Indonesia Liga 1 Notes From Week 5 – Messy Schedule Leaves Fans Dizzy

Unstoppable Bali!

In the middle of the chaotic situation, Serdadu Tridatu are picking up the pace and they are looking unstoppable in a title race as they collected another positive result from two away games they had last week. Ilija Spasojevic and his colleagues successfully drew 2-2 against Kalteng Putra after both played with 10 players for most of the second half last Wednesday (26/6), before winning 0-3 against Badak Lampung four days later.

Rain of Cards

Fifty-five yellow cards and four red cards (two straight, two yellow card’s accumulation) were drawn from the referee’s pocket in twelve matches from Wednesday the 26th of June to Thursday the 4th of July, making it a record for a single game week.

Controversy ensued at the Sultan Agung stadium in Bantul when Kalteng Putra meet Borneo FC, as referee Fauzan Arifin “forgot” to give a red card for Maldini Pali after the young player fouled Renan Silva in the 52nd minutes. Previously Maldini got booked in 34th minutes, but strangely in match evaluation, the foul in the 52nd minutes was accredited to Yu Hyun Koo. Watch the video here and let us know your thoughts on the situation.

Macan Kemayoran Back On Track

The title holder, Persija Jakarta, finally earned their first win ion the league this season. The result was even more special as the game held in front of their fanatic supporters in the Patriot stadium in Bekasi. Facing newly promoted side PSS Sleman, Persija grabbed a lucky three points after Marko Simic scored a single goal to break his drought which has persisted since Week 1. The new coach Julio Banuelos keep his 100% win record at home after previously winning against Borneo FC in 1st leg of PIala Indonesia’s semi-final on Saturday.

A Good Week for the Defenders

Nine of total 29 goals scored this week from 12 matches were scored by defenders, including the own-goal from Benny Wahyudi in the last match of the week when Madura United won 2-0 over PSM Makassar last night. Brazilian center-back Anderson Salles even scored a brace when Bhayangkara FC faced Persela Lamongan on last Wednesday. Another Brazilian defender who scored two goals this week is Willian Pacheco from Bali United.

Three Coaches Sacked After Poor Results

A very tight week must have drained the players and managers energy and their mentality. So far, there remain four teams who haven't earn a single win until last night and three of them already sacked their coaches. Brazilian bosses Jacksen F. Tiago of Barito Putera and Luciano Leandro of Persipura Jayapura have already made way after poor starts to the season. Both positions . have immediately already retaken by their assistants while ex-national team coach Nil Maizar now comes to Persela Lamongan replace another ex-national team coach, Aji Santoso.

Results of Week 6

Here are the results of Week 6 matches, excluding the postponed matches from Week four. Bali United now stand on the top of the table with 16 points while Madura are in second place, also unbeaten and three points adrift. Two of the forces' clubs, Bhayangkara FC and TIRA-Persikabo, have collected 12 points at the third and fourth position. Barito and Persela, who collected two points so far sit in the relegation zone now with Persipura Jayapura just one point better off. 

Schedule for Week 7

Here’s the schedule of 2019 Shopee Liga 1 Week 7, where three games postponed due to the schedule of the Piala Indonesia’s second leg semi-final. Uniquely, it means that Madura United and PSM meet each other three times in a row. Other interesting games include the big match between Persebaya Surabaya against Persib Bandung and the re-match of last season Liga 2 semi-final between PSS Sleman and Kalteng Putra. You can watch all the games streamed at vidio.com, with all kick-off hours in GMT+7 time zone.