Persija and Arema reach Copa final

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.