Persikabo 1973 managed to make it two wins out of two after they had beaten Dewa United 3-1 away at the Indomilk Arena on Sunday night. Two goals from Dimas Drajad helped the Laskar Padjajaran maintain their perfect record from two matchweeks in this season’s Liga 1 Indonesia.
South Tangerang-based Dewa United were using Persita Tangerang’s Indomilk Arena for their first home match of the Liga 1 season and being a stone’s throw away from their headquarters in the prestigious Gading Serpong gated community, plenty of fans from the area as well as the surrounding locale of Bumi Serpong Damai, Alam Sutra, Serpong, Pamulang, and Ciputat to name a few flocked to the stadium to support the Tangsel Warriors.
Unfortunately for the newly assembled Anak Dewa supporters, Dewa United went 1-0 down as early as the third minute, after Drajad had escaped Risto Mitrevski’s pressure and beat Muhammad Natshir in the Dewa United goal with a well-placed shot from close-range.
Dewa United managed to pull one back in the 37th minute through Gufroni Al-Maruf, however the referee chalked off the goal after fellow Tangsel Warriors player Karim Rossi had fouled Persikabo goalie Diky Indrayana in the goal’s buildup.
Persikabo managed to maintain their pressure on the hosts throughout the first half and the Laskar Padjajaran went 2-0 up in the 43th minute. Hitting Dewa United on the counter, Roni Sugeng managed to feed Drajad with an accurate pass, allowing the Indonesia international to beat Natshir for the second time.
The second half saw a tense midfield battle between the two sides with some chances being created here and there, before Persikabo found themselves 3-0 up at the stroke of full-time. With injury time looming, substitute Yandi Sofyan managed to outsmart an incoming Natshir and slot the ball home into an empty net.
As plenty of Anak Dewa flocked to the exits after Yandi’s goal, they barely missed out on Dewa United’s consolation goal only seconds afterwards, with Lucas Ramos blasting home a cannonball from some distance that went beyond Diky’s reaches.
With two wins out of two, Persikabo are currently joint-top of the Liga 1 standings alongside Madura United and PSM Makassar, with goal difference being the only separating factor between the trio.
Sunday’s Liga 1 action also saw Persija Jakarta edging out Persis Solo 2-1 at the Patriot Candrabhaga Stadium, while Persik Kediri played out a 1-1 draw with Bhayangkara FC at the Brawijaya Stadium.