Despite taking an early lead, Liga 1 Indonesia side Persis Solo were beaten 2-1 by South Korean side Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors Reserves in Saturday night’s friendly match at the Manahan Stadium.
With most of their first-teamers away on international duty, K League 1 giants Jeonbuk decided to send their reserve squad, playing in the fourth-tier K4 League, to Solo for their friendly against Persis. Despite being a B team, Jeonbuk Reserves still had some notable names within their ranks, such as first-team youngster Lee Sung-yoon as well as U-20 duo Park Chang-woo and Kang Sang-yoon, who had guided South Korea to the semifinals of the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Argentina.
Persis head coach Leonardo Medina gave debuts to the club’s three new signings in Saturday’s friendly – former Buriram United defender Diego Bardanca, former Johor Darul Ta’zim II winger Moussa Sidibe, and Ramadhan Sananta, who left reigning Liga 1 champions PSM Makassar for a tenure at the Laskar Sambernyawa.
Backed on by their passionate Pasoepati supporters, Persis took the lead in the 10th minute, after a powerful header from Sananta made its way into Kim Tae-yang’s goal.
With the early lead theirs, Persis intensified their pressure on Jeonbuk Reserves, who remained calm and collected. After Alexis Messidoro had struck the post in the 26th minute, Jeonbuk Reserves finally fought back and drew level in the 35th minute, after a corner kick led do No Yun-sang smashing the ball into Gianluca Pandeynuwu’s goal.
Both teams then exchanged attack after attack, before Jeonbuk Reserves caught Persis on a counter and snatched the lead in the 64th minute through Lee Kyu-dong.
No further goals were scored, as Jeonbuk Reserves hung on for the 2-1 win at the end of the friendly match that commemorate 50 years of Indo-Korean relations.