Under-pressure Arema FC head coach Eduardo Almeida once again forced his doubters to eat their own words after guiding the Singo Edan to a tense 2-1 victory away at Bali United – the first time that Arema had won at the Kapten I Wayan Dipta Stadium since the start of the Liga 1 era in 2017.
Like many head coaches in the Liga 1, Almeida often found himself being placed in the chopping block whenever Arema’s results and performances had gone south. But unlike many Liga 1 head coaches that saw themselves losing their jobs after fan pressure, Almeida instead used the negative atmosphere around him to his advantage, leading Arema to a series of gritty and impressive performances whenever fans are calling for his head. For example, Arema’s impressive 23-game unbeaten run in last season’s Liga 1 was achieved after the Singo Edan fans had called for his sacking following a 4-game winless run at the start of the season, while fan disdain towards Almeida following Arema’s 1-0 defeat at the hands of PSM Makassar in the 2022 Piala Menpora opener instead spurred the Singo Edan to their third title in the pre-season competition.
Three games into the 2022/23 season, Almedia found himself being surrounded in an all-too familiar negative atmosphere after Arema’s hot-and-cold start to the season. The Singo Edan were battered 3-0 away at Borneo Samarinda in their first match of the season, before edging out PSIS Semarang 2-1 thanks to a last-minute goal in their second match. Arema then found themselves being held to an uninspiring 0-0 draw at home by PSS Sleman in Matchweek 3, which once again prompted Arema fans to urge the club’s management to sack the Portuguese head coach as soon as possible.
Saturday’s Matchweek 4 trip to defending league champions Bali United was seen as judgement day towards Almeida. Arema had never won away at the Dipta since 2017, with the Serdadu Tridatu always prevailing over their opponents from Malang in each of their five meetings in Bali, which included a 6-1 demolition job back in 2017 and a decisive 2-1 result last season that ended Arema’s title hopes.
After an exciting exchange of chances between the two sides – with Bali United dominating possession, the hosts found themselves a goal down after 22 minutes. Abel Camara managed to seize upon a scuffle in front of Nadeo Argawinata’s goal to stab home past the Indonesia international goalkeeper, the Bissau-Guinean striker opening his Liga 1 account in the process.
However, six minutes later, Bali United scored their equalizer after Jean Befolo Mbarga managed to head home a Fadil Sausu free-kick into Adilson Maringa’s goal.
With the scoreline all tied up in half-time, Arema retained their attacking mentality going into the second half and tested Nadeo in the 52nd minute, a Camara shot going straight into his arms.
Bali United then started to grew their presence in the game once again, with Ilija Spasojevic guilty of a 61st minute miss that should’ve gone in should Spasojevic timed his run correctly.
After Eber Bessa had squandered a golden opportunity in the 80th minute, Bali United were made to pay for their missed opportunities five minutes later. Engaging on an aerial duel with Ilham Udin Armaiyn, Ricky Fajrin instead inadvertently diverted the ball into Nadeo’s goal, effectively handing Arema the advantage.
A late rally from Bali United wasn’t enough to unlock Arema’s defense in the remainder of the match and thus the Singo Edan went away from this match with all three points.
Saturday’s early kick-0ff saw Persib Bandung winning their first game of the season, edging out PSIS 2-1 at the Gelora Bandung Lautan Api in Budiman Yunus’ first game as caretaker head coach. There was controversy in that match as Alfreanda Dewangga had an 87th minute equalizer chalked off after he had scored directly from a throw-in, as the ball didn’t made contact with any other player on the pitch en route to I Made Wirawan’s goal.
Meanwhile, at the Maguwoharjo Stadium, hosts PSS managed to saw off PS Barito Putera 1-0 thanks to a single Todd Rivaldo Ferre goal.
Saturday also saw this season’s Liga 1 claiming its second head coach, with Javier Roca stepping down from his position at Persik Kediri following Friday’s 2-1 defeat at home at the hands of Borneo. The news did not go down well with Persik fans, who had grown quite supportive of the Chilean, as it was alleged that Roca left his position due to a dispute with defender Arthur Irawan, whose parents hold an ownership stake at the Macan Putih. Roca had reportedly sidelined an underperforming Arthur, only for the former Espanyol player to force his way into the head coach’s plans, thus leading to Roca’s resignation – a deja vu to a number of similar incidents occurring between Arthur and former club PSS that led to widespread protests by the club’s fans demanding his departure.
Matchweek 4 continues this Sunday with four games – Dewa United welcoming Bhayangkara FC to the Indomilk Arena, a Jabodetabek derby between Persikabo 1973 and Persija Jakarta at the former’s Pakansari Stadium, struggling Persis Solo returning to the Manahan Stadium in a match against Persita Tangerang, and the latest edition of the Suramadu Derby between Persebaya Surabaya and league leaders Madura United.