Liga 1 Indonesia: Persela Lamongan Confirmed For Relegation To League 2

Persela Lamongan footballer Malik Risaldi (above) fell after being tackled by Persiraja Banda Aceh player Mohammad Rifaldi (right). (Photo: ANTARA/Fikri Yusuf)

JAKARTA - Persela Lamongan is confirmed to be relegated from the Indonesian League 1 and will compete in the second tier next season as Barito Putera secured a 2-0 win over Persik Kediri on Saturday.

Persela, who is currently in 17th place with a collection of 21 points, actually only played on Sunday (20/3) tomorrow against Bhayangkara FC, but they certainly couldn't get out of the red zone.

The reason is that Barito, who is in 16th place, aka the last safe position, has now collected 32 points, while Persela only has three games remaining this season, according to the Indonesian League.

The relegation of Laskar Joko Tingkir this season ended the journey of the pride of the Lamongan community who spent the last 18 years competing in the highest caste of Indonesian football.

The certainty of Persela's relegation in the hands of Barito is quite ironic, considering that the club from Banjarmasin was one of the teams whose position was replaced by Persela when they won promotion in 2003 ago.

At that time Persela won a promotional ticket in 2003 with Persebaya Surabaya and PSMS Medan, replacing Barito, Arema Malang, Perseden Denpasar, Petrokimia Gresik and PSDS Deli Serdang.

In a period of 18 years competing in the highest caste of the Indonesian League, Persela's best achievement occurred in the 2011/2012 season by being ranked fourth in the final standings of the Indonesian Super League.

At the end of the 2011/2012 season, Persela was able to secure a total of 56 points from 34 matches, behind Sriwijaya FC who came out as champions, as well as Persipura Jayapura and Persiwa Wamena.

At that time Persela Lamongan was managed by a coach from the Czech Republic, Miroslav Janu, and had a sharp Argentine striker Mario Costas who was able to score 22 goals in a season in the Indonesian League.