Persebaya crowned RI league champions

Persebaya crowned RI league champions

ID Nugroho, The Jakarta Post, Surabaya

Persebaya claimed the Indonesian premier soccer league trophy
after defeating Persija 2-1 in the league's closing match at the
Tambaksari stadium here on Thursday.

The victory put Persebaya on top of the 18-strong league with
61 points. PSM, which beat PSMS Medan by the same score line in
Makassar, also ended its competition with an identical 61 points,
but the champions had a far better goal margin than the runners-
up.

Persija, which began the match on top with 60 points, had to
be content with third place in the final standings.

Persebaya manager Saleh Mukadar promised Rp 1 billion in cash
bonuses to the players and looked ahead to the Asian Champions
League next year.

"The players deserve the bonuses. We are proud of what they
have done in the league. The players and coach will be retained
for next year's Champions League," Saleh said.

The 5,000-capacity Tambaksari stadium was packed with
supporters but none of them were Persija's. The organizing
committee had barred the Jakarta-based team's fans from watching
the match for fear they might incite a conflict with local fans.

Damilo Fernando put the hosts in front with his goal in the
fifth minute. The two teams took turns in the attack, but the
score did not change.

The second-half was virtually a case of one-way traffic with
Persebaya enduring the relentless offensive of Persija, but the
Surabaya-based team's break finally came in the 52nd minute.

The goal came from Persebaya's own player Mat Halil. In
another course of attack from Persija, Mat meant to make a back
pass to the goalkeeper, but he poked the ball home with Hendro
Kartiko out of position.

But Luciano Souza regained the lead a minute later with his
header passing over goalkeeper Samsidar and curving down into the
net.