Game Day Two: Metfone CPL talking points

Week 2 Take-Aways from the Metfone Cambodian Premier League

Two matches into the season and three teams – Boeung Ket Angkor, National Defense and Svay Rieng – have perfect records. Here are some talking points from Round Two of the Metfone Cambodian League.

De-crowned without Booysen

A key pre-season question was how would champions Phnom Penh Crown cope without last season’s joint top goal scorer George Bisan. How Crown would cope with no Bisan, no Booysen and no Keo Sokpeng (the three combined for 74% of the team’s goals last season) was revealed on Friday as Crown dropped two points in a 0-0 draw withNational Police. Booysen limped off in the opening minutes leaving Crown short of attacking spark. Despite dominating possession and creating a number of chances the attack looked relatively toothless and bereft of creativity. George Kelechi worked hard up-front and diminutive left-winger Seut Baraing was threatening but the Police did not steal the point – they hit the woodwork and had a decent shout for a second half penalty. Crown will be hoping Booysen and Sokpeng return as soon as possible.

Gbenga drives Boeung Ket

Whilst Crown dropped two points the team most likely to challenge for the title knocked six past Western Phnom Penh on Saturday. The powerful and driving runs of Samuel Gbenga, who at times looks like the best foreign player in the league, no match for Western’s defenders. The Nigerian even had time to set-up Chan Vathanaka, again a sub, for an easy goal with the latter’s first touch.

Performance of the Round – Lee Jong ho

A hattrick for Svay Rieng’s 30 year old South Korean striker, a product of Paris Saint Germain’s youth academy, seals the performance of the round. His second a great long-range bullet, the goal of the round, his third a skilful run and finish inside the penalty area. The combination with Rwandan international Kipson Atuheire, who jointly leads the scoring charts with four in two games, could make the Svay Rieng attack formidable.

‘Ronaldo’ does it again

Naga World may have had more chances than the Army but were defeated by a towering missile-like header at the far post by the North Korean Choe Myong-ho for the ‘Asian Ronaldo's’ second goal in as many games for the military. Two wins from two and the Army will go into their next match, Sunday at the Western Stadium, joint top of the table.

Match of Week 3

Naga World vs Phnom Penh Crown, Saturday 5^th March 18h00, Olympic Stadium

The “Casino Derby” with added spice and a replay of last seasons Championship Playoff Final. Naga World appeared to have built a decent squad for the 2016 season; some talented foreign players, including Cameronian striker Privat Mbarga, combined with some experienced Cambodian national team talent not least those sacked by Phnom Penh Crown in the close-season for alleged match-fixing. However Naga World will not be pleased with their season start – a draw and a defeat both in matches they would have been favourites to win. Crown have also been less impressive thus far than they would have hoped and will be desperate Shane Booysen and Keo Sokpeng are fit and able to start.

State of the League

	Round 1	Round 2
Goals (average per game)	24 (4.8)	20 (4.0)
% goals scored by foreign players	58%	80%

Game Day One: Metfone CPL talking points

Week 1 Take-Aways from the Metfone Cambodian Premier League

A League of Goals

As previously noted C League games have more goals than is healthy. A disparity between teams at the top and those at the bottom results in significantly more ‘exceptional’ score-lines than in more developed leagues worldwide.

The opening round of five CPL games provided further data to fit such a hypothesis. Five games, 24 goals at 4.8 per game. The cosmopolitan nature of the league also reflected – 10 nationalities scoring during Game Day One from Rwandans to North Koreans – 58% of goals scored by foreign players.

The Stars Perform

Shane Booysen, perhaps the best of the foreign players in the league, netted a hattrick for Phnom Penh Crown and was their stand-out performer. I had suggested his third goal was ‘dubious’ but own-goal rules clearly state that:

“ a shot which is already "on target" would not be an own goal even if deflected by the defender. In this case the attacker is awarded the goal, even if the shot would have otherwise been easily saved by the goalkeeper”  

So a hattrick and top spot on the scorers chart for The Booyse.

Joint second place is Chan Vathanaka. CV11 came off the bench for Boueng Ket Angkor and scored twice, including the stoppage time winner, versus Asia Euro United. Cruising at 2-0 up BKA conceded 85^th and 93^rd minute goals before their star player rescued the 3 points with the games final kick.

Goal of the Week

Lucky or perfectly judged?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RIls7ebZAIA

A stunning swirling curling top corner strike from Western Phnom Penh’s Sun Bunny as the team with a terrible league record (nine wins across 44 games over the last two C League seasons) obtained a creditable 1-1 draw with Naga World at the Olympic Stadium.

Top Matches of Round Two

Saturday 27^th 15h30. Olympic Stadium

Naga World vs National Defense

The Army opened the season with a convincing win against the Police whilst Naga dropped points against Western Phnom Penh. However the casino sponsored team’s Cameronian striker Privat Mbarga, a close-season signing from Cambodian Tiger for whom he scored 19 goals last season, looked sharp and scored with a nice finish. These are two teams who may be well placed to challenge the Crown-Angkor duopoly for the title so both will be keen on a win and decisive start to the season.

Sunday 28^th 18h00, Svay Rieng Stadium

Svay Rieng vs Cambodian Tiger

Svay Rieng, the only team playing outside the capital, began emphatically with a 6-2 win over potential league whipping boys CMAC United. A sterner test for their second successive home match against Cambodian Tiger who were perhaps unlucky to lose 3-1 in their opener versus champions Phnom Penh Crown. A solid win here and Svay Rieng, who will play at home again in Round 3 prior to the international break, will be very satisfied with their season start.

Defending the Police: Ministry of Defence 4 - National Police 1

National Police 1 - Ministry of National Defence 4

Olympic Stadium, 21 Feb 2016

The Police and The Army.

Two Cambodian government institutions with far from perfect human rights records. Cambodian military spending increased by56.2% between 2010 and 2014 – more than any other ASEAN country. Some of that investment potentially into the football team of the Ministry of Defence looking to improve on last seasons 5^th place Metfone C League finish.

The Olympic Stadium, dynamic and noisy for evening national team encounters, but a sun-baked concrete bowl for this 15h30 kick-off. Groups of people huddled together in the areas of available shade between vast expanses of emptiness.

The astro-turf and sand pitch also impacting play – balls holding up off the abrasive surface; advantageous for attackers perilous for defenders.

The Police started quite positively – keen to use the flanks and with attackers Nuth Sinoun, a close season singing from Western Phnom Penh, and the small Sun Vandeth creative and fairly skilful. However the strike force of Ghanian Michael and South Korean Lee Jae-jin failed to click and as the game wore-on the body language of the pair rapidly declined.

Army began exerting control and took the lead through a header from a corner by captain Phoung Soksana. Soksana was influential, out-working team-mate and national team star Chinn Chhouen, and added a second before the break.

The domination continued in the second half – substitute Ke Vannak scored with his first touch whilst five minutes latter new North Korean signing Choe Myong-Ho scrambled home from close range and celebrated extravagantly. 

The 27 year-old who played in Russia for two years between 2005 and 2008 was described, according to WikiPedia, as “the NorthKorean Ronaldo” [the original Brazilian flavoured one], apparently after winning the 2005 FIFA Asian ‘Star of the Future’ award. We can be fairly sure his planned career trajectory at the time did not involve Phnom Penh’s Olympic Stadium on a Saturday afternoon.  Nevertheless he, and his mustard yellow boots, stood-out moving across both flanks and being a key part of Army’s attacking manoeuvres.

Michael pulled a goal back for the Police (after 3 games foreign players have scored 64% of all goals in the league) but the Army took three points and look like they could be a solid side this season.