Steven Danis
Football Tribe Indonesia
Gameweek 26 of the 2019 Liga 1 kicks-off on Halloween and in the spirit of the spookiest day of the year, some of the league’s unfancied teams managed to give their established counterparts the fright of their lives. Halloween saw the end of Borneo FC’s 9-game unbeaten run as well as the end of Bali United’s excellent winning run at home. Two teams in the lower half of the table, Barito Putera and Persela Lamongan, managed to shock their top-half opposition and got themselves important points in their fight against relegation.
Playing at their temporary home of Martapura FC’s Demang Lehman Stadium in Martapura, Barito went on the offensive since kick-off and led in the 7th minute thanks to Rafael Silva. Borneo FC tried their best to break through their Derby Papadaan rival’s defenses, however, Barito defended well to emerge out of the match with all three important points. Defeat in one of Indonesia’s friendliest rivalries (the word papadaan means brotherhood in Banjar language) meant that Borneo FC slid down to third on the table with 41 points after 25 games. In second place are Madura United with 44 points from 25 games, who replaced Pesut Etam‘s position on the table thanks to their slender 1-0 victory over TIRA-Persikabo on Wednesday.
At the Kapten I Wayan Dipta Stadium in Gianyar, Bali United, who has a fearsome home record this season, saw their winning record at the Dipta screech to a halt after drawing 1-1 against Persela Lamongan. Melvin Platje’s header opened the scoreline for Bali in the 24th minute however at the end of the first half, Serdadu Tridatu found themselves playing with 10 men after Willian Pacheco was sent off by the referee.
With only 10 players on the field, Bali head coach Stefano Cugurra Teco instructed his men to maintain the game from the midfield, trying their best to protect the lead. Persela’s Arif Satria had other ideas though, and in the 66th minute he fired a screamer that went beyond Bali goalie Wawan Hendrawan, thus equalizing the score and securing a precious point for Laskar Joko Tingkir.
Milan Petrović Returns to Haunt Arema, Persib Emerged Victorious in Palangkaraya
November 1st saw Arema FC visiting the Sumpah Pemuda Way Halim Stadium in Bandar Lampung to take on hosts Perseru Badak Lampung FC, who are coached by Arema’s former head coach from last season, Milan Petrović. The hosts, who are looking for vital points to escape the relegation zone, opened the scoring in the 10th minute thanks to Marquinhos, before seven minutes later Laskar Saburai made it 2-0 thanks to Hariyanto Panto.
Singo Edan tried to fight back in the second half and managed to reduce the deficit thanks to Sunarto in the 50th minute. However, in the last 15 minutes, the game became more exciting as Marquinhos scored his brace in the 76th minute to make it 3-1 Badak Lampung, before three minutes afterward Makan Konate reduced the deficit back to 3-2 with a well-taken penalty. In the 83rd minute, Arema managed to draw level 3-3 thanks to skipper Hamka Hamzah, however, there would be a twist in the tale coming shortly afterward.
Three minutes after Arema’s equalizer, Badak Lampung were awarded a direct freekick. Marquinhos made no mistake and completed his hat-trick with a superb freekick that went beyond the wall and into Singo Edan‘s net, much to the joy of the Badak Lampung supporters packing the stands of the Sumpah Pemuda Way Halim Stadium. The win meant that Badak Lampung for now escaped the relegation zone, sitting 13th on the table with 26 points from 26 games. Meanwhile, defeat meant that Arema would remain 6th on the table for at least another gameweek.
Meanwhile, Persib Bandung visited Kalteng Putra at the Tuah Pahoe Stadium in Palangkaraya and managed to steal all three points from the relegation-threatened hosts with a straightforward 2-0 victory. However, the win was marred by the unsportsmanlike behavior of Kalteng Putra’s striker, Patrich Wanggai. In the 29th minute, Wanggai fouled Persib’s Achmad Jufriyanto, and because of that and his unpleasant behavior afterward, the referee punished Wanggai with a straight red. Despite playing against 10 men, Persib did not break the deadlock until the end of the first half thanks to Kevin van Kippersluis. Ezechiel N’Douassel then sealed the three points for Maung Bandung in the 61st minute.
The defeat meant that Kalteng Putra are stuck in the relegation zone for at least another gameweek, while Persib slowly moved up the table with the three points, climbing up to 8th on the table with 34 points from 25 games.