Home teams victorious as Ligina starts
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Vice President Hamzah Haz opened the 2002 Bank Mandiri Indonesian Soccer League (Ligina) on Sunday at Bung Karno Stadium in Senayan, Central Jakarta.
Attending the ceremony was chairman of the Soccer Association of Indonesia (PSSI) Agum Gumelar, who is also the Minister for Transportation, as reported by Antara news agency.
Hamzah handed over the soccer ball to the referee, marking the beginning of the first game between defending champions Persija Jakarta and PSPS Pekanbaru.
As well as Jakarta, other league games were also held in the cities of Padang, Bandung, Tangerang, Gresik and Surabaya. Most of the matches saw the hosts win the day.
In Padang, West Sumatra, host Semen Padang won its first match after a 2-1 victory over PSMS of Medan, North Sumatra at Haji Agus Salim Stadium.
PSMS led the match after Zulkarnaen netted the ball in the fourth minute. Carlos Renato equalized in the 38th minute and Eliie Aiboy secured the host's victory in the 44th minute.
Meanwhile, a firecracker explosion in the 72nd minute marred the match between host Persib and Pelita Krakatau Steel of Cilegon, Banten at Siliwangi Stadium in Bandung.
The explosion, however, did not affect the quality of the match, in which the host defeated its guest 1-0, with the goal scored by Yaris Riadi in the 44th minute.
In Tangerang, Banten, a hat trick by captain Nova Zainal in the 27th, 37th and 75th minutes helped host Persikota of Tangerang mayoralty crush its guest Persikab of Bandung regency with a 3-0 victory.
In Gresik, East Java, host Petrokimia Putra Gresik also had the home advantage, overcoming PSM of Makassar, South Sulawesi 2- 0 at Petrokimia Gresik Stadium.
Widodo Cahyono opened the host's lead in the 17th minute and Yance Katohang sealed their victory in the 27th minute.
The only host's that lost were in the East Java capital of Surabaya where host Persebaya was defeated 0-1 by its guest Gelora Putra Delta (GPD) of neighboring Sidoarjo at Gelora 10 November Stadium.
Michael Boboaken took advantage of a mistake made by Persebaya defender Agung Widodo in the 56 minute.