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VIENTIANE - Isa Halim lost his No 4 shirt - and his shorts - after the bronze medal play-off against SEA Games hosts Laos at the Chao Anouvong Stadium Thursday.

Standing on the track adjacent to the pitch clad only in his red tights, Isa drew a lot of attention from bystanders after the Singapore team were mobbed by locals who wanted a piece of the men who had downed Laos 3-1 to take the bronze.

And how sweet victory was for the youngest team in the competition, with an average age of just 19.8 years.

Few in Singapore had confidence in the Republic's under-23 football team here.

Indeed, the sentiment was that this young squad would not even make it out of the group stages of the competition.

But Terry Pathmanathan's charges sealed the bronze with goals from Khairul Nizam (23rd minute), Fazli Ayob (53rd) and Fadhil Noh (87th).

"I think this is a very big success and I'm very proud of the players," said Pathmanathan, just before he was doused with ice water and tossed into the air by his jubilant charges.

"Many people wrote them off but they've done well, extremely well as a matter of fact.

"There was no sign of nerves from these boys and this bronze medal will inspire them to greater heights in football, but the challenge is to keep them together," he added.

A majority of this SEA Games squad will play for the Young Lions in the S-League next year, but with school commitments and National Service on the horizon, it will be a challenge for the Football Association of Singapore to keep the team together for the next two SEA Games.

But, for team captain Isa, the SEA Games road has come to an end.

Still clad only in his tights, he said: "I feel proud leading these young boys. They showed that they have a bright future ahead of them, and this bronze medal is just a stepping stone for them."

Channelnewsasia.com

Hosts Laos will be counting on the 12th man or rather home support to carry the team through when they open their campaign in Group B of the SEA Games this Sunday against Myanmar. Team manager Viphet Sihachak said that base on the attendance during the pre-SEA Games in early October, he is confident that Laos can pick up their first three points of the competition.

“We are very sure that the fans will come and support the team just like they did during the pre-SEA Games. And furthermore, football is the main event of the SEA Games and everyone want to do well,” said Viphet after the team managers’ meeting this morning.

“We showed during the pre-SEA Games that we can build a competent team and while we may be up against the silver medallist, I still believe that we can win the full points.

“I know that the other countries have offered high rewards in winning the gold medal, we will do the same at the appropriate time.”

To show their determination to put their best at the biennial championship, the Laos Under-23 side has been training for the more than a year under the sponsorship of Vietnamese club Hoang Anh Gia Lai (HAGL).

And while their results at the BIDC Cup in Phnom Penh where they finished fourth behind Cambodia, HAGL and Vissai Ninh Binh was unflattering, Viphet said that things must be put in perspective.

“At the pre-SEA Games, it was a full competitive match while the BIDC Cup is more of a series of friendlies,” added Viphet.

“Furthermore, the team will welcome the return of midfielder Kampheng (Sayyavutthi), who has been out with a knee injury for quite some time.

“So we are confident of the team.”

Lao U-23 Football Team Manager Viphet Sihachackr said yesterday that the team's experience in previous matches will mean they perform at their best in December.

“The test matches might have made people unhappy with our performance, because they think our team is hopeless and has lost to many other teams on previous occasions, but in fact the fans don't understand that we just used those games as practice for the real event in December,” he said.

Mr Viphet said his team didn't need to win those matches, rather they needed to get much more experience, so that after each match coach and team assistant could analyse the game and suggest how the footballers could improve their performance.

Since the tournament in Cambodia in early November, many Lao football fans have complained about the team not playing well enough.

Their complaints were heightened at the most recent match at Chao Anouvong on Tuesday when the Lao team lost 3-1 to Hoang Anh Gia Lia of Vietnam .

“Hoang Anh Gia Lia is an official sponsor of the 25th SEA Games, so they just wanted to send their football team to practice with our team.

“We learnt many things from them because they had many good players,” Mr Viphet said.

Mr Viphet said the team has been playing very well recently and is ready for their first SEA Games match on December 5 against Myanmar , the runner up at the 24th SEA Games in Thailand .

On December 7 the Lao team will face Indonesia and on December 10 they will take on Singapore in the quarterfinal of the SEA Games.

Mr Viphet said Myanmar is a strong contender but the Lao footballers would try their best to win.

“We will be the winner of the match.

“We know Myanmar is strong but because we are the host country we want to stay in the competition as long as possible,” he said.

Mr Viphet said he trusted the ability of his players after they had gained experience locally and abroad.

“We have spoken with other coaches about our athletes, who said they are improving even though they haven't had much time to practice. The Austrian coach said if the Lao team had more time, they would be really good,” he said.

The men's football teams will be divided into two groups. Laos will be in Group B along with Myanmar , Singapore and Indonesia , while in Group A Thailand will play against Vietnam , Malaysia , Timor Leste and Cambodia .

The women's teams will play in only one group, which comprises Malaysia , Thailand , Myanmar , Vietnam and Laos .

By Souknilundon Southivongnorath
Vientianetimes

The opening match in Group B football of the 25th SEA Games in Laos will be played on 5 December considering that they are only four teams in the group as against five teams in Group A.

The first match in Group B at the National Stadium will be Singapore taking on Indonesia while hosts Laos will play Myanmar, who were the silver medallist two years ago in Thailand.


GROUPINGS

Group A: Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Timor Leste, Cambodia

Group B: Laos, Myanmar, Singapore, Indonesia


FIXTURES

2 Dec (Main Stadium): Malaysia vs Timor Leste (1500hrs)/ Thailand vs Vietnam (1745hrs)

4 Dec (Chao Anu Vong Stadium): Thailand vs Cambodia 1500hrs)/ Vietnam vs Timor Leste (1745hrs)

5 Dec (Main Stadium): Singapore vs Indonesia (1500hrs)/ Laos vs Myanmar (1745hrs)

6 Dec (Main Stadium): Vietnam vs Malaysia (1500hrs)/ Timor Leste vs Cambodia (1745hrs)

7 Dec (Chao Anu Vong Stadium): Myanmar vs Singapore (1500hrs)/ Indonesia vs Laos (1745hrs)

8 Dec (Chao Anu Vong Stadium): Timor Leste vs Thailand (1500hrs)/ Cambodia vs Malaysia (1745hrs)

9 Dec: Opening Ceremony

10 Dec (Chao Anu Vong Stadium): Myanmar vs Indonesia (1500hrs)/ Laos vs Singapore (1745hrs)

11 Dec (Chao Anu Vong Stadium): Cambodia vs Vietnam (1500hrs)/ Malaysia vs Thailand (1500hrs)

14 Dec (Chao Anu Vong Stadium): Semi-finals

17 Dec: Third/ Fourth Placing (1500hrs at Chao Anu Vong Stadium)/ FINAL (1700hrs at Main Stadium)

Laos captain Kitsada was named the Most Valuable Player in the BIDC Cup 2009 in Phnom Phen, Cambodia. The final results of the BIDC Cup is as follow:

The winner: Cambodia U-23
Second: Hoang Anh Gia Lai, Vietnam
Third: Vissai Ninh Binh
Fouth: Laos U-23

Cambodia’s Samrith Seiha was voted the tournament’s Best Goalkeeper, and Evaldo Goncaves of HAGL collected the Top Scorer award.

Photo: roubroum.blogspot.com

You can now watch the match between Laos and Cambodia in the BIDC CUP 2009 Play in PhnomPenh, Kingdom of Cambodia. The host Cambodia wear in the blue Uniform, while Laos is in the red. Lamnao Singto from Laos got a red card, and in the end, Cambodia won Laos with the score 2:1. Check out the video clips from youtube.

Part I
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-IMtfHmTFlY

Part II
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJeEyzzW5bs

Part III
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NMVp63MaoU

Part IV
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AauWYiAblkU

Part V
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNtMgOkEmhs

Part VI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COTdygz0f3o

Final
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hyyxehdM_5E

The Cambodian U-23s beat their Laos counterparts 2-1 in their BIDC Cup match in Phnom Penh and go through to the two-team final to be played on Saturday with their second win of the competition. Goals from Keo Sokngorn and Nov Soseila sealed the result. It was a very tough game as Laos played very well in the 2nd half after Lamnao Singto got a red card, and the team being reduced to 10 men.

In another match, HAGL won Vissai Ninh Binh 3:0.

Laos will meet HAGL on 11 November 20093.

Table Standing is as follow:
1. Cambodia : 6 points (+2)
2. Hoang Anh Gia Lai : 3 points (+2)
3. Laos : 1 point (-1)
4. Vissai Ninh Binh : 1 point (-3)


Source: http://www.andybrouwer.co.uk/blog/

(KPL) The football team of the armed force of Champassak province of Laos has won the 2009 Number One Cup after defeating Vietnam ?s Binh Phuoc military team 2-1 on Nov. 5.

According to VNA, the Number One Cup is an international football tournament, for the armed forces in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. This year's event was held on Oct. 27-Nov. 5 with the participation of seven teams from Laos's Champassak and Savannakhet provinces, Cambodia's Kompong Thom and Stungtreng province, and Vietnam's Binh Phuoc province.The police team from Binh Phuoc province and Laos's Savannakhet team shared the third prize.

Player Phanthavong of Champassak who scored 10 goals during the tournament was presented the Best Scorer title and Hoang Dinh Ngoc of Binh Phuoc military team got the ?Best Goal Keeper.

On this occasion, the tournament's organising board presented six tonnes of rice to flood victims in Kompong Thom and Stungtreng provinces.

SEA Games: A Preview - Both Groups Present Challenges
There is no easy ride for anyone in the nine-nation tournament...

Whichever way it went, there are no longer easy grouping following the official draw announcement of the men’s football of the 25th SEA Games in Laos this morning.

Eight-times champions Thailand are in Group A alongside Vietnam, Malaysia, Timor Leste and Cambodia.In Group B are hosts Laos, Myanmar, Singapore and Indonesia.

Brunei have been banned by FIFA while the Philippines are not putting up either men‘s or women‘s team at this year‘s SEA Games.

Indonesian team manager Demis Djamaoeddin said that there are no longer easy draw at the SEA Games with all the teams taking part well prepared.

“Unlike in the past, there are no teams which you can consider as minnows,” said Demis from Palembang.

“All the teams taking part take the championship seriously and they prepare their teams for months. We are no different.

“For us, it makes no different being in either group. They are all tough. We can only prepare our team as well as possible. The rest will be decided on the day.”

Singapore have been building up steadily towards the SEA Games where their recent 6-0 win over their counterparts from Cambodia proved that their formula in having their team - the Young Lions - have regular competition in the S-League is paying off.

They are currently playing in the VFF-Smartdoor Championship in Hanoi where they had conceded a 1-0 loss to the Vietnam U23 side in their opening match.The Young Lions then held the Thai U23 side to a 1-1 draw in their second match of the meet and will wrap up the competition by taking on China U23.

The Indonesians will be relying on the Uruguayan touch to carry the team through with the enlistment of Alberto Dica while for Laos, their win of the pre-SEA Games meet despite playing against U19 sides, will be an added incentive.

Add that to the expected home crowd, then Laos could just spring a surprise - or two.

Myanmar, through their recent formation of the Myanmar national league, have allowed their U23 players more playing time and with the expected four-nation tournament later this month, they will not be short of match experience.

At the very least, Myanmar will be looking at defending the silver they win two years ago in Thailand.

With the Thais again the firm favourites to defend their crown, Vietnam will be hoping that their win of the AFF Suzuki Cup last year will give them the confidence for the task ahead.

And certainly, the Vietnam U23 side seems to be oozing with confidence where this week, they picked up the VFF-Smartdoor Cup in Hanoi after beating Singapore U23 (1-0) and then China U23 (3-1).

They will play their final round robin match against Thailand U23 with the results being inconsequential to the end result.Malaysia as always remain the dark horse with head coach K. Rajagobal saying that they will be taking it one game at a time.

“It is a tough draw, but then there’s no way we can avoid it,” added Rajagobal.

“We will look at who we will play against first and take it from there.”

Cambodia will be playing in a four-team meet in Phnom Penh this week while for Timor Leste, they are certainly capable of delivering the goods.

Timor recently qualified for the final round of the AFC U16 championships after holding China to a draw and then beating Singapore in their qualifying matches.

At the AFF Under-19 championship in Ho Chi Minh City, they played well as a unit and was just unfortunate not to make the semi-finals.

“We are improving as a whole but it is still a step by step process,” said Timor Leste president Francisco Kalbuadi.

Source: http://goal.com/

Lao team football manager Viphet Sihachackr has promised fans an exciting competition in the SEA Games, with the Lao team up against the second and third place winners from the last games.

It was revealed yesterday that Laos will compete against Myanmar , Singapore and Indonesia in group B of the men's football.

“ Myanmar was the runner-up while Singapore won third place in men's football in the 24th SEA Games in Thailand 2007. This year we will face them but I believe our footballers are better than during the previous games, so we will try our best to do well in this competitive round,” he said.

Mr Viphet said since the Lao U-23 squad has been training with an experienced coach from Austria since July, the team has improved and played in many matches.

“The team has played 11 matches since they have been training with this coach. They drew or won most of those matches including the 4-Nations Football Tournament, other friendly matches and last Sunday's match in Cambodia . There the team drew against a strong Vietnamese team, Vissai Ninhbin, at the Cambodia International Football Tournament BIDC Cup 2009 in Phnom Penh . This has made me confident they can do well at the big match in December,” he said.

The Lao team is competing in the tournament until this weekend and then they will return home to prepare for the games next month.

Mr Viphet said that during the competition in Cambodia , he told the team to save some energy because the SEA Games were only one month away. The competition draw was held at the Lao International Trade and Exhibition Convention Centre in Vientiane by 25th SEA Games Organising Committee officials and SEA Games Federation staff.

The draw covered the sports of badminton, water polo, football, sepak takraw, table tennis and volleyball.

The men's football teams will be divided into two groups. Laos will be in Group B along with Myanmar , Singapore and Indonesia , while in Group A Thailand will play against Vietnam , Malaysia , Timor Leste and Cambodia .

The women's teams will play in only one group, comprising Malaysia , Thailand , Myanmar , Vietnam and Laos.


By Souknilundon Southivongnorath
Vientianetimes

The Lao men's football U-23 squad will play the home team in Phnom Penh , Cambodia , today at this year's Cambodian International Football Tournament BIDC Cup, which runs from November 8-14.

The opponents will be the same team Lao players will compete against at the 25th SEA Games in Vientiane next month.

The Lao team's assistant manager Prasatxay Philaphandeth said yesterday the team would use the match to study Cambodia 's style closely. “We just want to compare our playing style with their style, as this will be very valuable for our team.”

He added that on Sunday, Cambodia won over Hoang Anh Gia Lai of Vietnam 3-2, after the Vietnamese team led 2-0 in the first half.

“We haven't seen them play for a long time so the Sunday match could prove that they got better after they got an experienced football coach,” Mr Prasatxay explained.

He said the Cambodian team at tonight's match would use more long balls, which is different to the Lao team's style of play which favours short balls, so the match would determine which is the better method.

The first day of the tournament saw Laos draw 1-1 with Vissai Ninh Binh of Vietnam and Cambodia come out on top over Hoang Anh Gia Lai.

Mr Prasatxay said the Lao team was very good, but could only draw with the Vietnamese team.

He said the Vietnamese team had many international players. They committed so many fouls in the penalty area they got four yellow cards, but Laos didn't get any.

“There are no certainties in this game, but we have to make sure we win so we can be a good host of the SEA Games,” Mr Prasaxay said.

On November 10, Vissai Ninh Binh will play Hoang Anh Gia Lai and Cambodia will play Laos , while on November 12 Laos will play Hoang Anh Gia and Cambodia will play Vissai Ninh Binh.

The finals will take place on November 14.

The Cambodian website http://roubroum.blogspot.com/ reported that the tournament will be broadcast live on Cambodian TV5 starting at 3.30 pm.

The tournament champion will win US$20,000, the runner-up US$10,000 and third place will take US$5,000.

The footballer voted best player will get US$1,000, and the top scorer and best goalkeeper will each get US$1,000.


By Souknilundon Southivongnorath
Vientianetimes
Photo: http://www.andybrouwer.co.uk

Photo: Lao U-23

The nine men’s football teams competing in the 25th Southeast Asian Games next month in Laos were divided into two groups via a drawing ceremony in Vientiane Nov. 9.

Group A has defending champions Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, East Timor and Cambodia. Hosts Laos are in Group B together with runners-up Myanmar, Singapore and Indonesia.

After the group stage, the top two teams of each group will go through to the semifinals.

Both the men’s football and the women’s football will take place in the Lao capital of Vientiane.

The men’s football will kick off on December 3 and the final is set for Dec. 17. The two venues are the 20,000-seat National Sports Complex stadium and the Chao Anouvong Stadium, also with the same seating capacity.

The men’s football is limited to U-23 teams in stead of the national squads.

The women’s football will start on Dec. 4 and finish on Dec. 14. The two venues are Chao Anouvong and the National University Stadium, which has only 6,000 seats. The five nation squads of Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam will play in a round-robin format. Then the top two teams will play the final.

Laos will be hosting the SEA Games next month for the first time. The opening ceremony is set for Dec. 9 and the closing ceremony scheduled on Dec. 18.

On Nov. 9, the SEA Games organizing committee also held draw for badminton, water polo, sepak takraw, table tennis, volleyball and beach volleyball

The eagerly-awaited Bank for Investment and Development of Cambodia (BIDC) Cup 2009 tournament kicked off on Sunday at Olympic Stadium in Phnom Penh with four teams battling it out – the Cambodian and Laos Under-23 teams who will compete next month in the SEA Games in Laos, and two Vietnam League club sides, Hoang Anh Gia Lai (HAGL) and Vissai Ninh Binh.

For the game between Laos and V Ninh Binh, Laos U23 team opened the score in just 18 minutes from a quick ball from a line developed from the mid-field, and it was Khampeng who made the first score for Laos.


Sayavuthi Khampeng scored the 1st goal of the BIDC Cup after 10 minutes for Laos U23s


Vietnam Ninh Binh team came behind with their first goal in the second half and this was the final goal in this match. U23 Laos had many opportunities to score more in the second half, but they could just not achieve it.

For the next match, Laos U23 will meet Cambodia on Tuesday 10th, November 2009.

AFF - Football Federation of Cambodia (FFC) president Sao Sokha has launched the Cambodian International Football Tournament BIDC Cup 2009 which will see the participation of the Cambodian and Laos Under-23 sides and Vietnamese clubs Hoang Ann Gia Lai and Vissai Ninh Binh.

The inaugural tournament is slated for 8-14 November at the National Olympic Stadium in Phnom Penh Stadium.


Photo: Cambodian U-23

The tournament is sponsored by Bank for Investment and Development of Cambodia (BIDC) – a branch of the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam – and is organised with cooperation of the football federations from the three neighbouring nations.

The tournament celebrates the 56th anniversary of Cambodian independence and strengthens friendship between Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos.

“Each team will meet each other once, with the top two (from points and goals scored) playing in the final for the trophy, while the other two play for third place. Local television network TV5 will broadcast the games live, with the opening and closing ceremonies also screened in Vietnam,” said Sao Sokha.

The Lao team will participate in the Cambodian International Football Tournament BIDC Cup 2009 from November 4-18 in Phnom Penh. "This tournament will be more important than the match with Thailand this weekend because Hoang Anh Gia Lai and Vissai Ninh Binh are top teams in the Vietnamese league. Our players will have to raise the level of their game to face up to professional footballers like that," he said.

Mr Viphet said the forthcoming matches were a strategy to improve the team by pitting them against stronger teams so they could learn from the experience ahead of the SEA Games. In Cambodia, the tournament schedules are as follows:

Vissai Ninh Binh vs Laos and Hoang Anh Gia Lai vs Cambodia on November 8,
Vissai Ninh Binh vs Hoang Anh Gia Lai and Cambodia vs Laos on November 10,
Laos vs Hoang Anh Gia and Cambodia vs Vissai Ninh Binh on November 12.

The finals will take place on November 14.

The champions will receive gold medals and USD 20,000, with the runners-up pocketing USD 10,000, and third-place team USD 5,000. The player of the tournament, the top scorer and the best goalkeeper will each receive USD 1,000.

The tournament will be broadcast live on Cambodian TV5 starting at 3.30 pm.