Sudirman Says About Persija's Victory Over Persita: We Play Spartan And Aggressive

JAKARTA - Persija Sudirman coach said that a spartan, aggressive and compact game was the factor that made his squad able to beat Persita with a score of 2-1 in the 21st week of the Indonesian League 1 2021-2022 match in Bali, Wednesday night.

"Today the players appeared spartan, aggressive and compact. They defended together. This match was not easy because Persita has high motivation," Sudirman said in a press conference after the match, quoted from Antara, Thursday.

The 52-year-old tactician admitted that his squad had difficulty holding back Persita's attacks, especially in the first half, especially when they lost defender Maman Abdurahman who was injured and had to be withdrawn in the 29th minute.

However, after the break, the situation changed. Apart from the performance of the players, the change of tactics is also considered to determine the final result.

Precisely in the 64th minute, Sudirman replaced Marko Simic with a 22-year-old striker, Taufik Hidayat. The decision bore fruit after Taufik scored the winning goal five minutes after entering the field.

Sudirman asserted that the exchange policy was solely due to tactics, not because Simic performed below his standard performance.

"All players have their strengths, including Simic and Taufik. Simic's type is more of a 'goal getter' and he often scores goals from opportunities such as through crosses. Taufik has good ability in possession and finding space narrow between the opposing defenders. So I changed tactics so that our strategy was not read by the opponent, "he said.

Taufik himself is grateful to be able to bring the squad nicknamed the Kemayoran Tigers back to get three points because they were previously held to a draw by Persela and defeated by Persipura.

The goal was Taufik's first goal in the Indonesian League 1 2021-2022.

"Hopefully this will be a good start for the team," said Taufik.

Persija defeated Persita with a score of 2-1 in the 2021-2022 Indonesian League 1 match week 21 at the I Gusti Ngurah Rai Stadium, Denpasar, Bali Wednesday night.

Besides Taufik, Persija's goal was made by Ilham Rio Fahmi. Persita scored via Taylon Marcolino.

Taufik Hidayat's first goal in Liga 1 2021/2021!!!🎥: @Liga1Match#PersijaDay #BRILiga1 #DukungDariRumah #BelieveIn12 #PersijaJakarta pic.twitter.com/lfMDKo7jmP

— Persija Jakarta (@Persija_Jkt) January 26, 2022

The victory brought Persija up to sixth in the Liga 1 standings after collecting 32 points from 21 matches. While Persita stuck in ninth place with 25 points.