Bali United Grabs Full Point In President Cup Opening Day

Gianyar, Bali (Antara Bali) - Bali United soccer club successfully crushed Persija Jakarta squad 3-0 at the opening match of President Cup Tournament 2015 at the "I Wayan Dipta" Stadium in Gianyar, Bali, on Sunday afternoon.

In a high spirit, Sandi Sute, midfielder of Bali United netted first goal for his team in the 8th minute through a diving header of the first half.

The success of Sandi Sute was followed by the club`s striker Sutan Sama who scored the second goal in 33rd minute through hard kick which made Persija`s goalkeeper Andry Tani failed to hold the ball.

In second half, another Bali United`s striker Lerby scored the third goal in the 46th minute through a diving header as well.

Coach of Persija Rahmat Darmawan with regard to his team`s failure said that he will improve the strategy of Persija at time of the team`s play against Bali United in the further match.

Meanwhile, Bali United`s coach Indra Sjafri was grateful and said he will make the victory as its initial capital for the second match at time of facing Persija in Jakarta.

In the second match of the President Cup event, the East Kalimantan`s club Mitra Kukar and Persita Tanggerang shared 0-0 score.

During the first half, both teams continue to make pressure to the heart of defense of each squad, however, the score remained 0-0 until the halftime ended.

In the second half, none of players of Mitra Kukar and Persita Tanggerang scored any goal. Thus, the respective team only gained one point.

As many as 16 soccer clubs which are divided into four groups will participate in the President Cup tournament starting Sunday, August 30.

"A total of 38 matches will be held during the tournament. Each day there will be two matches in the preliminary round, which will take place at 03.00 p.m. and 6.00 p.m.," the Mahaka Sports Director, Erik Tohir, who is organizing the event said.

Starting from the quarter-finals to the semi-finals, the matches` format will be "home and away." Its final round will be conducted on October 18 at the Bung Karno Main Stadium in Jakarta.

Meanwhile, the coach of the Persita Tangerang soccer club, Bambang Nurdiansyah, said on Monday that the President Cup tournament will take place in four cities namely Bandung (group A), Malang (group B), Bali (group C) and Makassar (Group D).

Group A consists of Persib Bandung, Persebaya United, Persiba Balikpapan, and Martapura FC; and Group B comprises of Arema Cronos, PSGS Ciamis, Sriwijaya FC Palembang and Persela Lamongan.

Group C has teams Bali United, Persija Jakarta, Mitra Kukar and Persita Tangerang; while Group D has namely PSM Makassar, Pelita Bandung Raya, Peregres Gresik and Pusamania Borneo FC.

The President Cup Tournament 2015 was opened by President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) at the "I Wayan Dipta" Stadium in Gianyar, Bali, on Sunday.

"I officially declare this tournament open. I hope this tournament will be able to awaken the country`s football development in the future even though Indonesia has received sanctions from FIFA," the President said.

He said the ban on Indonesia`s participation in international competitions should serve as a whip for the country to revitalize its soccer organizations so that they would become clean and transparent.

The President appealed to the Indonesian people to support the country`s soccer development so that it would rise again and make achievement at the national and international levels.

"This tournament could serve as a solution to the football problem in the country which is now being awaited by the people,even though the FIFA is still imposing a sanction," he said.

The President Cup is a professional soccer tournament aimed at resuming soccer as a competitive sport across the country after it was halted several months ago.

In the meantime, the youth and sports minister Imam Nahrawi believed that the President Cup tournament could become a solution to fill the void of football event in the country that is still being revolutionized.

The Mahaka Sports which organizes the President Cup soccer tournament has offered cash prize amounting to Rp3 billion for the champion.

According to Erik Tohir the runner up in the tournament will earn cash prize of Rp2 billion, the third will obtain Rp1 billion and the fourth will gain Rp500 million.

In addition, the tournament`s organizer also offers money prize worth Rp200 million for the best player, Rp 100 million for the top scorer and Rp300 million for the most `fair play` club.

Tohir added that of the 16 clubs, 13 clubs had originated from the major league and three clubs from the First Division league (Liga Utama). (WDY)