The 2022/23 Liga 1 Indonesia title race is now a two horse affair after Persita Tangerang ended Persija Jakarta’s faint championship hopes with a slender 1-0 win on Tuesday night at the Indomilk Arena.
Persija knew that only a win would preserve their slim chances of winning this season’s Liga 1 as they made the short journey from Jakarta to Tangerang, however they were faced against a stubborn Persita side who pretty much had nothing to play for on Tuesday.
Once the referee blew for kick-off, almost immediately Persija placed Persita’s defense under pressure, with the likes of Michael Kremencik and Dandi Maulana threatening Dhika Bayangkara’s goal.
The Pendekar Cisadane were not without their chances, though, as Bae Sin-yeong, Faherza Sudin, and Rifky Septiawan tested Andritany Ardhiyasa’s might with their attempts.
Both sides exchanged blow after blow with none of them finding their target and when it seems like the match was destined for a goalless draw, an 88th minute Persita corner was headed by Wildan Ramdhani towards the Persija goal, triggering a goalmouth scramble that ended with former Borneo FC Samarinda defender Javlon Guseynov poking the ball past Andritany to give Persita the lead.
No further goals were scored in the reminder of the match and Persita held on for the decisive win, sending Persija head coach Thomas Doll into a fit of rage as the Macan Kemayoran‘s already slim title hopes went up in flames.
Now, with only league leaders PSM Makassar and 2nd placed Persib Bandung still in contention for the Liga 1 trophy, the onus will be on the Maung Bandung to clinch all three points on March 31st’s Indonesian El Clasico against Persija to keep their own title chances alive. Should Persib fail to win and PSM manage to beat Madura United on the same day, the Liga 1 trophy will be pretty much guaranteed to be going to Makassar.