Persikota wins 2-1 over rival Persita
Multa Fidrus, The Jakarta Post, Tangerang
Losing a point to Semen Padang earlier this week apparently did not break Persikota Tangerang's spirit as the "Benteng Lions" beat their "older brothers" Persita 2-1 in Saturday's cross-town rivalry in Tangerang.
Persikota led early in the game thanks to Liberian striker Antoni Balla, who fired a 20-meter free kick past Persita's goalkeeper Wawan Darmawan after just three minutes.
The free kick was awarded after Nur'alim fouled Balla.
In front of some 10,000 fans, the "Lions" got another goal in the 35th with Aliyudin heading home a pass from another Liberian, Epalla Jordan.
The two teams made some substitutions in the second half, and it seemed Persita was able to remedy its weaknesses while Persikota's defense began showing signs of weakness, which resulted in "The Cisadane Fighters" creating several goal chances.
Persita turned up the tempo in the game with mounting attacks, but failed to make best of all the opportunities.
The home team finally found the net in the 60th minute.
Persikota's goalkeeper Jendri Pitoy made a mistake when he got entangled with Firman Utina and brought the Persita midfielder down as he was running clear for the goal.
Referee Jimmy Napitupulu gave Jendri a yellow card and granted Persita a penalty kick, which was neatly taken by Sadissou Bako.
The 2-1 score line remained unchanged until the end.
The result means that Persita, which had its two key players suspended following a brawl during their away match in Persija, has not won in its four matches.
Persikota coach Rachmad Darmawan praised his boys for their relentless spirit. He said his players had managed to shrug off the possible drop in stamina as the result from playing four matches in two weeks.
"In today's match I rotated the players because of their stamina, which was reduced," he said.
PSMS, PSM and Persela were the only other teams to chalk up wins over their respective opponents, according to Antara.
PSMS earned a 2-0 win over PSIS Semarang at the Teladan stadium in Medan, North Sumatra. PSM also booked a 2-0 win over defending champion Persik Kediri in Makassar.
It was the third loss in a row for Persik, which made a sensational run in the league when it won the trophy in the first year of its promotion to the top league.
Persela Lamongan, one of the three promoted teams this season, upset home side Deltras with a 1-0 victory with the goal scored by Beneme Friday.
Saturday's results: PSMS 2 PSIS 0 PSPS 1 PSS 1 SP 1 Persib 1 Persita 1 Persikota 2 Deltras 0 Persela 1 PKT 1 Persebaya 1 PSM 2 Persik 0 Persipura 1 Persijatim 1