Persik takes first win over Bin Dinh

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Indonesian champion Persik chalked up its first win in the Asian Champions League after defeating 10-man Bin Dinh FC of Vietnam 1-0 in a Group G match in Kediri, East Java, on Wednesday.

Johan Prasetya Wibowo avoided an offside trap set by Bin Dinh defenders to score the only goal in the match, after 30 minutes of the first half.

The hosts took control of the match throughout, leaving Bin Dinh, which played with mostly young players, struggling to regain its play rhythm, according to Antara.

The visitors looked to concede more goals with Nguyen Ngoc Bao sent off for two bookable offenses in the 71st minute, but Persik failed to make the best of the scoring chance.

Persik's unlucky game was coupled by the failure of the penalty kick, with Musikan blamed for his lame shot to goalkeeper Tran Quoc Viet.

Persik's stopper Juan Carlos Tapia made his way to the opponent's defense in helping with the attack. Two somersault kicks from the Chilean hit Tran's goalposts.

Bin Dinh's coach Phan Ton Quyen said he had opted to field young players against Persik because he wanted to reserve the starter players for their tight domestic fixtures.

In Seoul, defender Ryuji Kawai headed toward the winning goal in the 76th minute on Wednesday, to give Japan's Yokohama Marinos a 1-0 victory over South Korea's Seongnam Chunma in the other match of the group, AP reported.

With the victory, Yokohama moved to top place of Group G with nine points, equal to Seongnam. Although, Yokohama has collected six goals in three marches, compared to Seongnam's four.

Yokohama's chance came in the second half, when it won a free kick just outside Seongnam's penalty area. The lanky Kawai soared to slam the ball in the net.

Wednesday's match took place at Seongnam Sports Complex, the home stadium of the South Korean club. It avenged Yohohama's 2-1 home ground defeat to Seongnam two weeks ago.