Ten-man Persita scrapes to 2-1 victory over HAGL<\/p>\n
Arya Abhiseka, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Indonesian teams have had positive results in the ongoing ASEAN
\nClub Championship.<\/p>\n
After an opening 2-0 win by Petrokimia Putra in Gresik, East
\nJava, on Sunday, 10-man Persita followed with a 2-1 victory at
\nthe Bung Karno soccer stadium here on Monday.<\/p>\n
Persita's Liberian defender Fallah Johnson was sent off after
\nbeing issued a second yellow card five minutes before the end of
\nthe game. But the Banten-based team hung on to its two-gold
\ncushion against one over Vietnamese champion Hoang Anh Gan Lai
\n(HAGL).<\/p>\n
With the win, Persita now has a strong chance of winning the
\nthree-team Group C and avoiding a potentially tough meeting with
\nBEC Tero Sasana of Thailand, Group D and championship favorite,
\nin the quarterfinals.<\/p>\n
Persita will play its final group match against MTTPC of Laos
\non Friday.<\/p>\n
BEC Tero Sasana, whose noted performance in the region
\nincludes qualifying for the semifinal in the Asia Champions Cup
\nlast year, overcame its strongest rival in Group D, Indian East
\nBengal, 1-0 in the second game later on in the day.<\/p>\n
Terdsak Chaiman, who led Thailand to victory in the Tiger Cup
\nat the expense of the Indonesian national team, scored the only
\ngoal in the 86th minute.<\/p>\n
Earlier in the day, in front of around 7,000 home supporters,
\nPersita -- whose home base is located in Tangerang, Banten, but
\nhas been ordered to play at Bung Karno stadium due to the
\nsubstandard condition of its own stadium -- came from behind to
\nseize an important win in a highly competitive and entertaining
\nmatch.<\/p>\n
Both Persita and HAGL took turns in launching attacks. Persita
\nfell behind after Thai international Kiatisuk Senamuang shocked
\nthe host with his goal in the 17th minute with his a 35-yard free
\nkick at the edge of the penalty box.<\/p>\n
Kiatisuk, who has been hailed as the "Asian Zico" because of
\nhis similar playing style to the 1980s Brazilian star Zico, often
\nmanaged to create trouble in Persita's defense.<\/p>\n
Trailing 0-1, Persita went all-out in an attack led by
\nnational U-23 player Firman Utina and Liberian Anthony Jomah
\nBallah in midfield to supply the ball for their strike duo of
\nZaenal Arif and Ilham Jayakusumah.<\/p>\n
Finally, a through pass from Firman to Ilham at the other end
\ncame as a relief for the home fans, when the latter notched home
\nthe ball past keeper Vo Van Hanh in the 28th minute.<\/p>\n
In the second half, Persita took the early initiative in
\nattack and in the 47th minute, Anthony sealed the victory for the
\nhome side, after receiving a wall pass from Zaenal.<\/p>\n
The goal made Persita complacent in its defense, which almost
\ncost them dearly.<\/p>\n
HAGL mounted more pressure and Persita was forced to struggle
\nin defense, particularly after the exit of Fallah.<\/p>\n
Persita's head coach Benny Dollo said that he was grateful to
\nhave beat the Vietnamese team, which he viewed as the strongest
\nrival in Group C.<\/p>\n
"With MTTPC of Laos our next opponent on Friday, we are
\nconfident of qualifying from this group as the leader," he said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/ten-man-persita-scrapes-to-2-1-victory-over-hagl-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}