A single blunder from substitute Victor Igbonefo, made 30 seconds after he had came in, costed Persib Bandung valuable points as they went down 1-0 away at Zhejiang FC in Thursday’s 2024/25 AFC Champions League Two match.
Arriving at the Huanglong Sports Center in Hangzhou as heavy underdogs, Persib head coach Bojan Hodak made four changes to the side that heartbreakingly lost at the last minute against Port FC in their previous outing, with Kakang Rudianto filling in for the injured Gustavo Franca, Tyronne del Pino slotting into the midfield, and both Marc Klok and Ciro regaining their spots in the starting eleven.
With Zhejiang themselves suffering a shock 2-0 defeat away at Singapore’s Lion City Sailors in their first outing, the Chinese Super League outfit are keen to show why they are favorites to advance out of Group F in front of their own supporters.
And it was the hosts who almost drew first blood in the ninth minute, with Cheng Jin testing Kevin Ray Mendoza in the Persib goal.
Mendoza then saw Jean Evrad Kouassi blasting his shot skywards only two minutes later, with Zhejiang clearly utilizing their superior resources into play.
Lucas Possignolo missed a prime opportunity for Zhejiang in the 18th minute, sending his header wide from the center of the box. Kouassi also squandered a chance shortly after, shooting off target from the right side of the area.
Persib had their first notable opportunity in the 23rd minute from a corner, but Tyronne couldn’t direct his header on goal. As the Maung Bandung began to gain more possession, they won a free-kick from about 35 meters out in the 29th minute, though Ciro’s attempt went wide of the mark.
The rest of the first half followed the same pattern, with neither team able to generate any clear scoring chances.
In the second half, both sides struggled offensively, with Kouassi’s long-range effort in the 67th minute posing little threat to Persib goalkeeper Mendoza.
Indonesian sides making the long trip to China were more often than not being treated with brutal thrashings by their hosts – Changchun Yatai’s 9-0 win over Persipura Jayapura in the 2010 AFC Champions League and Shandong Luneng’s 5-0 win over Arema Indonesia in the 2011 AFC Champions League came into mind, to name a few – however, Persib were able to make good account for themselves throughout the match, taking the game to the hosts despite the clear difference in squad quality.
However, the turning point of the game came in the 70th minute, with Hodak deciding to take off a brilliant Kakang, Dimas Drajad, and Tyronne in favor of Beckham Putra and two defensive-minded players in Igbonefo and Robi Darwis, clearly looking to frustrate Zhejiang even more and striking them on the counter.
Thirty seconds later and all of Persib’s hard work in keeping up with their stronger opponents were undone after Igbonefo had headed his clearance straight onto the path of Kouassi, who simply tapped in past Mendoza to finally give Zhejiang the lead.
Defeat was harsh on Persib, as their performance against Zhejiang was an improvement compared to their display against Port, especially considering that Hodak had practically fielded his second team against the Lions of Khlong Toei with a crunch tie against arch-rivals Persija Jakarta looming afterwards.
A point against a Zhejiang side earmarked to seal top spot of Group F can be considered as a notable success – especially with the poor record that Indonesian clubs have in their trips to China – but in the end two consecutive 1-0 losses meant that Persib are currently bottom of their group, with zero wins and zero goals scored.
The Maung Bandung will have a shot to make things right at the end of the month, however, when LCS pay visit to the Si Jalak Harupat Stadium in Soreang on October 24th. The Sailors were unable to complete their match against Port on the same day, due to torrential rain rendering the pitch at the BG Stadium unplayable.