JAKARTA - Persija Jakarta midfielder, Makan Konate expressed his pleasure at being able to score a brace which saved the team from defeat. Moreover, he scored that goal against the former club that he had defended, Persebaya Surabaya.
"Thank God I scored two goals against my former team, I am very happy," Konate said in a press conference after the match, quoted from Persija Jakarta's official website, Tuesday, February 15.
In the 25th week of Liga 1 2021/2022, Persija Jakarta is indeed scheduled to have a match against their old rival, Persebaya Surabaya. The match at I Wayan Dipta Stadium, Bali, which took place on Monday, February 14 at 20.45 p.m. Indonesian Western Time (WIB), was in fact a hot one.
How not, the Kemayoran Tigers who took the lead in the second minute through Marko Simic's goal were actually cornered by Persebaya. Unmitigated, Bajul Ijo strafed Andritany Ardhiyasa's goal with three goals from the Taisei Marukawa penalty in the 15th minute, Ricky Kambuaya in the 48th minute, and Samsul Arif in the 83rd minute.
The situation was clearly a nightmare for Persija Jakarta, especially in this match they also had to play with ten players. This happened after Ryuji Utomo was sent off by the referee.
However, Fortuna Goddess apparently still sided with Persija because near the end they were able to catch up to a 3-3 draw. That moment happened thanks to a brace made by Makan Konate, the player from Mali broke the Persebaya goal in the 86th minute and a penalty was executed in 90+5 injury time.
"Earlier we were in a 3-1 position, then drew at the end of the match," he said.
Regarding the two braces he scored against Persebaya, Konate admitted that it made him more confident and optimistic about adding to his goal coffers against the opponent's goal in the next match. He also emphasized that his performance this time was not to avenge his former team, but his target was to bring positive results for Persija.
"It's not the former (team) that's the target, but we give maximum to the (Persija) team. If I score a goal for the former, I'm also optimistic against another team or whoever we have to fight to win it, thank God I can score tonight, "explained Konate.
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Despite the success of recording a brace against Persebaya, Konate also did not deny that this match was a difficult battle. Luckily, his teammates showed the spirit of working hard until the end of the match.
"Earlier we were lacking one player, but we are still enthusiastic and working hard, thank God, tonight's match was very hard," he concluded.
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