Steven Danis
Football Tribe Indonesia
After the match between Bhayangkara and Borneo on Sunday afternoon, there will be four games to continue the Monday Football Parade in Week 20 as the two lowest clubs in the standings, PS Barito Putera, and Semen Padang, try to get their best results to rise and get out from the relegation zone.
But it might be tough for both clubs as they will meet tough oppositions in their respective Week 20 matches. Laskar Antasari will play at the Patriot Chandrabhaga, Bekasi to play against Persija Jakarta while Kabau Sirah will entertain the 2018/19 Piala Indonesia champions, PSM Makassar at the Haji Agus Salim Stadium in Padang, West Sumatra. The game in Bekasi is also vital for Persija as the defending Liga 1 champions are only one point better above Barito Putera in the relegation zone.
With Julio Banuelos and Eduardo Perez already shown the door, Persija’s U-20s head coach Sudirman has been handed the reins at Macan Kemayoran as their caretaker, with senior player Ismed Sofyan acting as his assistant. Meanwhile, Barito are winless in 4 out of their recent 5 games and are looking to improve their performance in order to increase their survival chances. On the other hand, Semen Padang will try to continue their positive form as of late after drawing with Persib Bandung on their last away match while their two rivals in the relegation zone are facing off against each other.
Semen Padang’s new coach Eduardo Almeida said, “We got an important point in Bandung, it can be a motivation for the next home game. We want to rise and be better so we must maximize every home game against everybody,” as cited on the league’s official website. While PSM Makassar are also in a good mood as they ran out 2-0 winners against title-chasing TIRA-Persikabo in their last match.
Not only Semen Padang, both Persija and Barito need three points to lift themselves off the relegation zone as both clubs are only separated by one point. Persija’s caretaker coach Sudirman said the players need to be focus. “Because we know that we had a tough situation in the beginning of this season. This is your job, it’s up to you to drown in all circumstances or fight back and rise for the next games.”
Not only the intense battle in the relegation zone, Week 20 also provides us with a big match between Persib Bandung against Persipura Jayapura that unfortunately can’t be watched by supporters. Hosts Persipura are unable to play this game in Jayapura as their stadium, Mandala, is being renovated for the 2020 National Sports Week event. Because of this the match is relocated to Sidoarjo in East Java and for the sake of safety for both clubs, all supporters are not allowed to go to the stadium.
Week 20 Schedule on Monday
3:30 PM (GMT+7)
- Persipura Jayapura vs Persib Bandung
- Semen Padang FC vs PSM Makassar
- Persija Jakarta vs PS Barito Putera
6:30 PM (GMT+7)
- Badak Lampung FC vs TIRA-Persikabo