TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Persebaya Surabaya passes to the quarter-finals after defeat Perseru Serui 2-0 in the Group C of the 2018 President Cup at Gelora Bung Tomo Stadium, Surabaya, East Java, on Tuesday night, January 23.
With their best squad, Persebaya directly attack-playing since the first half and dominate the match. Up to 30 minutes of the first half, Rendi Irwan and his friends have not got the opportunity to score.
The Green Force boys began to threaten Perseru in the final 15 minutes of the first half. The long-distance kick from the tiny midfielder from Papua, Ferinando Pahabol, initiated a Persebaya barrage attack on the Perseru goalkeeper.
Furthermore, a tall Brazilian defender's header, Otavio Dutra, is still caught by the Perseru goalkeeper, Annas Fitrianto. The cross ball fed by Persebaya midfielder several times overwhelmed the Perseru rearguard.
After repeated threatening moves, striker Rishdi Fauzi finally broke the deadlock. In the 41st minute, using Pahabol’s gastric bait from the left side of Perseru's defense, the tall player managed to head the ball into Perseru's goal.
At the beginning of the second half, Persebaya’s attack slightly loosened. However, Persebaya managed to attack again after Coach Angel Alfredo Vera replaced Rendi Irwan and Ferinanda Pahabol with Osvaldo Haay and Irfan Jaya.
The two players who had just returned from centralization training with the U-23 national team made the Persebaya’s attack from the wings. The second attack of the players from both sides of the wing often overwhelmed the Perseru defense.
After attacking many times, Irfan Jaya finally scored the second goal for Persebaya in injury time. The results made Persebaya get the runner-up position in the Group C 2018 President’s Cup with 4 points.
In the next President Cup match, Persebaya will host Madura United who occupies the top of the standings with 6 points. The one who wins certainly will be the champion. As for Perseru, the defeat made the club from Papua as the caretaker.
NUR HADI
