Winning Three Menpora Cups, 10 PSS Players Conquer PSM Makassar

PSS Sleman won third place in the 2021 Menpora Cup (PHOTO VIA ANTARA)

SOLO - PSS Sleman was able to beat PSM Makassar 2-1 in the race for third place in the 2021 Menpora Cup pre-season tournament. PSS had to complete the match with only 10 players at Manahan Stadium, Solo, Central Java.

PSS took the lead through Irfan Jaya's penalty execution when Fandhy Imbiri was rewarded with a red card and PSM took advantage of the lame situation to equalize through Sutanto's free-kick.

However, the 10 against 11 situation was not enough to stop PSS from being able to lock in victory thanks to the decisive goal scored by Irkham Mila.

Even though the two teams were both trying to penetrate each other's defenses, their respective games looked monotonous and new circumstances changed when Irfan Jaya was brought down by one of the PSM players in the forbidden box, to which referee Thoriq M. Alkatiri immediately responded by pointing to the spot.

This opportunity was successfully optimized by Irfan Jaya to open the superiority of the Javanese Super Eagle troops in the 30th minute.

Unfortunately, eight minutes later, PSS was forced to continue the match with 10 players because Fandhy Imbiri was awarded a direct red card by the referee for a foul violation against Yance Sayuri.

A minute before halftime, PSM almost equalized, unfortunately, Sutanto's hard shot still flew over the PSS crossbar.

Entering the second half, PSM took the initiative to attack by increasing the tempo of the game, while PSS, which only left 10 players, chose to be rational by thickening their defensive coordinator.

PSM's hard work finally paid off in the 59th minute when Sutanto executed a dead ball on the edge of the PSS penalty box to score a goal and make the score a 1-1 draw.

However, that position only lasted for a moment, because five minutes later Irkham Mila successfully converted a pass from the left side to force goalkeeper Hilman Syah to pick up the ball again from inside the net and PSS returned to restore the advantage in the score 2-1.

PSM tried hard again to score a return goal, unfortunately, Yakob Sayuri's shot in the 71st minute was still able to be secured by goalkeeper Miswar Saputra.

The 2-1 score lasted until the end of the match, ensuring PSS was ranked third in the 2021 Menpora Cup.

The Menpora Cup still has one match left, namely the second leg of the final between Persib Bandung and Persija Jakarta on Sunday, April 25. Persija won the first leg 2-0.