Phnom Penh Crown Academy boys were given a baptism of fire in their opening tie of the 2013 FAM-Frenz U15 ASEAN Champions Trophy in Ho Chi Minh City on Saturday, going down 4-0 to PVF Academy.

The Cambodians were expecting a tough test from their Vietnamese opponents, who were national champions at this age level last year, and some clinical finishing saw Doan Trung net a hat-trick and Vu Tin tap in another to round off the rout under floodlights at the Thanh Long Sports Centre.

Meanwhile, Crown’s Group A rivals Thailand Chonburi Academy thrashed Timor Leste U15s 8-0 at home on Saturday off the back of a Sittichok Paso treble to take an early lead in the table.

Group B results on Saturday included Frenz United Indonesia beating Mandalay FA Myanmar 3-1 and Frenz Malaysia B defeat Philippines U15s 3-0.

With Crown Academy head coach Bouy Dary called up for Cambodian U14 national team duties in Myanmar next weekend, Crown senior squad coach Sam Schweingruber will take the reins for the boys’ next fixture on Saturday at Olympic Stadium against Frenz Malaysia A.

Schweingruber admitted the team had a lot to work on, but said they would train every day this week to prepare themselves fully for the contest.

“I expect the game to be similarly difficult,” the Crown coach told the Post. “We have to build up our endurance and resistance to be able to compete over 90 minutes at this level.

“We need to improve our preparation so that key players don’t go out with cramps, et cetera. We play well, we know the game, we have good skills but under constant pressure and with physical disadvantages, such as height, strength, speed and endurance.

“We obviously end up making mistakes, and that will be our goal to eliminate these mistakes.”