Persija wins first match in Brunei

JAKARTA (JP): Jakarta's Persija soccer team won its first match at the 2001 Brunei Invitational League, defeating Vietnam's Song Lam Ngae An 2-1 on Friday at Bandar Seri Begawan's Sultan Bolkiah Stadium.

Persija is in Group I with two other groups, namely Malaysia's Pahang and host Bafa XI teams in addition to the Vietnamese team.

Striker Bako Sadissa scored both goals at the 30th and 40th minutes with the cooperation of striker Widodo C. Putro.

Song Lam reduced the deficit by netting a goal at the 49th minute from outside the penalty box.

In another group match, Pahang defeated the host 3-0.

Persija was scheduled to face Pahang later on Sunday evening in its second match.

"We will remain the winning team with several improvements against Pahang because they have better skills than Song Lam," coach Sofyan Hadi said in a fax transmission sent to The Jakarta Post. (nvn)