Persita edge closer to historic Indonesian soccer league victory
Persita edge closer to historic Indonesian soccer league victory
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Once a soccer minnow, Persita Tangerang moved a step closer to an
unprecedented title in the Indonesian premier league after
beating former champion PSM Makassar on Wednesday.
The victory celebration, however, was marred by the unruly
supporters of both teams, who hurled plastic bottles at each
other. A riot seemed on the verge of erupting but the police
intervened and set up a cordon separating the rival groups.
Disappointed PSM supporters also burned bench, but the fire
brigade was quick to arrive at the Bung Karno Stadium and douse
the flames.
Apart from the crowd's behavior, the first semifinal match
lived up to the public's expectations of attacking soccer,
although last year's losing finalist PSM lacked the luck to
convert a hatful of scoring opportunities.
PSM, the 2000 champion, qualified for the semifinals despite
missing its stars Bima Sakti and Kurniawan Dwi Yulianto
throughout this season. The two national team regular starters
moved to Pekanbaru at the end of last season.
Persita took a 1-0 lead in the 14th minute after Cameroon's
Olinga Atananga leaped to finish a cross from Brazilian signing
Carlos de Melo with a header over stranded PSM goalkeeper Ansar
Abdullah.
De Melo also created the second goal in the 61st minute. He
dribbled the ball into the left flank of the PSM defense before
feeding it to Ilham Jaya Kesuma who was running to the penalty
box unmarked. The league's leading scorer Ilham slammed the ball
into the net, despite a brave save attempt from a PSM defender.
Ilham has now collected 25 goals and looks set to win the
Golden Boot award.
Atananga attributed his team's success to luck given that PSM
dominated almost throughout the match with persistent attacks.
"They were just unlucky. They just lacked the finishing touch
to convert their scoring chances," he said.
Persita coach Benny Dolo expressed optimism that his team
could overcome either Semen Padang or Petrokimia Gresik in
Sunday's final for the championship trophy.
Semen Padang and Petrokimia will meet on Thursday for the
other place in the final.