Persija, PSM to lock horns in final

Persija, PSM to lock horns in final

Musthofid, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

PSM Makassar moved a step closer to its first ever back-to-
back Indonesian soccer league titles after winning a dramatic
penalty shoot-out against PSMS Medan 3-2 on Thursday.

The South Sulawesi team will see host Persija stand between it
and the President's Cup on Sunday. Unlike the defending champions
who played a hard-fought semifinal, Persija dominated Persebaya
Surabaya for a well-deserved 2-1 win at the packed Bung Karno
Stadium.

It will be Persija's first appearance in the final since 1979,
when it beat PSMS to win the league, which then was an amateur
competition.

Both semifinals went relatively untroubled, despite the heavy
security provided by some 15,000 troops. A group of disappointed
Surabaya soccer fans, known locally as bonek (penniless
supporters), set fire to two sections of the stand after Persija
slammed in the winner, but security personnel managed to prevent
them from moving farther.

After a spell of uninspired play, in which Persija
international striker Bambang Pamungkas could not make good his
chances, the hosts broke their duck in the 42nd minute through
Brazilian signing Luciano Leandro.

Persebaya leveled the tie 20 minutes after the restart from
the spot kick after Nuralim felled substitute Rahael Tuasalamuni.
Uston Nawawi converted the penalty.

Another Brazilian, Antonio Claudio, hit the winner in the 33rd
minute, following a scrimmage in Persebaya's penalty box.

Persebaya coach Rudy Keltjes hinted at his resignation after
the defeat.

"It's finally over. I'm tired of the competition," he said.

When asked whether he would quit the job, former national team
captain Rudy said that his duty was to manage the team only for
one season.

"Even if I were tied to a five-year contract, I would fire
myself. We had simply been looking to reach Senayan."

PSM and PSMS were tied at 2-2 even after 30 minutes of extra
time in the nerve-wracking match.

Both teams looked unable to cope with the tension during the
penalty shoot-out as only half of the 10 executioners found the
net. The rest either went wide or were parried by goalkeepers.

The tiebreaker also made it clear that foreign signings remain
a class apart from domestic players. Three of the penalties
converted came from foreign boots.

In Makassar, thousands of PSM supporters flocked to the
streets to celebrate their team's win.