Bandung secures semifinal slot

Bandung secures semifinal slot

JAKARTA (JP): A penalty from captain Robby Darwis was all that
saved red hot favorite Bandung from embarrassment in their match
yesterday in the intercity amateur soccer championship.

Debutante Rembang was sent home with a 1-0 defeat after Robby
hit from the spot in the 27th minute.

The 1990 winner has now collected four points to take the lead
in Group K. The other last four spot will likely go to defending
champion PSM Ujungpandang which held victory hungry Persiraja
Banda Aceh 0-0 in the first match staged at Senayan stadium.

Ujungpandang garnered three points and needs only a draw in
its battle against Bandung tomorrow. Aceh could only reach the
semifinal with a rout of Rembang by five goals or more and an
Ujungpandang loss to Bandung.

Bandung, fresh from a 4-1 victory over Aceh on Friday, started
yesterday's match confidently as their forward three of Sutiono,
Kekey Zakaria and Yudi Guntara dominated the area around
Rembang's penalty box, marked by Tulastono and Kuncoro.

Bandung needed a lot of luck as Rembang's in-form goalkeeper
Joko Darwanto produced numerous brilliant saves to stifle a
likely goal-scoring spree. Rembang had some strikes of its own
with a characteristic counterattack led by striker Fritz Rudolf
Padwa and hard-running midfielder Hadi Suranto.

Fritz was within an inch of the goal twice in the first 25
minutes but Bandung goalkeeper Aries Rinaldie did good work to
turn away the challenge.

Yudi led Bandung on a string of forays into the Rembang
defense and provoked scrimmages at the goal mouth. Kekey almost
put Bandung 1-0 up in the 23rd minute when a header bounced off
the woodwork.

A classy effort from Yudi forced Rembang captain Joko
Supriyono to take him down, as the prolific midfielder was about
to find the net. Robby toyed with Rembang's goalie in the penalty
execution to give his side the lead and the victory.

Bandung kept on dominating the possessions and pressed on its
aggressive style in the second half, but found goalkeeper Joko
their toughest hurdle. He was in the right position to frustrate
well-aimed shots from Sutiono and Kekey.

Kekey had another glorious chance five minutes before the
final whistle when he wriggled his way past Rembang's defense
before outwitting Joko. His shot, however, went a meter from the
right post.

Thriller

Defending champion PSM Ujungpandang survived a thriller on its
way to securing a scoreless draw against Persiraja Banda Aceh in
the other Group K match yesterday.

Despite some 3,000 home supporters who turned the 100,000-seat
Senayan stadium red, Ujungpandang found little slack room by a
determined Aceh. Aceh, bouncing back from a 1-4 loss to Bandung
on Friday, squandered a series of chances in the last 30 minutes.

The match in front of 30,000 and filled with erroneous passes,
saw Aceh's forwards Ahmad Gamal, Zarmansyah and midfielder
Azwardin Lubis look set to send Ujungpandang into a nightmare
with their relentless well-knit raids.

In Saturday's clash, striker Agus Winarno helped Persebaya
Surabaya bounce back from the defensive in the first half to
stamp a 2-0 victory over neighbor Persegres Gresik. Host Jakarta,
which has not won the championship since 1979, managed only a
goal-less draw against PSMS Medan in the other Group L match.

Agus grabbed his first goal in the 50th minute and scored the
second twenty minutes later.

The 1988 champion, a favorite with Bandung to win the
President's Cup, now leads Group L with two points. Host Jakarta
and PSMS Medan share the second spot with one point each.

Standings
Group K

1. Persib Bandung 2 2 0 0 5-1 4
2. PSM Ujungpandang 2 1 1 0 2-1 3
3. Persiraja Aceh 2 0 1 1 1-4 1
4. PSIR Rembang 2 0 0 2 1-3 0

Group L

1. Persebaya Surabaya 1 1 0 0 2-0 2
2. PSMS Medan 1 0 1 0 0-0 1
3. Persija Jakarta 1 0 1 0 0-0 1
4. Persegres Gresik 1 0 0 1 0-2 0

Today's fixtures

Gresik vs Medan
Jakarta vs Surabaya

Scorers:

3 - Sutiono (Persib)
2 - Agus Winarno (Persebaya)