Persikota wins 1-0 in Indonesian league

Multa Fidrus, The Jakarta Post, Tangerang

Aliyudin scored the only goal as Persikota Tangerang defeated Persija Jakarta 1-0 in an Indonesian soccer league match at the Benteng Stadium here on Wednesday.

The goal was delivered in the 72nd minute during a somewhat bizarre spell in front of Persija's goal to the delight of some 20,000 fans.

Aliyudin shot the ball toward goalie Mukti only to hit his teammate Gendut Doni's foot. The ball bounced back before Aliyudin shot home into the back of the Persija net.

Persija looked the better side in the first half, pressuring Persikota throughout. However, the hosts put up a strong defense, thanks particularly to outstanding goalkeeping which denied at least eight Persija goal attempts.

Persikota coach Rahmad Darmawan admitted that his team broke apart in the organization of the defensive line during the first half that allowed several dangerous drives from their opponents.

"With the 4-3-3, our defenders appeared to have trouble communicating with the front liners," he said and added that in the second half he reverted to 3-3-4 format.

The 1-0 score remained unchanged until the match ended.

Just as referee Suwaroton blew the whistle, fans of both teams got involved in taunts which led to hurling of all manner of projectiles at each other.

That eventually escalated to serious clashes outside the stadium as both continued to attack each other. The police tried to contain the brawl by forcing Persija's fans to stay in the stadium. It was finally contained and there were no fatalaties reported.

Wednesday's results:

Persikota 1 Persija 0

Persebaya 4 Persipura 1

PSIS 2 Semen Padang 0

PSS 2 Persita 1

Persib 2 Pelita KS 1