Arema FC have won the 2024 Piala Presiden after overcoming Borneo FC Samarinda in a tense penalty shootout in Sunday’s final at the Manahan Stadium. Both the Singo Edan and the Pesut Etam played out a 1-1 draw after 90 minutes, before in the ensuing shootout Arema goalkeeper Lucas Frigeri denied Ronaldo Rodrigues’ penalty and slotted home the winning spot kick to clinch the trophy for his team.
Borneo and Arema both started the match quickly in the first five minutes of the first half. Borneo had the first chance in the sixth minute through a free-kick by Stefano Lilipaly. Unfortunately, Lilipaly’s shot hit the crossbar and went out of play.
In the 11th minute, Arema responded with a powerful shot from Dalberto, but his effort missed to the left of Nadeo Argawinata’s goal.
In the 14th minute, Borneo created another dangerous opportunity in Arema’s defense. A free-kick from Lilipaly was met by a header from Ronaldo, but the ball narrowly went over the crossbar.
In the 39th minute, a powerful shot from Borneo winger Terens Puhiri was saved by Arema goalkeeper Lucas, resulting in a corner. After making the save, Lucas’ hand hit the goalpost, but he was able to continue playing. From the resulting corner, Terens’s effort in the 40th minute was again caught by Lucas.
The first half ended goalless with the score tied at 0-0.
In the 49th minute, early in the second half, Arema took a 1-0 lead with a beautiful shot from Wiliam, who scored from outside the penalty box into the top left corner of Borneo’s goal.
In the 52nd minute, Arema had another golden opportunity with a header from Charles Lokolingoy, which hit the Borneo crossbar.
In the 54th minute, Charles’s movement ended with a shot that was saved by Borneo goalkeeper Nadeo.
In the 62nd minute, Borneo striker Leo Gaucho equalized to 1-1 with a powerful shot from inside the penalty box after capitalizing on a mistake by an Arema defender.
In the 64th minute, Borneo’s Kei Hirose attempted a shot from outside the penalty box, but it went wide to the right of Arema’s goal.
In the 75th minute, a powerful shot from Arema’s Wiliam from outside the penalty box was blocked by Nadeo.
In the 82nd minute, Borneo had a chance inside Arema’s penalty box, but Rahmad Dandy’s control was poor, allowing goalkeeper Lucas to collect the ball.
In the 86th minute, the referee checked the VAR and decided to give a red card to Borneo captain Lilipaly after his foot hit Arema’s Wiliam’s thigh during a duel.
Former Bali United man Lilipaly was furious about the red card as he felt he had been fouled first in the same area before the incident.
In the seventh minute of injury time, Arema scored a goal to lead 2-1 through Charles. The goal came after Dedik Setiawan’s header was blocked by Nadeo in the Borneo goal, and the rebound was put in by Congolese-Australian striker Charles.
However, the goal was disallowed after the referee reviewed the VAR and found that Dedik had committed a handball in the buildup. The score remained 1-1.
The match ended without any additional goals, and the second half finished 1-1, leading to a penalty shootout.
Both Berguinho for Borneo and Charles for Arema dispatched their opening penalties, so were Christophe Nduwarugira of Borneo and William of Arema.
Arema then got their advantage after Lucas denied Ronaldo’s attempt, before Julian Guevara gave the Singo Edan the advantage.
Both Habibi Jusuf and Dalberto then dispatched their respective penalties easily, before Gaucho’s successful attempt meant that should Arema goalkeeper Lucas score his penalty, the Piala Presiden title is as good as the Singo Edan‘s.
And the Brazilian shot-stopper did just that, firing a shot that went beyond Nadeo’s reaches to seal the Piala Presiden title for Arema, with Joel Cornelli’s men edging out their opponents 5-4 in the shootout.
This victory marked Arema’s fourth title in the Piala Presiden, having previously won in 2017, 2019, and 2022.