coach Lee brought on Prak Mony Udom for Sam El Nasa and  there were some promising moves by Cambodia.

A header from Chhin Chhoeun sailed over the bar when he had the Malaysian goal at his mercy. On the break, midfielder Faris Ramlan came threateningly close to an equaliser.

The only incident of note in the second half was when a ghastly challenge by Tieng Tiny on Shukur Juoh was penalised with a red card by referee Thong Chanketya.

With conditions on the pitch getting worse by the minute, Lee Tae Hoon pulled out forwards Sokumpheak and Khuon Laboravy to give  Mat Hassan and Sos Souhana, who as Prek Pra Keila team-mates were making their first appearances at international level, some playing time.

Tum Saray and In Vicheka were also substituted in.

The visitors made several of their own changes, but none could make an impact.

Guiding the ball through the puddles in torrential rain was no joke for the players, though there were moments of hilarity at both ends to amuse the crowd.

Phnom Penh Post

A dominant second half display by National Police Commissary earned them a comfortable 3-1 victory over Chhlam Samuth in their Metfone C-League tie yesterday at Olympic Stadium. Earlier, back markers Prek Pra Keila and Rithy Sen ended their game locked at 1-1.

Managing the national team of Cambodia presents a unique set of challenges.  For enthusiasts of the game interested in knowing about the challenges and explore about football in the small South East Asian nation of Cambodia, there is no better man to talk than Scott O’Donnell.  A former footballer for Australia, O’Donnell was at the helm of the Cambodia national team for a twin span that lasted 4 years.  When Sportskeeda’s Renato caught up with the former Cambodia manager, O’Donnell spoke about his past as a footballer, mainly in Singapore where he played in the first edition of the Professional Football League, and matters in Cambodia.

 

How do you analyse your experience in Cambodia?

It was rewarding and frustrating at the same time. I enjoyed working with the players and my coaching staff, but after the President Ravy Khek left Cambodian Football Federation (CFF), it was increasingly difficult to get the support from CFF. With very little development taking place it was always going to difficult for any coach to achieve any kind of success as the players are not taught the basics – tactical and technical aspects of the game – at a young age.

Do you rate the work of ex-President Ravy Khek as good at CFF?   What are your impressions about Cambodian football directors?

Ravy has not been involved with CFF for a few years now. I have no further comment to make about CFF.

What is the atmosphere like in the Cambodian League? There are many Africans playing in Cambodia. Do you think it is positive for development of Cambodian football?

Football is by far the number one sport in Cambodia. There are many Africans playing in the local league, unfortunately the quality of these players is not great. I doubt most of them are Professional players as many are no better than the local players. So I don’t think the majority of the current crop of players are helping to develop the game in Cambodia. If the clubs were able to sign experienced, quality professional foreign players, then I think it would undoubtedly help the development of the game in Cambodia.

What are your memories from the first Singaporean Professional Football League editions in 1996 and ’97?

I played for four years in the S-League. The first year was amazing with the amount of publicity, press and TV coverage and good crowds. Those were very exciting times to be playing in Singapore. There were some very good foreign players and the atmosphere was great. Unfortunately that is no longer the case. The interest in local football has evaporated and I have to say that the quality of foreign players leaves a lot to be desired compared to 1996.

Singapore has vision and organization and Malaysia has big crowds and passion. Where did you enjoy working as player and coach the most?

Even now Malaysia is struggling with crowds. Only Selangor, Kelantan and Terengganu manage to get good crowds these days. I enjoyed playing in both Singapore and Malaysia. Both nations are very passionate about football. Obviously playing in front of big crowds in Malaysia was great from a player’s view point. I think it is very difficult at present in Singapore to compete with the likes of the EPL and UEFA Champions League.  Most people prefer to watch those leagues instead of the local ones, but I think Football Association Singapore (FAS) are doing the best to try and turn things around.  But for that to happen they need the support of the clubs as well.

You played in Singapore against two all-time goalscoring greats in the S-League: the Brazilian Egmar Gonçalves and the Croatian Mirko Grabovac. Which of them was the more difficult opponent?

They were both very different players, both very good. I marked some very good strikers in Australia and Malaysia too. Egmar was a very consistent player for so long for Home United FC. He was strong and had the knack of being in the right place at the right time to score so many goals. We enjoyed some good battles on the field but I think there was mutual respect between the two of us. Mirko Grabovac was a different player to Egmar. Probably technically more skillful than Egmar but not as physical or mobile, but still a very good striker.

 

We sincerely thank Scott O’Donnell for his valuable time and thoughts and wish him the very best of luck in his future endeavours.

 

Sports Keeda