Three sent off in Persik's 3-2 win
Multa Fidrus, The Jakarta Post, Tangerang
Persik Kediri stunned host Persikota 3-2 here on Wednesday in an Indonesian premier soccer league fixture that was marred by the sending off of three players and an assault by a spectator on an official.
At the Benteng Stadium, Persik, the defending champion but now languishing in the relegation zone, struck twice in the first half before the hosts reduced the gap one minute before the interval.
The first goal came in the seventh minute from the boot of Berta Yuana, who escaped an offside trap set by the defenders.
Harianto doubled the lead in the 36th minute from the penalty spot following a foul by Maulilesy on Harianto inside the box.
Persikota upped the offensive efforts, but with Persik having more of the field the hosts found it difficult to create a clear scoring chance until toward the end of the first half.
Epalla Jordan managed to make best of a rare chance with his shot in the 44th minute to reduce the margin.
Four minutes into the second half, Persikota was back in the game after Aliyudin scored an equalizer.
But ten minutes later the hosts were reduced to ten men after Jordan was ordered off by referee Jimmy Napitupulu following a fracas involving Persik's Juan Carlos.
The row flared up after Carlos elbowed Jordan on the head in a move that went unnoticed by the referee. Epalla retaliated by shoving Carlos. The referee spotted the infraction this time and without hesitation produced a yellow card.
Jordan then spat at Carlos, which resulted in the referee showing him the red card, followed by a yellow card for Isnan Ali for protesting.
Scores of spectators then began to yell taunts at the referee and to throw projectiles onto the pitch.
The match was halted for ten minutes, but shortly after it resumed Persikota was reduced to nine men after Yoseph Amoah was given his second yellow card.
Three spectators then ran onto the pitch and assaulted Syahrial, a substitute referee, leading to another ten minutes of stoppage. As a result of the assault, Syahrial sustained a cut to his left temple.
The third player to be sent off was Persik's Ekena M. Ikenwa, who elbowed Harri Saputra.
Even Wahidin Halim, the mayor of Tangerang, who is the patron of the club, incurred the wrath of the referee as he was standing too close to the pitch.
Persik took advantage of playing with more men with Musikan blasting the winning goal two minutes before the end.
The win advances Persik two places with 13 points. However, the team is still fourth from the bottom in the 18-strong league.