Persebaya Fails To Win After Being Balanced By 10 Persija Players In The Final Minutes, Aji Santoso Is Angry And Disappointed

Photo: Persebaya coach, Aji Santoso while escorting his team against Persija in week 25 of Liga 1 2021/2022 (Instagram.com/@officialpersebaya)

JAKARTA - Persebaya coach, Aji Santoso did not hesitate to express his anger and disappointment after his team failed to win in the meeting with Persija Jakarta, in the 25th week of Liga 1 2021/2022 on Monday, February 14 night.

"I'm really angry with the players, because the mistake was repeated and conceded at the last minute," said Aji Santoso during a press conference after the match, quoted from the official Persebaya website.

In the meeting at I Wayan Dipta Stadium, Bali Bajul Ijo had to be willing to share points with the Kemayoran Tigers because the match ended in a 3-3 draw for both teams. The draw turned out to be a bitter moment for Persebaya because they almost closed the match with a win but were instead matched by ten opposing players.

In that match, three Persebaya goals were scored by Taisei Marukawa in the 15th minute, Ricky Kambuaya in the 48th minute and Samsul Arif in the 83rd minute. Meanwhile, Persija's goals were scored by Marko Simic when the game had only been running for two minutes, followed by Makan Konate's goal in the 86th minute and closed by a penalty from the same player in the 90+5 minute.

Seeing how his team played in this match, Aji Santoso admitted that the team actually played well for 90 minutes, but not in the extra minute of the second half. Because in the last minute, Bajul Ijo conceded by their former player, Makan Konate, which Aji considered that moment because the defenders were impatient in anticipating attacks.

"Konate's first goal from a corner, then the second from a penalty kick. This is very, very disappointing and the result is not as expected," he said.

This is not the first time Persebaya has missed the moment, because in the previous two matches they were beaten by Bhayangkara FC with a score of 2-1, then Persela was held to a 2-2 draw, also due to a lack of focus on the defense. In fact, in the match against Kemayoran Tigers last night, the players were judged by Aji Santoso to be underestimating the opponent so that the three points that were already in sight had to be floated because they only got one additional point.

"I have told the players to stay focused and concentrated until the referee blows the final whistle. Don't underestimate the last minute, and the fact that we conceded. Honestly, the results are very disappointing," he said.

With this draw, both Persija and Persebaya must be willing to share one point. Where it did not make the position of the two teams changed in the ranks of the standings.

Currently Persebaya is in fifth position with a collection of 45 points from 25 matches. Meanwhile, Persija is still in seventh place with 34 points from 24 matches.

Source: Persebaya