Phnom Penh Crown returned home on Saturday still smarting from their 4-0 capitulation at the hands of Singapore Armed Forces FC in their 2011 RHB Singapore Cup preliminary.

The Cambodian champions saw themselves fall at the first hurdle against an accomplished opposition in front of 1,312 spectators at the Choa Chu Kang Stadium on Thursday night, including several fans who had travelled from the Kingdom.

A first half brace by man-of-the-match Erwan Gunawan, who also set one up for teammate Indra Sahdan, had Crown in tatters at the break, and Fazrul Nawaz came off the bench to net a fourth in the second session.

Crown created several chances of their own during the match, but none could beat the Warriors’ skipper and stopper Shahril Jantan.

Winning coach Richard Bok hailed a solid preparation for the Cup tie. “Crown gave us a good fight, certainly for the first twenty minutes, but with our two weeks’ break we looked fresh and composed on the ball throughout the game,” he told Crown media officer Andy Brouwer.

Crown’s caretaker coach Bouy Dary, meanwhile, expressed remorse at their poor outing.

“We lost concentration and we didn’t perform as I know we can. SAFFC are a good team but we allowed them to be, we made it look too easy for them,” he said.

“Fitness was a telling point and we looked tired after our glut of games recently.”

As the Warriors look ahead to a two-leg quarterfinal date with fellow S.League side Albirex Niigata in August, Crown had just over a day on home soil to prepare for today’s Metfone C-League showdown with arch rivals Naga Corp.

The game kicks off 3pm and will be played at the alternative venue of Old Stadium.