Persija beat PSM to grab soccer crown after two decades
Musthofid and Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Bambang Pamungkas scored twice to clinch Persija's 3-2 win over defending champion PSM here on Sunday enabling the Jakarta- based club to win the Indonesian soccer league trophy that eluded them for over two decades.
The other goal for the new champions was provided by Imran Nahumaruri while Kurniawan Dwi Julianto and Miro Baldo Bento scored for the outgoing Makassar-based winners.
"I'm relieved and proud because we have achieved what we had been wanting to accomplish for years," Persija manager Ahmadi Ahmad said after the game.
"The players showed their best and knew this was an opportunity for us to take back the championship title," said Ahmadi, who pledged a Rp 1 billion (US$103,000) bonus for the team.
As soon as the game was over, Persija players expressed their joy, either by raising their arms in victory, falling to their knees or waving to fans, who cheered throughout the game.
The match's start time was delayed for half an hour as security precautions were taken to safeguard the appearance of the country's top leader.
President Megawati Soekarnoputri, accompanied by her husband Taufik Kiemas and a number of Cabinet ministers, presented the trophy and medals to the two teams.
Despite playing in front of the President and about 60,000 spectators, Persija and PSM turned in what was considered the anticlimax of the league's competition.
Even after Persija took the lead early in the game, thanks to Imran's goal in the third minute, the two teams fought most of their battle in midfield.
PSM, which won the 2000 season and returned from its winning tour of Vietnam last month, was not detoured from Persija's offensive.
Syamsudin Batolla, who was fielded in place of Yuniarto Budi, looked awkward at the back. He was replaced by Yuniarto Budi in the second half, but it proved to be too late to fix the error.
Kurniawan and Miro Baldo Bento, who headed the offensive, did not have enough backup from midfield as Carlos de Mello was playing under pressure.
Even Persija, apart from its early goal, failed to put in its best performance. With PSM playing far below par, Persija should have created more opportunities for goals.
Only with Bambang's second goal just minutes before the end of the first half could Persija reap a better standing in the encounter.
The dismal contest was compounded by questionable refereeing, which resulted in the cancellation of two apparently clean goals. Bambang and PSM's Carlos de Mello were the victims on each occasion.
Bambang, who was awarded best player and given a check for Rp 15 million, elevated Persija to a 3-0 lead after he scored a goal following a blitz attack early in the second half.
By then the match looked like it was headed for an easy victory for Persija. But PSM refused to be dominated and came back with two goals, with Kurniawan playing a vital role in each scoring.
The 22-year-old, who was once hailed as the most promising player, won a penalty shot, which Bento converted it into a goal. Kurniawan netted another goal about ten minutes into the game.
Yoseph Lewono, who spearheaded PSM's quest for an equalizer, passed the ball to Kurniawan to blast it home at close range.
PSM piled on the pressure for the rest of the game, but Persija somehow maintained the score until the end.
Security remained tight before and after the game on Sunday despite public awareness of possible violence by both teams' supporters.
Thousands of Persija fans celebrated the win over PSM by parading around the Bung Karno Main Stadium. Meanwhile, PSM fans threw garbage out of their vehicles in a show of disappointment, but they did not resort to any violence.
Before and during the match, several main roads and malls near the stadium were quiet. Several signs displayed on some roads warned of possible post-match problems.