Persebaya closed the first round of Gojek Liga 1 with a defeat at home. The victory in this match also led Persib Bandung as the middle champion of the 2018 edition of League 1 season.

Persebaya underwent this match without two of their players being summoned by the U-23 Indonesian National Team who were conducting training camps in Bali. Both players are Osvaldo Haay and Irfan Jaya. While Persib's squad doesn't have the name Jonathan Bauman who has been the sweet partner of Ezechiel N'Douassel.

The medicine for the presence of two new Green Force players, Raphael Maitimo and OK Jhon who immediately stole the attention of Persebaya supporters also could not follow this classic duel, the reason this match was a postponed match which was actually held in the last Ramadan. Patrick Wanggai, who recently joined also could not go down the field, he just watched his friends competing from the stands. Likewise OK Jhon and Raphael Maitimo were present in the VIP stands.

The game had only been running for two minutes, Persebaya immediately grabbed his strength and got two sweet chances through David Da Silva, unfortunately neither of them had been scored.

Exactly it came three minutes later, Supardi Natsir, who in this match was plotted to be the right winger, managed to shake the Persebaya goalkeeper who was escorted by Miswar Syahputra. This goal came thanks to the hard work of Ezechiel who played wide in which his wide movement was able to attract Fandri Imbiri's attention to get out of his post.

Before the occurrence of Persib's first goal, and until the 22nd minute, Ghozali Siregar was only occasionally on the left flank, in the post he was supposed to occupy. But Ghozali was rather in the middle, luring Aburizal Maulana to go up, and that could be used by Ezechiel who moved on the left flank.

This process resulted in a goal for Persib through Ezechiel's crossing feed, which Supardi could maximize through his header. Yes, Supardi decided that those who could score goals for Persib this season were only imported players. Supardi listed himself as the first local player in Persib who was able to score goals.

Persebaya responded to Supardi's quick goal through various sides, but it seems Persib changed the formation from 4-2-3-1 to 4-4-2 flat. Inkyun and Dedi Kusnandar played well in the middle, so Rendi Irwan and Misbhakus Solikin inevitably tried to find an empty gap in the thirdPersib final. M. Hidayat could not linger with the ball, because it was disturbed by Ezechiel who was full of determination. Persebaya was forced to play wide with the Persib formation this time.

The build up of attacks from behind Persebaya this time only relies on Imbiri Fandri. Seen several times he forced himself up to the front, because Persebaya's midfield did not run optimally in flowing the ball. Fandri had to share the concentration between dividing the ball or holding it, because the opponent he faced was Ezechiel, the top score of the season 1 half of the league. While his duet partner, Izaac Wanggai seemed not very familiar with the Alfredo Vera scheme.

In the 21st minute, Supardi even scored again from the counter-attack scheme to utilize the concentration of Persebaya players who were careless. Ghozali's speed was able to defeat Aburizal and Fandri who were standing high enough to.

Tonight's supardi transformed into a space interpreter. Ghozali's ball was executed by Ezechiel, but unfortunately the ball hit the post. But Supardi really got his luck tonight, the ball was in front of him and he just pushed the ball into the goal. Persebaya fell behind by two goals.

Until the 25th minute, Persebaya is still unable to penetrate Persib's defense. The distance between Persebaya players is too far from each other, so it is quite difficult to attack and penetrate the Persib defense that plays with a very good collectivity. Inkyun and Dedi Kusnandar were truly disastrous for the three Persebaya midfielders in shutting down the attack. This can be seen from the movement of these two players who almost never passed half the field.

David Da Silva is like playing alone because of the difficulty of getting support from the second line. Because Rendi and Misbhakus were forced to feed the flank. Both Fandi Eko and Ricky Kayame who had tried to exchange positions continued to experience difficulties in exploiting the wing of Persib. In the last 15 minutes the first half of the match was slightly down. But Persebaya still tried to steal his first goal tonight. Persib's first half was two goals ahead.


Appropriate Player Substitution But Too Late

Persebaya who was left behind by two goals had not replaced the player at the start of the second half. It was only after Ghozali Siregar scored the third goal for Persib with his individual action past three Persebaya players, Alfredo Vera responded by including Robertino Pugliara to replace Rendi Irwan. This change had made the audience wonder, the article Rendi Irwan played was not so bad. One minute after Robertino entered, he immediately paid the trust of the coach by providing assists to Kayame.

After the birth of Persebaya's first goal, Inkyun became difficult to provide support to the front line because Persebaya played increasingly aggressive. Plus Green Force included two players in five minutes, namely Pahabol and Rachmat Irianto.

Persebaya was once again able to reduce the lag, this time through a header from Fandi Eko after utilizing Robertino Pugliara's bait. Persib under pressure immediately responded by replacing Agung Mulyadi with Hariono, but with the entry of Hariono, Persib then did not play with three midfielders, but Inkyun stood parallel to Ezechiel. Persib continues to play with a 4-4-2 flat formation.

Persebaya continues to storm Persib's defense from various sides, the entry of Pahabol as a destroyer of concentration almost makes Persib overwhelmed. But Persib remains in full concentration to keep every side so that it cannot be penetrated by Persebaya players who are increasingly confident.

Amid Persebaya supporters who continue to sing, hoping Persebaya can add more goals, and Persib supporters hope anxiously if Persebaya is able to turn things around. Ghozali Siregar again and again dashed the hopes of Green Force. In the 80th minute Ghozali through a shot from outside the penalty box was able to turn the scoreboard into 4-2.

Persebaya who was not discouraged continued to attack Persib's defense, the results were not in vain, David Da Silva was able to attenuate to 3-4 after receiving a corner kick assist from Fandi Eko, although in the end he was unable to equalize. Persebaya must admit Persib's sensitivity which this season is far better than the previous season. This record is also helped by the number of goals conceded. Until the 17th week or half of the season, Persib was accompanied by Perseru Serui to be the least conceded team, which was only 16 times conceded. Congratulations to Persib, being the champion of the season.

Alfredo Vera Out?

Many parties voiced that the Argentine coach was out of the team nicknamed Bajol Ijo. Alvredo is considered to be less serious, often changing formations or changing player composition. But is this a solution? But is that the answer?

Several other teams have also ousted the coach who is considered a failure by management. But the reason for dismissal can vary. Is it true that the Persebaya problem currently ranked 13 is pure Alvredo's mistake?

Maybe only Persebaya had the style of attack through the build-up of the best back line this season in League 1. Average ball possession also touched 60%. Unfortunately this team does not have a coating player that is worth the core player.

Alfredo's rotation is often done simply because there are many players who have been repeatedly injured, called the National Team, or accumulated cards. However, the team must always be 100% fit every game. The entry of Raphael Maitimo and OK Jhon who incidentally is the main player of his previous team, namely Madura United is expected to be able to patch up deficiencies when players who are alternately absent.

But yes, it seems Persebaya still has to find new players again, with quality comparable to the core players. Not a second-tier player on the pretext of trial and error. Changing the coach in the middle of the trip needs to be considered very carefully, especially how management can assess whether the problem is in the coach or comes from other factors.