Persija and Arema reach Copa final
Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Beaten league finalist Persija Jakarta managed to salvage its name by cruising to the final of Copa Dji Sam Soe after defeating PSMS Medan 3-1 in the second leg of the semifinals at Lebak Bulus stadium here on Sunday.
Star-studded Persija, which two months ago was beaten by the eventual winners of the Djarum Indonesian League final, Persipura Jayapura, overturned its 2-1 deficit from the first leg in Medan for an overall 4-3 victory.
Persija will meet Arema Malang in the final this time. Arema booked its place after blanking PSS Sleman 3-0 in Malang, East Java, according to Antara, for an overall 5-0 victory.
Franco Hita, Emelur Serger and Joao Charles Quintao scored a goal each.
The Copa final will be staged at the Bung Karno stadium here on Saturday.
At Lebak Bulus, Persija scored two goals in the first quarter through Lorenzo Gusman Cabanas in the eighth minute and Roger Urbain Batoum in the 11th.
PSMS tried hard to close the gap but failed to land a ball in the net by the end of the first half.
Francis Wewengkang built Persija's lead to 3-0 in the 52nd minute, sending 15,000 home supporters into near hysteria. The fans knew it was capital city's team last chance at a shot at getting into the final.
The match became an outright battle, with PSMS players mounting an offensive.
The team from North Sumatra finally came back to life when Alcedio Fleitas scored in the 70th minute. But another goal, which would have put them through, did not come until the end. The chance seemed all the more unlikely when Ilham Romadhona and Agus Chima were sent off the field for second bookable offenses almost successively.
They found their mark in the net but the goal was annulled for off-side.
Persija lost to Persipura 3-2 in the final of the last eight round of the Indonesian League, which was shamefully tainted by the abrupt withdrawal of then defending champion Persebaya Surabaya, which cited unfair and partial officiating during the matches.