Tense Watching Persija Vs PSM With Mayor Gibran Rakabuming, Menpora Amali: This Is An Extraordinary Semifinal

Menpora Zainudin Amali together with the Chairman of PSSI, Mochamad Iriawan and the Mayor of Solo, Gibran Rakabuming while watching the Menpora Cup match (Photo: male / kemenpora.go.id)

JAKARTA - Youth and Sports Minister (Menpora) Zainudin Amali watched the 2021 Menpora Cup semifinal match between Persija Jakarta vs PSM Makassar at Manahan Stadium, Solo, Sunday evening, April 18.

Menpora Amali who watched with the Mayor of Solo, Gibran Rakabuming and the Chairman of PSSI, Mochamad Iriawan, seemed very enthusiastic about enjoying the exciting match that ended on penalties.

Persija Jakarta managed to ensure they qualified for the Menpora Cup final after winning quite dramatically with a score of 4-3 (0-0 on aggregate) in a penalty shootout against PSM Makassar.

Menpora Amali, who sat in the VVIP stands, admitted that he was tense following the 2 x 45 minute game which had to end with a penalty shootout.

"This is an extraordinary semifinal match," said Menpora Amali.

According to the Menpora, the two teams competing were able to show good games. "I congratulate Persija Jakarta for qualifying for the 2021 Menpora Cup final, for PSM Makassar to remain enthusiastic. The struggles of the players of the two teams have been extraordinary," said Menpora Amali appreciating the two teams.

The match between Persija Jakarta and PSM Makassar was indeed going well. The two teams appeared to be evenly matched from the early minutes. However, during the first 10 minutes, there was no threat they created yet. The ball moves more in midfield.

The first chance came for Yakob Sayuri in the 18th minute. The PSM winger fired a speculative shot from outside the penalty box, unfortunately it was still wide of the Persija goal which was escorted by Andritany Ardhiyasa.

Two minutes later, PSM posted another golden opportunity. This involved a collaboration between Sutanto Tan and Yakob Sayuri which was later completed by Patrich Wanggai. However, it still hasn't produced a goal.

During the remaining time in the first half, the two teams are still trying to attack each other. However, none of them resulted in a goal until halftime.

Persija immediately stepped on the gas at the start of the second half to win this match. Marc Klok once again had a sweet opportunity to score a goal from a long distance shot in the 48th minute.

Persija again spread threats against PSM entering the 79th minute. This time it was through Yann Motta who overlapped and fired hard and bounced off a goal.

Andritany Ardhiyasa was troubled before the end of normal time. He was surprised by Yakob Sayuri's free shot in the 89th minute. Luckily, Andritany was still able to brush it off and produce a corner for PSM.

Only a minute later, PSM again made the Persija defense troublesome. Rasyid Bakri's corner kick leads to Zulham Zamrun. Unfortunately, his header still bounced over the bar.

The two teams still appear pressing in the remaining time. However, still no goals were created until the long whistle sounded. The 0-0 aggregate score made this duel continue with a penalty shootout round to determine the winner.

Persija finally has the right to become the team that qualifies for the top party for the 2021 Menpora Cup after winning 4-3 in the high-fives round. Interestingly, it took eight kicks each from the two teams to end this fight.

The four kickers who have successfully executed penalties are Rohit Chand, Yann Motta, Marc Klok, and Tony Sucipto. Meanwhile, the PSM which was able to break into three times was through Hasyim Kipuw, Rasyid Bakri, and Sutanto Tan.