Arema Wins Bali Island Cup

Jakarta (Antara Bali) -- The Arema Cronus Football Club from East Java province emerged as the champion of the Bali Island Cup (BIC) after crushing Persiram Raja Ampat of Papua province 2-0.

Arema beat Persiram 2-0 in a match held at the Kapten Dipta Stadium, Gianyar, Bali province, on Monday, March 16.

Striker Samsul Arif scored the first goal in the 74th minute, while the second one was scored by Cristian Gonzales in the 83rd minute.

Even though Arema won the tournament, Coach Suharno expressed his disappointment over the club`s 2-2 draw with the Bali United Pusam (BUP) earlier.

"We dedicate the club`s victory to the supporters of Arema (Aremania) who traveled the long distance (from Malang to Bali)," Suharno said.

Before arriving in Bali, Suharno had prepared 25 players of the Arema squad to compete in the BIC, which took place from March 12 to 16.

Participants of the tourney included host team BUP, Pelita Bandung Raya (PBR), Persiram Raja Ampat of Papua and the Arema Cronus.

Persiram had replaced Persija, the club from Jakarta, which resigned from the tournament.

Although Arema did not target winning the preseason tournament, it never underestimated the strength of its opponents, the coach stated, adding that the team decided to take part in the BIC due to the postponement of the Indonesia Super League (ISL) to April 4.

A new schedule of the ISL was drawn up after Youth and Sports Affairs Minister Imam Nahrawi first postponed it to two weeks from February 20, the day it was initially planned to begin.

The ISL was then scheduled to start on March 4 due to preparation problems, wherein some of the participating clubs did not meet the three conditions set in accordance with regulation standards of FIFA, AFC and the Law on National Sports System (SKN).

As part of the three conditions, clubs were required to submit proof of payment of salaries of players, coaches and team officials, letters of employment contracts of the players, coaches and team officials, and proof of tax payments.

However, PT Liga Indonesia, which organizes the tournament, rescheduled it to April 4 because several soccer clubs failed to submit the required documents to meet the conditions.

Last year, Arema was placed in Group 1 of the ISL.

Group 1 comprises Arema Indonesia, Persib, Persija, Pelita, Bandung Raya, Gresik United, Semen Padang, Persita, Sriwijaya FC, Persijap, Persik, and Barito Putera.

Group 2 includes Persebaya, Persipura, Putra Samarinda, Persiram, Mitra Kukar, Persela, Persepam MU, Perseru, Persiba Balikpapan, Persiba Bantul, and PSM Makassar.

In 2014, the ISL had officially kicked off on February 1, after PT Liga Indonesia released the team`s schedules. A total of 22 football clubs participated in the tournament in 2013 and 2014.

Furthermore, on Saturday, March 14, the BIC match between BUP and Arema Cronus ended in a tie, with the score at 2-2.

While Samsul Arif scored the first goal for Arema in the 11th minute, Dendy Santoso scored the next one in the 42nd minute.

BUP`s striker Lerby scored a goal for his team in the 29th minute after receiving a pass from Fadil Sausu. The second goal for BUP was scored by Sukarja with a header in the 70th minute.

Earlier, the West Java provincial soccer team Pelita Bandung Raya defeated Persiram Raja Ampat of Jayapura, Papua province, 2-0 in the BIC. Legimin Raharjo scored the first goal for Pelita Bandung Raya in the 30th minute of the first half.

Persiram`s goalkeeper Gery Mandagi failed to block the ball after it was kicked hard towards the left corner of the net.

Midfielder Rahmad Hidayat scored the second goal for Pelita Bandung Raya in the 48th minute in the second half of the game, which was refereed by Novari Iksan from Jakarta.

Moreover, Pelita Bandung Raya`s coach Dejan Antonic admitted that his players had successfully implemented the tactics they practiced during their training.

Antonic had also promised to field his best squad to face the BUP on Monday, March 16.

In addition, coach of Persiram Raja Ampat, Eduard Tjong, had affirmed that he would train his front players to be calmer while creating opportunities (to score).

In addition, BUP drew 0-0 with the West Java province`s Pelita Bandung Raya in a BIC match on Monday.

In the first half, BUP striker Ben Dhifallah Mohdi persistently attacked the defense lineup of Pelita Bandung Raya, but all his maneuvers were blocked by goalkeeper Denis Romanov.

Sandy Sute also failed to score a goal for BUP in the second half.

The Arema Cronus Football Club, commonly referred to as Arema and nicknamed Singo Edan, is an Indonesian professional football club based in Malang, East Java. (WDY)