JAKARTA - The Papuan men's soccer team won the gold medal at the XX Papua National Sports Week (PON) after silencing Aceh 2-0 in the final at the Mandala Stadium, Jayapura City, Thursday.
Launching Antara, Papua was already 2-0 up thanks to Ricky Ricardo Cawor's goal when Aceh had to continue the match with ten players due to the second yellow card of midfielder Muharrir. With this victory, the hosts succeeded in securing the gold medal for the men's soccer PON Papua, while Aceh had to settle for silver. While the bronze medal was won by East Java, which in the early match defeated East Kalimantan 3-2 through extra time.
This is the third PON gold for Papua from the men's soccer sport, after they also won it in the 1993 edition in Jakarta and 2004 in South Sumatra.
In front of the public, the Mandala Stadium, whose stands were densely filled with almost no gaps and contained the majority of the home fans, Eduard Ivakdalam's foster children appeared confident to pressure Aceh from the start. after referee Fariq Hitaba stated that Aceh defender Rezal Mursalin had committed a handball violation in the restricted area. Ricky Cawor confidently carried out his duties as an executioner to deceive goalkeeper Chairil Zul Azhar and open Papua's advantage over Aceh.
Papua continued to be in control and after Rafiko B. Nawipa failed to meet a sharp pull pass, they managed to double their advantage through Ricky Cawor's second goal in the final. The Merauke player won the ball near the center circle before pushing to the edge of the penalty box and releasing a successful shot went into goal, changing the position to 2-0 in the 23rd minute. Papua put pressure several times but failed to increase the margin of advantage until halftime, on the other hand the 5-3-2 pattern applied by Fakhri Husaini backfired because Aceh was quite difficult build attacks that always stop in midfield. Papua is increasingly confident entering the second half of the match under the lights of the Mandala Stadium and choreo performances from the audience who occupy the north stand.
Center forward M. Arody Uopdana should have added to Papua's lead in the 55th minute, unfortunately he failed to meet the cross in front of the goal perfectly so his shot deviated from the target. Four minutes later, the home goalkeeper Adzib Al Hakim Arsyad made a blunder when the ball kicked his goal even hit Riza Rizki, who passed it on to Akhirul Wadhan. Luckily, Akhirul's finishing shot was blocked by Ari Wakum. Aceh's efforts to get out of the situation were even more difficult for themselves because midfielder Muharrir committed a foul that led to a second yellow card from referee Fariq Hitaba. Aceh practically had to finish the match in a 10 vs 11 situation since the 64th minute. The disparity in the number of players made Papua more free to control the match and try to dismantle Aceh's defenses, but unfortunately the attack efforts launched failed to produce additional goals until the final whistle sounded.
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