Steven Danis
Football Tribe Indonesia
Before the conclusion of the first leg of Liga 1, we have a set of postponed games from Week 7 which were played yesterday. A big duel between Persija Jakarta and PSM Makassar took place at the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta, while a miraculous performance by Semen Padang in Madura all ended in a draw.
But the competition heated up and night fell at the I Wayan Dipta Stadium, league leaders Bali United met Borneo FC. The home side aimed to extend their winning record before the final mid-season game on Sunday.
Playing with their best team including naturalized duo Ilija Spasojevic and Stefano Lilipaly up front, Serdadu Tridatu made a quick goal in the 6th minutes as Spasojevic took advantage from a scrimmage in Borneo FC’s penalty box. The Montenegrin-born striker set his brace ten minutes into the second-half when he got on the end of the ball when Nadeo Argawinata’s couldn’t catch Fadil Sausu’s free-kick.
Borneo FC finally closed the gap after Brazilian midfielder, Renan Silva, score a goal in 79th minutes giving a shock for his ex-coach in Persija, Stefano Cugurra, who now manages Bali United. However, Spasojevic continued to cause nightmares for Pesut Etam’s defense, and in the 85th minutes, Abdul Rachman got a red card after intentionally hitting the ball through Spasojevic’s body when the player was already fouled and on the ground.
After an end fraught with incidents such as the fight between Paulo Sergio and Dirga Lasut or Nadeo Argawinata’s handball outside the box (highlights here), Bali United recorded their 9th home win this season and also extended their winning run to 8 games. They’ve now collected 40 points from 16 games, while their closest opponents PS TIRA-Persikabo sit in the runner-up position with only 32 points.
Karl Max Gives Us Hope
With a goalless draw in Jakarta, two European strikers, Marko Simic of Persija and Eero Markkanen of PSM, had a frustrating day. Instead, hope came from the African striker who almost shares a name with German philosopher Karl Marx.
Max scored the equalizer for Semen Padang in an away game against Madura United after Kabau Sirah went behind after 20 minutes thanks to an own goal by Agung Prasetyo. In the 78th minute, Max blasted a rocket shot outside the penalty goal through the corner of M. Ridho’s net to save them from the loss.
While they remain at the bottom of the table, Semen Padang are showing a positive trend and may collect more positive results after the break. But for Laskar Sapeh Kerrab, they still show inconsistency under Rasiman as the caretaker after Dejan Antonic stepped down as the 10th coach to lose his job in the 2019 Liga 1 so far.