{"id":15964,"date":"2018-12-11T15:40:19","date_gmt":"2018-12-11T06:40:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/football-tribe.com\/asia\/?p=15964"},"modified":"2018-12-11T15:40:19","modified_gmt":"2018-12-11T06:40:19","slug":"drama-and-new-champions-in-indonesias-liga-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/football-tribe.com\/asia\/2018\/12\/11\/drama-and-new-champions-in-indonesias-liga-1\/","title":{"rendered":"Drama and New Champions in Indonesia’s Liga 1"},"content":{"rendered":"

Steven Danis<\/strong><\/p>\n

Football Tribe Indonesia<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Indonesian top-flight, Go-Jek Liga 1, had its the final round of matches over the weekend, with Persija Jakarta finishing one point above PSM Makassar to become the new champions on Sunday. Meanwhile, defending champions Bhayangkara faced Bali United, who were seeking revenge for their lost title race in 2017. <\/span><\/p>\n

The league\u2019s administrators chose not make the last gameweek into one-day spectacle, splitting up the game with the TV stations. Saturday\u2019s matches were for the team who already secured their finish in the league, while Sunday spotlighted the title race and the deadline for the four teams which were fighting to avoid relegation.<\/span><\/p>\n

On Wednesday, PS TIRA pulled off a surprising 4-2 away over PSMS Medan in a postponed game, which ensured that the home team would have no chance of maintaining their top-flight status. PS TIRA themselves were left to battle with Mitra Kukar, Perser and Sriwijaya FC, as they all were on the same points total, two of them fated to face the drop. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Saturday Highlights<\/b><\/p>\n

Four games were played on the first day. Persebaya Surabaya met PSIS Semarang on Saturday afternoon in the gameweek’s opening match. The two promoted teams were seeking a better position to finish their journey, and Fandi Eko Utomo\u2019s goal ensured that Persebaya won their last home game in 2018.<\/span><\/p>\n

Later on Saturday night, I attended the game between Bhayangkara and Bali United in Jakarta.<\/span><\/p>\n

Two goals in the first 20 minutes made the police club, Bhayangkara FC, pull of yet another win against their visitors from Bali. One of the scorers was Serbian defender, Vladimir Vujovic, who announced his retirement from football after the game. <\/span><\/p>\n

At the same time, Madura United managed a 2-1 against Persela Lamongan in the East Java Derby, while Persib Bandung and Barito Putera pulled off an enthralling 3-3 draw. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Sunday Highlights<\/b><\/p>\n

Sunday would be the day for Persija fans to celebrate. While PSM Makassar played with an open heart and earned a big 5-1 win against PSMS Medan, the joy was far bigger in Jakarta as Marko Simic\u2019s brace secured the title with a narrow win against Mitra Kutai Kartanegara. For Mitra, this defeat meant they must relegated after eight years in the top-flight competition. However, it was far from smooth sailing for Persija, as their ex-coach, Rahmad Darmawan, who now sits on the bench for Mitra, argued with the referee about the second goal. He believed that Mitra keeper Yoo Jae-Hoon was unlawfully disturbed by Ramdani Lestaluhu in the buildup to Simic\u2019s goal. <\/span><\/p>\n

PS TIRA continue their miracle after collecting another away win against Borneo FC in the Segiri stadium, Samarinda. Serbian goalscorer Aleksandar Rakic hit a brace and to win the golden boot ahead of David da Silva, who he surpassed with just a single goal. They avoided relegation, along with Perseru Serui, who surprisingly win 0-2 against their \u2018older brothers\u2019 Persipura Jayapura in the Papuan Derby.<\/span><\/p>\n

Lastly, blurry eyes full of tears were not exclusive to Mitra\u2019s players in Jakarta. Far away in Malang, Sriwijaya FC\u2019s players were left devastated after a 2-1 defeat against Arema FC, sending the side into the second tier. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Goodbye 2018, A Year of Fear.<\/b><\/p>\n

It\u2019s was a difficult, dramatic, but ultimately amazing season for all clubs. Despite the all negative comments and negative traditions in Indonesian football – especially in regards match fixing or other off-pitch issues within the league – the beautiful game managed to make it through. <\/span><\/p>\n

Being from Jakarta, deep in my heart I am a Persija fan, and I am proud of what Macan Kemayoran achieved this year. But my little conscience, the voice of my heart, can\u2019t lie – I want a better and more transparent league next year.<\/span><\/p>\n

I want a better atmosphere so that no supporters clash, no stadiums vanish, and no parents have to cry because their children died watching football. These are changes that can\u2019t come soon enough. <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Steven Danis Football Tribe Indonesia   The Indonesian top-flight, Go-Jek Liga 1, had its the final round of matches over the weekend, with Persija Jakarta finishing one point above PSM Makassar to become the new champions on Sunday. Meanwhile, defending champions Bhayangkara faced Bali United, who were seeking revenge for their lost title race in 2017. The league\u2019s administrators chose not make the last gameweek into one-day spectacle, splitting up the game with the TV stations. Saturday\u2019s matches were for the team who already secured their finish in the league, while Sunday spotlighted the title race and the deadline for the four teams which were fighting to avoid relegation. On … Continue reading “Drama and New Champions in Indonesia’s Liga 1”<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":87,"featured_media":15965,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39,26],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15964","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-indonesia","category-southeast-asia"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/football-tribe.com\/asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15964","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/football-tribe.com\/asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/football-tribe.com\/asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/football-tribe.com\/asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/87"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/football-tribe.com\/asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15964"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/football-tribe.com\/asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15964\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/football-tribe.com\/asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15965"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/football-tribe.com\/asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15964"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/football-tribe.com\/asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15964"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/football-tribe.com\/asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15964"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}