Lee Man FC’s foreign stars stepped up to the plate in the right time as the Hong Kong side thoroughly dismantled two-time Indonesian champions Bali United 5-1 at the Hong Kong Stadium in Wednesday’s AFC Champions League preliminary round match – adding further pressure to the Serdadu Tridatu‘s head coach Stefano Cugurra Teco as well as Bali United’s management after yet another humiliating display in the continental front.
Bali United arrived in Hong Kong with much optimism – they had edged out reigning Liga 1 champions PSM Makassar 3-2 in their last league match and Indonesian teams in general had a decent record against Hong Kong sides, with the likes of Arema FC and Semen Padang FC having nicked wins at the country in recent years.
But what happened instead was sheer humiliation for both Bali United and Indonesian football in general, and while the shame wouldn’t rival that of Persibo Bojonegoro’s farcical 8-0 loss at the hands of Sunray Cave JC Sun Hei back in the 2013 AFC Cup, the heavy defeat, coupled with several questionable performances from Bali United throughout their previous Asian campaigns, raised questions on whether the Serdadu Tridatu are taking AFC competitions seriously or not.
With a play-off tie against defending ACL winners Urawa Red Diamonds at stake, it was hosts Lee Man who started off the brightest. Estonian international Henri Anier, who had just arrived from Thai League 1 giants Muangthong United, struck the crossbar after just 30 seconds, before in the 8th minute Gil Martins managed to skin Novri Setiawan alive, exposing the Bali United defense long enough for the Brazilian to lay the ball off towards another debutant in Mitchell Paulissen, with the Dutchman beating Adilson Maringa in the Bali United goal with a powerful volley.
The goal stung Bali United into action and three minutes later the Serdadu Tridatu were level. Jean Befolo Mbarga managed to barge his way into the Lee Man defense, swinging in a cross that was diverted by Tsui Wang-kit into his own net.
However, parity only lasted for two minutes. Paulissen managed to find Everton Camargo, who in turn fed Gil for a superb finished that left Maringa reeling once again. 2-1 to Lee Man.
Lee Man’s foreign contingent of Paulissen, Camargo, Gil, Anier, Jose Angel, and Ryoya Tachibana were very solid on Wednesday night, showing themselves to be faster, stronger, and more resourceful than their Indonesian counterparts while at the same time inspiring their Hong Kong teammates to play their game up to their level as well. Bali United were effectively outplayed throughout the night and while Mbarga almost made it 2-2 on stoppage-time, instead Lee Man went on the counter and saw themselves going 3-1 up before the break.
Camargo made mincemeat out of Ricky Fajrin in the Bali United defense, nudging the ball past the Indonesian midfielder before creating enough time and space to arc the ball over Maringa for the two-goal advantage.
With the game clearly beyond their reach, Bali United were dealt with two more sucker punches in the second half – Paulissen bagging his brace in the 56th minute to make it 4-1 before Angel finishes the rout with Lee Man’s fifth goal in the 86th minute.
And while Lee Man will get the opportunity to test themselves against defending champions Urawa at the Saitama Stadium 2002 on August 22nd, Bali United were left to return home with their tail firmly between their legs, with yet another humiliating performance in the continental stage to their name.
Ever since Widodo Cahyono Putro made the questionable decision of fielding his reserves against Yangon United in their 2018 AFC Cup opener, Bali United have become synonymous with embarrassing results in both the AFC Champions League and the AFC Cup in recent years.
And while heavy defeats away at Melbourne Victory and Ceres-Negros back in 2020 were somewhat understandable – they were the better team on paper and Bali United came into those matches as heavy underdogs – others not only infuriate Bali United fans, but also Indonesian football fans in general.
Widodo’s aforementioned gamble – due to Bali United prioritizing the 2018 Piala Presiden pre-season tournament – resulted in Yangon United winning comfortably 3-1 at the Kapten I Wayan Dipta Stadium, while the reverse fixture saw Bali United bottle a 2-0 lead to lose 3-2 in Myanmar.
And even with Teco succeeding Widodo, said embarrassing results kept coming and coming.
A 2-1 loss away at Preah Khan Reach Svay Rieng in 2020 might be attributed to some questionable refereeing decision, but a heavy 5-2 defeat at the hands of another Cambodian team in Visakha FC in 2022 was inexcusable due to two reasons – the defeat happening at Bali United’s own Kapten I Wayan Dipta Stadium and the fact that Teco was the architect of said result thanks to him starting aging players who were tired from their previous, high-intensity outing against Kedah Darul Aman against Visakha’s younger bloods.
The Lee Man match also saw Teco performing some questionable substitutions in the second half – introducing the likes of M. Rahmat, Ardi Idrus, and Ramdani Lestaluhu to replace Jefferson Assis, Eber Bessa, and Mohammad Rashid, all three of whom were playing decently at that point.
And while Bali United still have the AFC Cup group stages to navigate this season, this heavy defeat, coupled with the Serdadu Tridatu‘s many other embarrassing continental results, raised plenty of concerns with many worrying that Bali United’s poor continental performance would affect Indonesia’s coefficient within the AFC Club Competition standings, which could led to fewer Indonesian clubs representing the country in the coming years.
Previous years saw the likes of Persija Jakarta and PSM carrying Indonesia’s coefficient with a series of superb performances that compensated Bali United’s ineptitude, but the country couldn’t depend on them to perform well whenever Bali United are doing poorly all the time. It is time that Bali United gave a hard look at themselves in the mirror and wake up from their continental stupor. It’s time to perform well in the AFC Cup, or Indonesia’s place within the AFC club competitions will be in jeopardy.