Six clubs fight for semis on Thursday

JAKARTA (JP): With the final round-robin quarterfinals taking place on Thursday at both the Senayan Stadium here and Mattoangin Stadium in Makassar, South Sulawesi, the remaining six clubs will fight their best to grab the three semifinal tickets.

Only PSM Makassar has secured placement in the 2000 Bank Mandiri national soccer league semifinals with two victories in previous matches, and it now tops the Group B standing by six points.

Group B's Persijatim of East Jakarta will have to win over PSM to earn another semifinals ticket. The match itself will not influence PSM's chance to get into the next round even if it loses to Persijatim.

It depends on PSM if the club, whose top striker Kurniawan Dwi Yulianto was freed of charges of using illegal drugs, wants to award a winning point to Persijatim, which will not have a chance to get to the semis with only a draw result.

PSMS Medan, North Sumatra, and Pupuk Kaltim (PKT) of East Kalimantan still have a chance for the ticket.

PSMS has an increase in motivation with the return of foreign players Ariel Guiterrez and Nelson Leon Sanchez of Chile, who withdrew early this month after the club refused to raise their salaries.

"We will pay close attention to PKT's top striker Marthen Tao and midfielder Fachry Husaini. They have good dribbling skills," PSMS's captain Slamet Riadi told Bola sports tabloid.

In Group A, host Persija, Arema Malang and Persikota will struggle for the top and runner-up positions.

Arema and Persikota, which made good starts in the quarters' opener Sunday, must beat Pelita and host Persija respectively on Thursday if they want to go to the semis. Arema and Persikota share the group's top position with four points but Arema leads in goal difference.

But Persija will not give up so easily. After losing its creative midfielder Luciano Leandro who was awarded a red card on Sunday, it will rely on Widodo C. Putro and Bambang Pamungkas to spearhead the attacks.

Persija has also taken stern measures to avoid bribery of favorite teams. The team's executive chairman Tonny Adiputra said he had warned any soccer gamblers to avoid the practice.

"I think the gamblers in Jakarta know us. They understand the consequences if they have to confront us," he said on Wednesday, adding that many of the gamblers were also his buddies.

While Pelita, which has no more chances after losing two matches, pledged to fight hard to win on Thursday in order to save some pride.

Despite the strategy, all the club's supporters have become the most feared factor to the public due to their brutal behavior.

Arema will try to please its 5,000 supporters grouped in Aremania and so will Persikota. There have been no reports on violence in the last two matches, but on Sunday Arema's supporters managed to brake the tribune fences and spilt onto the field in the absence of security personnel.

The Jakmania and Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso, who is also the team's patron, will arrive in their orange costumes to cheer Persija's struggle to the semis. (ivy)

Schedules (first match held at 5 p.m., second match at 7 p.m.)

Group A: Arema vs Pelita (live on RCTI); Persija vs Persikota

Group B: PSM vs Persijatim (live on TVRI); PKT vs PSMS