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Heading: 36 pt Helvetica Bold Condensed, 3 lines, 2 cols
Bandung spurs
4-1 victory
over Aceh
JAKARTA (JP): Ace striker Sutiono fired a hat-trick to lift
Persib Bandung to a 4-1 win over Persiraja Banda Aceh in their
opening match of the intercity amateur soccer championship at
Senayan stadium yesterday.
The victory put Bandung, winner of the championship four times
since 1937, at the top of the table in Group K on goal difference
over reigning champion PSM Ujungpandang which scored a 2-1
retaliation win over newcomer PSIR Rembang.
Sutiono shocked the shaky defense of Aceh, suffering in the
absence of the experienced Zulkifli Daud, with a goal to help
Bandung go 2-0 up in the first half. The 28-year-old civil
servant romped through with two goals in the second, before mid-
fielder Azwardin Lubis scored a consolation goal four minutes
before the final whistle.
Bandung is led by Robby Darwis, the seasoned player who
started confidently with an aggressive brand of soccer. This
offensive style won superiority in the midfield throughout the
90-minute battle, leaving the under-form Aceh players no room to
strike back.
The three defensemen Abdul Rachman, who replaces Zulkilfi,
Ramadhana and Tarmizi Rasyid could not overcome their nerves to
match the solid partnership of the West Javanese forwards led by
Yusuf Bachtiar.
Zulkilfi is currently serving a two-year ban for assaulting
the referee during a match with Tangerang in the qualifying
round.
The banner waving, screaming, 60,000 strong crowd that filled
the 100,000-seat stadium found their thirst of goals satiated as
the unmarked Sutiono strolled in Aceh's penalty area with a
thunderous left kick past goalkeeper Sisgiardi in the eighth
minute.
Aceh squandered a golden chance at evening up the score when
Azwardin misfired a free kick within Bandung's penalty area.
Referee Widiyanto Nugroho awarded the free kick to Aceh as
goalkeeper Aries Rinaldi took a long possession of the ball.
Midfielder Kekey Zakaria put Bandung 2-0 ahead when he
repeated teammate Sutiono's brilliant solo run which beat
Sisgiardi in the 25th minute. Aceh attempted several counter
attacks but failed in the coup-de-grace, mainly due to Roy
Darwis' successful close marking against goal machine Dahlan
Jalil.
Slow
Both sides slowed in the second half, with Bandung dominating
the possession and Aceh displaying its characteristic power of
play. However, it cost Aceh two yellow cards that were given by
Widiyanto to fouling Azwardin and substitute Anwar.
Aceh's vulnerable defense played havoc to the goal spree in
the second half produced by Sutiono. The hard-running targetman
found the net with a well-aimed shot inside Aceh's penalty area.
Bandung was on the brink of repeating its 4-0 rout against
Aceh in the qualifying round when Sutiono headed a rebound ten
minutes later, following Sisgiardi's blunder of miscatching the
ball. Azwardin, however, struck a consolation for the country's
western-most side with a goal two minutes into the time.
"We were completely outclassed by Bandung," Aceh coach Parlin
Siagian said in grief after the match. The coach revealed his
guarded pessimism that he could make dramatic changes in his
squad leading to the next matches.
In the second Group K battle, Ujungpandang took the initiative
in the match by putting on superb pressure, but missed a string
of chances in its goalmouth actions of the first quarter.
The defending champion immediately swept back into the attack.
Midfielder Yusrifar Djafar drove a pass from rightwinger
Kaharuddin Jamal to the net to give Ujungpandang a 1-0 lead in
the 36th minute.
Ujungpandang went further in the second half as leftwinger
Arief Kamaruddin scored a goal in the 76th minute. Fritz Rudolf
Padwa helped Rembang, which beat Ujungpandang 1-0 in their last
meet, bounce back with his goal four minutes later. (amd)