Western Uni.FC to hold talks with Kasem Bundit University FC Thailand

Western Uni.FC is set to hold talks with Kasem Bundit University FC in a partnership Bid reveals Manager Sothea Lay.
The manager disclosed this after talks with Club President and Rector of the Western University on Thursday. The move to go into partnership with the Thailand based University backed Clubside is part of the Clubs plan to go global the manager said.

" We are trying to build a brand for the University not only in Cambodia but also outside the country" He explained. " Our University have Partnership with Several Universities in terms of Academics and so we want to take it further also in the area of sports and Kasem Bundit University ( KBU) has a team in the Thailand Division 2 so we believe our partnership with them will help our team to develop not only professionally but also competitively in the Cambodia league."  The Manager said.

Kasem Bundit University FC are a Bangkok University football team who are currently competing in the Thailand football Division 2 within the Bangkok regional league. They played host to Western Uni.FC Last June and the Cambodia League side is looking to make a return to Thailand once again this Summer after the end of the Season.

" We will be going with our team later this year maybe in July after the league, but before then, we shall be sending a delegation to discuss the partnership modality with the University in the coming months" Sothea Lay Stated.

Goze Set to Make MCL Debut for Western

Cote D' Ivoire born Goze Brizi Dieudonne is set to make his debut for Western Uni.FC this weekend as the University side return to the MCL following the 2 weeks break for the Khmer New Year.

The former Chabad Rif Hoceima of morrocco Striker Signed for the Western Uni.FC about 8 weeks ago but his debut was delayed due to visa complication which has now been sorted out.

Manager Sothea Lay was elated to reveal the capture of his priced jewel following a protracted delay. " We are happy to have Goze in our team now, he is a good player and will help our team in the league" The Manager said.


Goze who while waiting for his Visa to be sorted out was also courted by Reigning champions Svay Rieng FC and 2012 Champions Boueng Ket FC finally settled for Western Uni.FC. " I just want to play, It has been frustrating to watch others play while i sit on the stands" the Ivorian stated. "I want to help Western, and show what i can do, I hope i can help them" he added

The former  Sewe Sports FC of CIV player starred for Western in the 2-1 lose in a friendly encounter at the National Olympic Stadium on 23rd March where he scored a stunning free kick only to see it disallowed by the referee. He is looking forward to making a scoring debut giving his dazzling form in training.

Coach Meas Samouern is now spoil for choice with four Foreign Players in his squad and welcomes the addition of Goze. " We have seen him for a while and he is a quality player for us" he said. " We have been struggling up front as we are often forced to play our foreign players deep, but now with a striker like Goze, we can push forward more and see how we do" the former BBU Tactician stated.

With Isaac Kolawole suspended for the match this weekend, Goze automatically comes in to compliment the clubs's top scorer David Njoku and Cameroon born Playmaker Privat Mbarga. Coach Samouen will now have to get his tactics right to add to the woes of the 2014 Hun Sen Cup Champions National Police who have so far lost their last two games since winning the Hun Sen cup in March.

Coming from back to back draws against Svay Rieng and Tri Asia, Western Uni.FC will be looking to get back to winning ways to climb the table away from relegation zone.

Western Uni FC set to woo more fans

With the Khmer New year over, and attention returns the Metfone Cambodia League, Western Uni.FC is looking to attract more fans to cheer the team as they look to maintain their top flight position in the Cambodia league.

"We want to take advantage of our Student population, we know that with fans behind the team, we can do better"Manager Sothea Lay Stated.
The Manager who is also the Director of the General English Program of the University is looking to attract the teeming student population of the University to come to the match venues to support the team.

"We have a huge number of student population, however not many are really interested in Sports or watching football, but some are interested only they do not know about the schedules and so we are trying to mobilize them" he said.

"Initially we targeted about 2,000 fans coming to watch our games but in recent time we only have a few hundreds at the stadium' "But we are now carrying out a campaign drive to ensure about 1000 fans come to the stadium" he enthused.

With a growing number of fan base, Sothea Lay believes that the players would be motivated to give their best. "Players dont like to play in empty stands, we have found out that in Games we had more fans, the team has performed well" He explained. "Presently we have over 1500 Facebook likes and on our Fan Club we have about 500 members, we are trying to see what we can do to entice more of our fans to the stadium" he added.

Western Uni.FC are also in talks with their respective partners to provide incentives to their fans. "We are talking with Legend Cinema, Cambodia Superstores, the University Management, Extra Joss and a host of other partners to give some support to our fans, hopefully this packages will be announced soon and we hope all card Carrying members will get the benefits" he stated.

 Western Uni takes on National Police On Sunday at 3:30pm coming from the back of two draws while the Hun Sen Cup Champions have suffered back to back defeats since the Triumph last March.

Cash Strapped Western Uni.FC to drop Players

Western Uni.Fc is Set to drop key players
 as Club cut down on Budget 

Western Uni.FC's Season is set to hit a big blow as the management look to cut down on expenditure by dropping some players most of which are the foreign legion. With Just 3 months into the 2014 Season, the University backed side who were only accepted back into the Metfone Premier League following their proposal and application to the FFC are already cash strapped and top Management are looking to cut down the month budget for the running of the team.

Manager Sothea Lay revealed this to the players before they despatched for the Khmer New year Holidays following their 1-1 draw on Sunday against Tri Asia Phnom Penh.

" I am sorry to inform you that, we would have to drop some players after the first round" he announced. " Our Management is concerned about the expenditure and will reduce the budget hence we will have to cut down on our foreign players and some local players" he added

The manager failed to inform the players involved however, hopes that should the  club secure additional sponsors or partners, there may be a change of decision.

" We really dont want to drop our players, we should be talking of getting more players but out budget is limited at his time and we have to find a way to survive, We are looking for partners and sponsors, we wait to see what happens after Khmer New year"  the manager Lamented.

" We are only trying to let the players know in advance so they can start looking for other clubs however this will only be after the first round" he stated.

Western Uni.FC have signed 5 foreign players in which two have left the team already. Reo Nakumura was dropped to make way for Ivorian Goze Brizi Dioudonne but the Ivorian could not make his debut for the university team due to visa complications. Meanwhile  Western Uni.FC have Scored 6 goals in the 7 games and 5 of the six goals were scored by the foreign players. Nigerian David Njoku with three goals to his credit and Cameroon born Privat Mbarga  netted twice. The Third Foreign player in the team is Defender Isaac Kolawole. with 3 games left for the end for the first Half Western are currently 9th on the 12 team table and 3 points off the relegation zone.

Western Uni.FC share points with Tri Asia FC

Western Uni. FC was held to a 1-1 draw today by Tri-Asia in the Metfone cambodia league. After a pulsating 0-0 at half time, the Golden lions took the lead in the 52nd minute after Privat Mbarga was at the end of a crafty pass from David Njoku and the cameroonian chipped the ball over the Tri Asia's goalkeeper.

Western Uni.Fc coming from the back of a 0-0 draw in midweek were still reeling of the missed opportunity to go up the table following their 2-1 lose to Albirex a week earlier. 

The 3:30 kick off in front of a paltry crowd started with Western taking control as the much fancied Tri Asia Side resorted to long balls trying to find their strikers.  Captain Krouch Vimoll and his central defense partner Isa Kolawole were up for the task curtailing the Japanese backed team's forages. 

The first chance of the day came to Western midway into the half as Sunly cut in before taking a low drive which sailed narrowly wide following a neat interplay by Privat and Sotheara.

Tri Asia responded at the other end forcing a save from Goalkeeper Naroch int he 25th minute.

Both side continue to carve out chances but were let down in the final third with Western having fairly the lion share of possession as Tri Asia continue to kick wide and making several unforced errors.

On resumption in the second half, Tri Asia pushed forward and their intent was obvious to add pressure on the Western defense. Western sat deep and tried to curtail the pressure and hitting on the counter and their approach paid dividend inside the 52nd minute after David Njoku won the ball mid way into his own half and sent a loft pass to Privat Mbarga, the Cameroonian's first touch was sublime and his second was equally exquisite as he sent a beautiful lob over the goalkeeper who has stepped out of his 6 yard box.

It was a goal Western truly deserved and were looking to hold on to it but  Tri Asia responded and piled pressure on the Western Defense and got the equalizer in the 81st minute as Western failed to clear their lines.

 The last 5 minutes was tensed as western had to hold on to the draw having lost out from a winning position to Albirex, they protected their area as Tri Asia forge forward again and again until the final whistle.


 The draw leaves the University backed team in 9th place as the MCL goes into a 2 weeks break.


Photo Supplied by Masayori Ishikawa. For more click here 

For Western Uni.FC the Battle for Survival continues

Standing L-R Boranoch, Privat, Panha, David, Isa,
Front L-R Sombo, Kosal, Sotheara, Seyha, Mol, Sunly

Western Uni.FC's return to the top flight of Cambodia football has not been an easy ride despite the sides good start to the season. The University backed side was granted a wild card entry by the Football Federation of Cambodia following a written proposal by the club management which saw the light of the day.

With limited funds at their disposal and no time for preseason due to the uncertainty of their application being granted until the last minute, the club was marked for relegation by most pundits. 7 games gone, they are presently 9th on the 12 team table with 1 win, 3 draws, and 3 loses leaving them with 6 points, a whopping 10 points from the top of the table and only 2 points clear of relegation.

Western started the season with good results in the Hun sen cup qualification stage which saw them record 3 wins and a lose to make it to the group stage where they failed to progress.

The Hun Sen cup was seen as distraction given the lack of depth in their squad and therefore a blessing in disguised when they were knocked out by loses against Army and BBU.

Western Uni.FC 3-1 Asia Europe University

Coach Meas Samoeurn was able to secure the services of three foreign players before the start of the season, former Boeung Ket FC player Privat Mbarga along with Former Svay Rieng and Kirivong star David Mbarga and Isa Kolawole put pen on paper for the University side.

With champions Svay Rieng  away to Vietnam for an international competition, the golden Lions had to sit out the opening day's fixture and didnt play until the second week when they dispatched Asia Euro
University FC 3-1. It was a great result for the team who had earlier lost to the same opposition by a lone goal in the Hun sen cup.

Western Uni.FC 0-0 Ministry of Defense

Buoyed by that victory, Western University's next opponent was Ministry of Defense team who they lost to by 3-0 in the Hun Sen cup. Western dominated the match but couldnt find the back of the net and both sides settled for 0-0 draw.

Next up came Kirivong Soksenchey, the takeo based team has not really found their form but have been resilient following draw against Naga the previous week. Manager Sothea Lay signed Japanese player Reo Nakamura and Coach Meas Samouern opted to rest Defender Isa Kolawole who was on a yellow card with the next games in mind.

Western Uni.FC 1-1 Kirivong Sok SenChey

The move looked to backfire as Kirivong took the lead in the 20th minute following a defensive miss up between Krouch Mol and Veasna allowing Brazilian Carlos Alberto the space to poke home a long pass. Somehow, Western fought back and  it took an Iniquitous strike from David Njoku to level scores in the 75th minute for a deserved share of the points.

Western remained unbeaten after three games and it was looking like a bright return to the MCL for the University team as they sit mid table with 5 points.

There came some Topsy turvy moments in the Camp of the university backed team and they couldnt reenact the fine form in the following three games.

Western Uni.FC 0-2 Build Bright United

First a 2-0 lose against BBU in the week 4 fixtures was quickly followed by another 2-0 lose to Boeung Ket FC before the league went to a forced break for the completion of the Hun Sen Cup ties.

Western Uni.FC 0-2 Boeung Ket FC

In both games, Western weren't outplayed as the score line may seem to reflect.  In fact, the tie against BBU ended 0-0 in the first half and it was not until the last 10 minutes before BBU got two quick goals to seal the tie. Similarly, Against BKFC, western went into the break trailing from a 19th minute header from Khoun Laboravy and were right in the tie until the last 10 minute when BKFC got their second and sealed up the tie once again.
Coach Meas Samoeurn had 3 weeks to reshape his side and correct the mistakes. Manager Sothea Lay signed up Cote D'ivoire's Goze Brizi Dioundone but the former Morroco league player couldnt be registered because of visa complications. The Combination of Privat and David in midfield and attack was reversed with the Nigerian now dropped to the midfield allowing the cameroonian to play up front.

Up next came Albirex Niigata, the Japanese sponsored team who has remained rock bottom of the table with 6 loses in as many games. It was expected that Western would ride over them with ease but instead the received the shock of their lives as Albrex went on to win 2-1.

Western Uni.FC 1-2 Albirex

On the eve of this epic encounter, a dozen of Western players took part in a Tiger Street football tournament at Koh Pich and paid the price for it. Despite taking the lead in the 60th minute off a header from Oeun Kosal, Western couldnt go on to win all three points, they allowed Albirex to crawl back into the game and scored two late goals inside the last 10 minutes to snatch the 3 points.

Western Uni.FC responded 3 days later as they faced the champions Svay rieng in a rescheduled match. They maintained a tactical discipline at the back for the full 90 minutes, forging forward occasionally in search of a goal and looked to have scored when Oeun Kosal once again timed his run to chip over the on rushing svay Rieng goalkeeper but was ruled for offside. In the end, Western settled for a point to move over rivals Asia Europe University to 9th place.

Western Uni.FC 0-0 Svay Rieng

With 7 games left before the end of the first round, Western has tough ties to come, first they play Tri Asia on Sunday before games against Naga, National Police and Phnom Penh Crown. To get anything out of these games, coach Meas Samoeurn will need to get his tactics and strategy right. Western do not have a rich bench and the squad depth is thin, hence Manager Sothea Lay will need to ensure his players are in the right frame of mind going into this rounds of games.

The target for this season should still remain to ensure they preserve their place in the top flight by avoiding relegation, Realistically, One would expect Western to get 4 points from a possible 12 in the remaining 4 fixtures but with great tactical discipline as shown in some of the games so far, Western could shock more opponents to move up the ladder away to safety.

So far, they have probably the 7th best defense and the 2nd worst attack. It is the attacking option they have been lacking and would need to step up. Coach Meas Samoeurn will need to find the best way to utilize Privat and David to get the best possible result for the team. In fighting within the team on and off the pitch must be well managed by Sothea Lay  and a thorough game plan be orchestrated.

Leaders face tough tests was Western Uni.FC takes on Tri Asia

Svay Rieng’s Prak Mony Odom (left) pulls on the shorts of Naga Corp’s Anderson Zogbe during their 2013 Metfone C-League game on June 2 at Olympic Stadium. The teams will face off again in the league tomorrow at Old Stadium. Sreng Meng Srun

Fri, 4 April 2014

HS Manjunath (Phnompenhpost.com)

Moving into the eighth week of action, the Metfone C-League joint leaders Phnom Penh Crown and Naga Corp have tough assignments this weekend ahead of the traditional break for the Khmer New Year celebrations.

At the Old Stadium, Naga face defending champions Svay Rieng in Saturday’s second fixture in a markedly better frame of mind than their rivals, who went through a frustrating experience of splitting points in a goal-less game with Western University on Wednesday.

The Svay Rieng camp is determined to put that outcome behind them and work out a sound formation that can withstand and test the Naga strength. The team elders believe bolstering co-ordination upfront is the key when confronting a side as well-rounded as their opponents tomorrow.

“We’re going in to fight with a big club [in Naga], but I am confident as we have no suspensions or injuries,” Svay Rieng coach Sam Vandeth told the Post.

The title holders tried out their new Ivory Coast recruit James Adekunle on Wednesday, although the coach revealed that it was up to the club to decide whether he would be handed a contract.

Meanwhile, Naga took out a lot of positives from their last week’s robust showing against National Police Commissary and coach Prak Sovannara is reasonably happy that the team is steadily grating the grooves to the levels he has in mind.

Of some concern and anxiety in the Naga camp is the side’s goal scoring average of two per game so far and, given its inherent strike force, the coach obviously expects more on the board.

Before the Svay Rieng-Naga clash, Asia Europe University will be up against Albirex Niigata, who are in a jubilant mood after breaking a six-match duck with their first win of the season against Western University last week.

Four-time league winners Crown haven’t put a foot wrong in this year’s campaign so far. They take on the Police team at the Olympic Stadium on Saturday in a secure feeling that they had won their previous encounter in the group stage of the Hun Sen Cup.

Police’s eventual triumph in that competition was a milestone achievement for the club, but the return to the league campaign was tinged with disappointment after the loss to Naga last week.

Coach Ung Kanyanith is going back to the drawing board to work up a plan to put the side on an even keel, keeping in my mind the inescapable fact that the side is facing a formidable foe in Crown.

“We’ve been training for a tough fight this weekend. I admit that Crown is one of the strongest teams in MCL, but in football nobody is perfect,” he told the Post.

“Every team has its strengths and weaknesses. We will look to exploit Crown’s weaknesses on the pitch, and we know our own strengths.

“We’ve not signed any new players, but unfortunately our captain Say Piseth, one of the best defenders in our squad, will miss the Crown game due to an injury to his shin sustained in the previous match against Naga,” added the coach.

Crown is seeking to regain its hold on the championship which slipped out of its grasp in 2012 after back-to-back triumphs

Bin Chantha Thierry’s recent foot injury will keep him out of the reckoning for much longer than first thought and Crown will have to do without Kim Jung-ho and Ngoy Srin, both of whom are suspended.

“The rest of the group should be ready. We also have, since the very first round of the season, our Brazilian Rafael [Oliviera] 100 per cent fit and the next days training will show if he is ready for some game time,” said Crown coach Sam Schweingruber.

“For this season, we are obviously trying to build up from the last season. We have an additional assistant coach John McGlynn on board as a real football expert and with a great tactical understanding of the game. So we believe that our team is obviously getting better.

“We also have a new goalkeeper and several new foreign players who help our team in training and games.”

Saturday’s opener will be a testy one for Kirivong Sok Sen Chey, who are seemingly climbing a greasy pole. Beaten 4-1 by Svay Rieng last time out, the visitors from Takeo will cross a buoyant Build Bright United for whom the past few weeks have gone very well.

Sunday’s fare at the Olympic Stadium offers a stirring duel between Ministry of National Defence and Boeung Ket Rubber Field.

While Boeung Ket is the obvious form horse, MND have the capacity to bowl a wrong one at any time, mostly when least fancied or expected.

In their current form, TriAsia should go out as favourites to down Western University in Sunday’s opening fixture.

Change of games and grass
The Football Federation of Cambodia announced yesterday a change in the fixture list for the second half of the MCL season to help accommodate a planned installation of artificial turf at the Olympic Stadium.

The redevelopment of the pitch, which has often been reduced to a quagmire during torrential downpours during rainy season games, is being partly funded by world-governing body FIFA, who will also provide technical support, according to an official FFC press release yesterday.

Construction work is expected to begin shortly after the July 27 conclusion of the league.

ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY CHENG SERYRITH

Weekend Fixtures
Saturday April 5

At Old Stadium
Asia Europe University v Albirex Niigata – 1:30pm
Svay Rieng v Naga Corp – 3:45pm

At Olympic Stadium
Kirivong Sok Sen Chey v Build Bright United – 3:30pm
National Police Commissary v Phnom Penh Crown – 6pm

Sunday April 6
At Olympic Stadium
TriAsia v Western University 3:30pm
Ministry of National Defence v Boeung Ket Rubber Field – 6pm