Persija and Arema reach Copa final<\/p>\n
Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Beaten league finalist Persija Jakarta managed to salvage its
\nname by cruising to the final of Copa Dji Sam Soe after defeating
\nPSMS Medan 3-1 in the second leg of the semifinals at Lebak Bulus
\nstadium here on Sunday.<\/p>\n
Star-studded Persija, which two months ago was beaten by the
\neventual winners of the Djarum Indonesian League final, Persipura
\nJayapura, overturned its 2-1 deficit from the first leg in Medan
\nfor an overall 4-3 victory.<\/p>\n
Persija will meet Arema Malang in the final this time. Arema
\nbooked its place after blanking PSS Sleman 3-0 in Malang, East
\nJava, according to Antara, for an overall 5-0 victory.<\/p>\n
Franco Hita, Emelur Serger and Joao Charles Quintao scored a
\ngoal each.<\/p>\n
The Copa final will be staged at the Bung Karno stadium here
\non Saturday.<\/p>\n
At Lebak Bulus, Persija scored two goals in the first quarter
\nthrough Lorenzo Gusman Cabanas in the eighth minute and Roger
\nUrbain Batoum in the 11th.<\/p>\n
PSMS tried hard to close the gap but failed to land a ball in
\nthe net by the end of the first half.<\/p>\n
Francis Wewengkang built Persija's lead to 3-0 in the 52nd
\nminute, sending 15,000 home supporters into near hysteria. The
\nfans knew it was capital city's team last chance at a shot at
\ngetting into the final.<\/p>\n
The match became an outright battle, with PSMS players
\nmounting an offensive.<\/p>\n
The team from North Sumatra finally came back to life when
\nAlcedio Fleitas scored in the 70th minute. But another goal,
\nwhich would have put them through, did not come until the end.
\nThe chance seemed all the more unlikely when Ilham Romadhona and
\nAgus Chima were sent off the field for second bookable offenses
\nalmost successively.<\/p>\n
They found their mark in the net but the goal was annulled for
\noff-side.<\/p>\n
Persija lost to Persipura 3-2 in the final of the last eight
\nround of the Indonesian League, which was shamefully tainted by
\nthe abrupt withdrawal of then defending champion Persebaya
\nSurabaya, which cited unfair and partial officiating during the
\nmatches.<\/p>",
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