Surabaya, Jakarta to semifinals JP/10/SENAYA [head set 36pt Helv Bold Cond l/c 2 cols 3 lines centered]
Surabaya and
Jakarta on
to semifinals
JAKARTA (JP): Star striker Agus Winarno's two goals secured Persebaya Surabaya's place in the championship semifinals at the interest of last meet's runner-up PSMS Medan yesterday.
Surabaya, whose world veered towards a nightmare after a 1-0 upset loss to host Jakarta, topped the Group L standings with four points and a better goal difference over Jakarta, which held underdog Persegres Gresik 1-1 in a red card and penalty-filled match yesterday.
Jakarta's celebration, however, was tarnished as referee Widiyanto Nugroho showed a questionable red card -- the first in the finals -- to Safrudin after the defenseman committed a hand- ball within the penalty area.
In tomorrow's cross over semifinals, 1988 winner Surabaya will face Group K runner-up Ujungpandang, while Jakarta faces top gun Persib Bandung, the Group K leader.
The Margono Asnan-led Surabaya squad got off to a shaky start, allowing Medan's front three of Suharto, Mayadi Rakasiwi and Erwin Daud to make their back line look like a war zone.
Only after several second half replacements could the East Javanese turn on the pressure. In-form Agus scored his first goal five minutes after the break when winger Dodik Suprayogi sent a clever cross past goalkeeper Sugiar. Agus was within inches of another tally just a minute later when he eased past Medan's defensemen with only Sugiar left to beat. Agus, however, fired wide of the near post.
Medan quickly regrouped and fought back, with a few real chances through striker Suharto and hard working winger Edwin Daud, with overlapping defenseman Syafril is support. The left back fired a cannon ball from a few meters outside Surabaya's penalty area in the 70th minute to level the tie as goalkeeper Riono, who looked as if he was anticipating a far-post cross, was hopelessly out of position.
Dodik produced an excellent performance in attack as he inspired a number of goal threats, but both Agus and left winger Wenedy failed at the final touch.
Agus found the net to assure his side of a place among the last four after he ran unmarked to drive Dodik's pass seven minutes from the final whistle.
Surabaya players took a totally defensive stand in the last minutes. They threw the ball out of the pitch to evade any melee in their goalmouth.
Penalty
The 50,000 who watched the other decisive Group L match saw Gresik try to play the spoiler with a series of well-arranged bottom-up attack.
Gresik, which dominated the midfield and organized a firm defense, went 1-0 ahead as striker Zainul Arifin converted an unbeatable penalty in the 37th minute. Referee Widiyanto awarded the penalty due to Safrudin's hand-ball.
Jakarta accepted its turn when Widiyanto gave it a decisive penalty, following a foul committed by Dwi Risdianto against Iskandar five minutes into the interval. Despite a strong protest lodged by the Gresik players, Jakarta captain Patar Tambunan calmly slotted the ball to give his side an equalizer.
The decision aroused the public's disappointment and several disgruntled fans hurled plastic bottles at the referee as he left the field. (amd)
Standings (tabulate under played, won, drawn, lost, goals for, against, points)
Group K
Persib Bandung 3 2 1 0 5-1 5 PSM Ujungpandang 3 1 2 0 2-1 4 PSIR Rembang 3 1 0 2 5-4 2 Persiraja B Aceh 3 0 1 2 2-8 1
Group L
Persebaya Surabaya 3 2 0 1 4-2 4 Persija Jakarta 3 1 2 0 2-1 4 PSMS Medan 3 1 1 1 4-4 3 Persegres Gresik 3 0 1 2 3-6 1
Top scorers
4 - Agus Winarno (Persebaya) 3 - Sutiono (Persib), Fritz Rudolf Padwa (PSIR)