A fatal defensive mistake by Brwa Nouri essentially gifted PSS Sleman all three points in the opening day of the 2023/24 Liga 1 Indonesia season on Saturday evening, with the Super Elja triumphing 1-0 away at Bali United.
The match was played at a tepid-looking Kapten I Wayan Dipta Stadium, with a good majority of the Bali United supporters boycotting the match due to the club’s decision to raise ticket prices for this season.
Both Bali United and PSS traded blow after blow in the first half, with Ricky Cawor coming close to beating Adilson Maringa in the Serdadu Tridatu goal in the 17th minute before Jean Befolo Mbarga narrowly missed the PSS goal by mere inches five minutes afterwards.
As Bali United tried their best to commandeer possession in the second half, it was PSS who drew first blood in the 48th minute. A back-pass into the Bali United defense from Nouri was snapped up by Cawor, who ran unopposed into Maringa’s goal. The former Arema goalkeeper ran out of his post in an attempt to stop Cawor, but the 25-year old managed to chip the ball above Maringa’s head and into the Bali United goal.
Bali United tried their best in tying the game up after conceding that goal, however PSS managed to dig deep and defend themselves quite well, with Eber Bessa only able to strike the goalpost with his effort in the 65th minute.
In the end no further goals were scored, with PSS returning back to Sleman with all three points to their name.
Saturday’s opening day also saw Persis Solo hosting Persebaya Surabaya at the Manahan Stadium, with the Bajul Ijo emerging as 3-2 winners in a topsy-turvy match that saw Bruno Moreira scoring twice in his second Persebaya debut.