Persikota wins 1-0 in Indonesian league

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