74. Keep Calm and Carry on Up The C-League
This was the Carry On film that never made it to the big or small screen, only the cutting room floor.. An Englishman trying to win the Cambodian Premier League title with a part time team representing an Electricity Company....Seven seasons in and we have only one Hun Sen Cup and the Kings Cup (The Cambodian version of the Community Shield) to show for my efforts. Maybe I have overachieved, with a club that can only offer players appearance money and a little bit less if summoned from the subs bench, or maybe I have underachieved with the talent I have had over the years. Have I taken this team as far as I can? With the help of my new chairman, can I build a team that can challenge the four professional clubs again? The future begins here, starting with my first ever opponents, Bati Youth in the cup.
Match 7 – EDC v Bati Youth – Hun Sen
Cup 2nd Qualifying Round 05/05/26
It’s
showdown time! I’ve been counting the days until we get the opportunity to
inflict sweet revenge on the acne ridden kids of The Bati Youth Academy. They
are currently in 8th place in the Cambodian 2nd Division
Group C and an easy win is predicted for Team Electric. I field a strong team,
but replace my two strikers with Noron and Nhem Dara to give them some minutes.
Team: Som, Sophorn, Adekunjo, Mol,
Ratana, Soksuena, Men Samnang, Tuy Oudom, Dara, Noron, Pidor
We dominate
possession but fail to create a clear cut chance. Then on the near side of the
pitch, Tuy Oudom pulls up. This looks serious and is stretchered off the pitch.
Not the start I had in mind. Chhim Pheara replaces him. We look good but again that final ball is
lacking. Dara gets down the right and his cross finds Noron, but the defender
blocks his effort for a corner.. We have possession but cannot break down the
stubborn kids, who have if anything perfected the offside trap as Noron and
Dara keep stepping into it. This is getting a little frustrating.. Nil Nil at
the break. Everybody in the ground is asleep..
I go 4-3-3
with Noron, Dara and Pheara forming a three pronged attack. Pidor now in a
Mezzala role flights a lovely ball for Dara to run onto and his shot strikes
the foot of the post and wide.. Then, relief.. Ratana gets down the left from
full back. His low cross causes panic in the Bati defence and after a bit of a
scramble the ball falls to Nhem Dara who tucks the ball into the corner of the
net. It wasn’t pretty but it was exactly what we needed. We look the most
likely to double our advantage, Dara’s cross to Pheara on the far post results
in the youngster skewing his effort wide. We are just once cock up way from
disaster though. This almost happens from a corner when Men Samnang hacks away a
header off the line.. Concentrate,, So much for a handsome victory, sweet
revenge on those pesky kids, we are hanging on a little here.. I slow the tempo
down and to short passing and this seems to do the trick as we re-assert
control. Nhem Dara who has played well gets down the left, before checking
inside and delivering a fine cross to the onrushing Pheara at the far post who
this time makes no mistake, placing the ball into the corner of the net with a
first time cushioned volley, for a more comfortable 2-0 scoreline. Job done and
into the next round we go. Thankfully lightning doesn’t strike twice!
Final Score – Bati Youth 0-2 EDC
Dara 52
Pheara 89
Match 8 – National Defence v EDC
We travel to
the army team in reasonable spirits, knowing a win here would propel us into
the top half of the table. I go in with a 4-2-3-1 with Chea Samnang making his
first start of the season and Um Makara moving to centre back in the absence of
the suspended Mat Mol. The hosts surprisingly languish at the bottom of the
table with just four points, but seem to have a reasonable team at their disposal.
Team: Som, Kongsmarch, Makara,
Adekunjo, Ratana, Soksuena, Chea Samnang, Men Samnang, Nhem, Taboula, Pidor
Match Action
We win an early free kick, which Men
Samnag swings in to Nhem! His header smacks against the upright and is cleared
by the National Defence. Promising start. Men Samnang wriggles his way into the
box but can only shoot tamely at the keeper. At the other end, a quick
breakaway leads to Kim Rithy shooting but is well saved by Som. Nhem goes on a
storming run which results in him firing just over the bar. Some nice moves
result in poor finishing, especially from Taboula. 0-0 at the break, but we
have looked far more likely to break the deadlock. Into the second half and I
go 4-2-4 as we lacked width in the first half. Still we create chances, Makara
heads wide from a corner and the National Defence live up to their name.
Frustrating. Then to make matters worse a quick goal kick results in a race
between their striker and Makara. My player holds him back and is also on a
yellow. The ref takes a dim view and sends him off. I move sub Leap Bo to an
emergency left back but funnily enough still feel we can win. The Defence sense
an opportunity though and nearly score with a header just over the crossbar. We
haven’t given up despite our numerical disadvantage. Sub Pheara goes on a
barnstorming run through the midfield. He finds Nhem in the right channel who
runs at his defender. His cross is cut out but the defender can only chest the
ball into the path of Men Samnang who fires home from close range for a much deserved
lead. Run Oudom lives up to his name before firing a shot which is saved low by
Som. They come again and only a last ditch tackle from Ratana, now playing in
central defence prevents an easy tap in. We are made of sterner stuff this
season and hold out for a hard-earned three points.
Final Score National Defence 0-1 EDC
Men Samnang 80
It was a few days after the National Defence game and I was taking training.
During the session I was interrupted by my chairman, Sann Veasna.
Firstly it was a surprise to see him on the training field (something his predecessor would never have done), but what was even more surprising is that he was accompanied by two players, who I did not recognise. One was a short spiky haired dude, the other seemingly of Thai origin was taller. Veasna was still wearing those sunglasses..
"Jonathan.. he grinned, I want you to meet Jefri Bisai and Watthana Doloh.. They will be joining the club at the start of the new transfer window on 16th May..."
This was really awkward. While I knew about Bisai, I did not know who this Doloh fella was? I'd never heard of him, let alone know even what position he played... What was his pedigree? Was he "tearing it up in the Thai amateur leagues?"
I bit my tongue..
"Welcome to EDC," I uttered, as I bowed to each of the new signings in turn.
"This is an exciting new era for the club and to lay down a marker to our rivals, I have signed these two bad boys," he turned grinning like a Cheshire cat at both of them... like he'd signed both Messi and Ronaldo on the same day..
Bisai and Doloh laughed nervously.
"Well, gotta move on, we have contracts to sort out.. Happy training!"
I gave a fake smile, before turning to Nen Borey who had come over to meet them as well.
I shook my head.
"I'm not sure how long I can put up with this Nen?"
"Jonathan.. let's see how good these players are first. They may be just what we need for the team.."
"I don't know, even if they are good players, what's the point of having a recruitment team if the chairman is going to sign everybody. Am I now obliged to play them both against Angkor Tiger on Saturday? Can I even sign players of my own in the upcoming transfer window?"
After training I paid another visit to my Data Analyst's cupboard, Vinny Samways poster and all to get the lowdown on Watthana Doloh. Thankfully he had taken my advice and had tidied it up since my last visit. Turns out, Doloh had been "tearing it up" for the mighty Prachinbui United in yes you've guessed it in the Thai Third Division, which are regional semi-pro/amateur leagues... He was a right winger apparently...
"We don't need another right winger, we have Tuy Oudom, Nhem and Pheara who can all play there, plus young Thin Pheng a promising 16-year old wide man in my youth team who was widely tipped to break into the first team in the future..
I thanked my data analyst and headed home for the day, wondering whether this could be the beginning of the end for me at EDC. I could not manage a team that was not my own, regardless of the ability of the players that were being bought by my new chairman.
The Chairman’s Signings
Watthana Doloh 1.5K from Prachinbui
United (Thai)
Watthana
Doloh has landed in my squad (whether I like it or not) A decentish player but
a risk.
Jeff Henri Bisai (MC) 1.7K from
Persewar (Ind)
Match 9 Angkor Tiger v EDC
Four
straight wins in all competitions have helped to give the team new belief and
confidence as we travel to The champions, Angkor Tiger. Three changes see Mol
return for the suspended Makara and Nhem Sophorn for Kongsmarch. New signing
Jefri Bisai starts in midfield, while new Thai winger Doloh is on the bench. Not
sure what’s going on at the beer company as they languish in 9th ,
while we start the game in 6th place. They still have the dangerous
Omakafe and Bista in their ranks, despite their surprisingly lowly league
position. All to play for as we try and catch runaway leaders, The National
Police..
Team: Som, Kongsmarch, Mol, Adekunjo,
Sophorn, Soksuena, Bisai, Men Samnang, Nhem, Taboula, Pidor.
Match Action
We start
brightly, but it is Tiger who have the first chance when Omakafe shoots wide
from the edge of the box. From the resulting goal kick Som rolls it out to Mol,
who finds Sophorn. Sophorn to Nhem. Nhem dribbles infield and lays it off to
Men Samnang.. Samnang, sprays a lovely 30 yard ball wide left to Sok Oeun
Pidor, Pidor for EDC on the left edge of the area. He finds a cross to Bisai!
BisaiiiiiiII!!!!! What a goal. He strikes the ball first time into the top
corner from 25 yards with his first ever touch in an EDC shirt! Unbelievable
Jeff! Jefri Henri Bisai scores on his debut! What a way to announce himself to
his new club! Amazing! Pidor tries to emulate his team mate moments later but
his long range effort is well saved. At the other end, Tiger head one over from
a corner. We look up for this though. The impressive Men Samnang picks up the
ball in midfield and runs at the Tiger defence. He lays it back to Nhem Sophorn
who lifts a lovely ball over the top for the onrushing Nhem... 2-0! He
bludgeons it into the top corner from inside the box. Brilliant from the
youngster once again! A Men Samnang free kick is met by the head of Adekunjo!
It hits the upright! We haven’t had it all our own way but our defence has
snuffed out anything that the Tiger can throw at us. Then on 42 minutes, Bisai
lays the ball back to Sophorn who once again plays a fine forward pass to the
onrushing Nhem and in a carbon copy of his first goal slams the ball home for
number three. Where were the Angkor Tiger? Quite frankly.. who cares? Bista is
angry and the Nepalese forward dribbles down the right flank before crossing to
Sok Samnang who returns the favour from the left, only for Bista’s finish to be
stunningly tipped round the post by Som from close range. Brilliant from the
EDC keeper. The second half kicks off and Tiger have the first attack. Omakafe
turns and runs at the defence, but is upended by Mol.. He’s already been
booked.. Red Card! Not the start to the half we wanted. I sacrifice Pidor for
defender Visal to slot in alongside Adekunjo. A long ball is played to the
onrushing Omakafe.. who shoots straight at Som.. A let off for EDC.. Then
nothing.. the game ticks and ticks as we frustrate the opposition and preserve
our lead. Men Samnang gets the ball on the left and releases Nhem who skips
past his man, but the goalkeeper denies him his hat-trick and a fourth EDC
goal. And that was that. A brilliant scoreline in an even game. We power up the
C-League table to fourth.
Final Score Angkor Tiger 0-3 EDC
Bisai
3, Nhem 21,43
Match 10 EDC v CMAC United
Five
straight wins in all competitions and suddenly we have got our mojo back. The
problem is when we are confident and playing well, we tend to slip on a banana
skin and fall on our backsides... Bottom of the table CMAC Utd have all the
hallmarks of a very slippery banana skin. Up front, the evergreen Kawabata, who
was supreme last time we faced him is up front, with ex EDC man Sos Suhana
providing the ammunition from the right wing. We have an embarrassment of
riches to choose from. Makara slots in for the suspended Mol, while Doloh makes
his full debut on the right wing in a 4-4-2 formation. On paper an easy win, in
practice, god knows what will happen...
Team: Som, Sophorn, Makara, Adekunjo,
Ratana, Sokuena, Bisai, Doloh, Nhem, Taboula, Men Samnang
It is CMAC who have the first attempt at goal, Sos Suhana’s free kick which was comfortably saved by Som. We assert dominance as the visitors pack the defence with the aging Kawababta their only outlet on the break. We huff and puff. Taboula has a shot comfortably saved but that’s about it. We have had plenty of the ball but so far have been unable to break them down. Until.. Men Samnang, playing on the left tries to beat his man but is tackled.. Soksuena picks up the loose ball. He plays it into the penalty area. Taboula flicks the ball on into the path of Nhem who stabs the ball home at the far post. Relief! Taboula almost makes it two when his low shot is well saved after good work from Bisai. A warning shot! Midfielder Va Pheng drives forward and unleashes a fearsome shot which is spectacularly tipped over the bar by Som. One nil at the break. In the second half we dominate once again. Nhem flashes a shot just wide of the post, while a rejuvenated Taboula has a header tipped over the bar. CMAC started to creep back into the game and enjoy a good spell of possession, without creating much. The clock ticks on, until Som sends a thunderbolt of a goal kick. Nhem leaps like a salmon to nod the ball on to the onrushing Taboula, who makes no mistake, sidefooting the ball confidently into the corner for a two nil lead. Job done. CMAC created a couple of half chances late on but there was no denying us a comfortable win. We go second, just three points behind The National Police...
Final Score EDC 2-0 CMAC United
Nhem 34
Taboula 83
Pelap Taboula Makes 100th
Appearance for EDC
My star Nigerian striker, Pelap Taboula made his 100th appearance in an EDC shirt against CMAC United. He has scored 64 goals for the club and is quickly establishing himself as a true club legend. At just 23 years old there will hopefully be many more appearances and goals for Team Electric.
EDC have recovered from being bottom of the league at one stage to fourth in the table. Will the chairman's new signings help propel them even further towards glory, or will it prove to be a ticking time bomb in both the dressing room and manger's office? Find out next time onThe Ultimate World FM Game!
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