Saturday, April 19, 2014
It Was Over Before It Begun
The title comes from a line in a Kevin Bloody Wilson song...
Was at the Persida v Pusamania Borneo game this afternoon in Divisi Utama at Delta Stadium in Sidoarjo and a surreal experience it was to.
Firstly, as I was trying to get a taxi from the hotel, it seemed no one had a scooby who Persida were! They knew about Deltras of course but they hadn't heard of their newly promoted city rivals.
Got to the stadium and were able to park up right outside the ticket office! There was just no bugger around...getting inside and it was all but empty. Perhaps 50-100?
While Persida have very little history, Pusamania Borneo have even less. Last season, they were playing in Divisi Utama and known as Perseba Super Bangkalan and then just a month before the new season, Persisam fans decided they wanted to buy a club of their very own and hey presto! The whole kitten and caboodle upped sticks to East Kalimantan
So the buzz before the game, how shall we say it, pretty bloody small.
The game kicked off, as games tend to, and the atmosphere was...shall we just say I have heard more noise at Serengoon Stadium for an NFL game and that wasn't just the pop of a ring pull!
About 15 minutes in and suddenly a couple of dozen fans appeared on the terrace behind the goal...I guess the officials must have opened the gates and let them in free! But once they were in...decision time. Where to hang their banner! I guess they weren't used to home games.
They hung it behind the goal but nope, that wasn't good enough so they moved to along the side terrace and, nope, that wasn't good enough either so they moved back behind the goal and started all over again.
It was all a bit like when you get on an empty railway carriage...you just don't know where to sit.
The match? Oh yeah. Persida were a bit physical, targeting Pusamania's captain Danilo Fernando and the lad out on the right, and they did take the lead, good work from their striker who may well have been wearing number nine.
Back on the terraces, once the nagging problem of where to hang the banner was sorted, the fans sat down. They hardly raised a cheer when they took the lead.
At some time in the first half, another group of supporters arrived and set up their banner behind the same goal as the Persida lot. The second bunch were fans of city rivals Deltras. And they sat down.
Honestly, watching the inactivity on the terraces was more fun than the game.
Second half, something kicked off on the terrace. From a distance, it looked like some of the Persida fans had moved to the Deltras support and had a pop. There was some dancing going on between a small number, perhaps five or six tops. As a few more got involved, the rest just had it away on their flip flops, Deltras to the right, Persida to the left. Most, apparently, weren't interested.
It was all over in seconds and I don't think most of the people in the stadium were aware anything had happened. The Persida lot returned to their half of the terrace and made for the tunnel. A couple of bigger lads followed them and they melted. All except one lad who approached the dividing fence and asked for his drum back! Which was duly returned.
Once the incident, which had lasted a few seconds tops, had died down, both sets of fans picked up their banners and flags and left for the (same) exit. Judging by a flurry of excitement at the back of the terrace opposite the main stand, I am guessing there was some afters outside the ground but that too soon died downed.
So, what did happen? Was it Persida having a go at Deltras? After all, it was the later bunch who were making what little noise there was in the stadium and we know how territorial football fans can be.
If there is a nascent rivalry between the Sidoarjo teams, that could well cause problems later in the season as they are both in the same group and both share the same stadium.
Tha game? Oh yeah, Persida won 2-0.
Was at the Persida v Pusamania Borneo game this afternoon in Divisi Utama at Delta Stadium in Sidoarjo and a surreal experience it was to.
Firstly, as I was trying to get a taxi from the hotel, it seemed no one had a scooby who Persida were! They knew about Deltras of course but they hadn't heard of their newly promoted city rivals.
Got to the stadium and were able to park up right outside the ticket office! There was just no bugger around...getting inside and it was all but empty. Perhaps 50-100?
While Persida have very little history, Pusamania Borneo have even less. Last season, they were playing in Divisi Utama and known as Perseba Super Bangkalan and then just a month before the new season, Persisam fans decided they wanted to buy a club of their very own and hey presto! The whole kitten and caboodle upped sticks to East Kalimantan
So the buzz before the game, how shall we say it, pretty bloody small.
The game kicked off, as games tend to, and the atmosphere was...shall we just say I have heard more noise at Serengoon Stadium for an NFL game and that wasn't just the pop of a ring pull!
About 15 minutes in and suddenly a couple of dozen fans appeared on the terrace behind the goal...I guess the officials must have opened the gates and let them in free! But once they were in...decision time. Where to hang their banner! I guess they weren't used to home games.
They hung it behind the goal but nope, that wasn't good enough so they moved to along the side terrace and, nope, that wasn't good enough either so they moved back behind the goal and started all over again.
It was all a bit like when you get on an empty railway carriage...you just don't know where to sit.
The match? Oh yeah. Persida were a bit physical, targeting Pusamania's captain Danilo Fernando and the lad out on the right, and they did take the lead, good work from their striker who may well have been wearing number nine.
Back on the terraces, once the nagging problem of where to hang the banner was sorted, the fans sat down. They hardly raised a cheer when they took the lead.
At some time in the first half, another group of supporters arrived and set up their banner behind the same goal as the Persida lot. The second bunch were fans of city rivals Deltras. And they sat down.
Honestly, watching the inactivity on the terraces was more fun than the game.
Second half, something kicked off on the terrace. From a distance, it looked like some of the Persida fans had moved to the Deltras support and had a pop. There was some dancing going on between a small number, perhaps five or six tops. As a few more got involved, the rest just had it away on their flip flops, Deltras to the right, Persida to the left. Most, apparently, weren't interested.
It was all over in seconds and I don't think most of the people in the stadium were aware anything had happened. The Persida lot returned to their half of the terrace and made for the tunnel. A couple of bigger lads followed them and they melted. All except one lad who approached the dividing fence and asked for his drum back! Which was duly returned.
Once the incident, which had lasted a few seconds tops, had died down, both sets of fans picked up their banners and flags and left for the (same) exit. Judging by a flurry of excitement at the back of the terrace opposite the main stand, I am guessing there was some afters outside the ground but that too soon died downed.
So, what did happen? Was it Persida having a go at Deltras? After all, it was the later bunch who were making what little noise there was in the stadium and we know how territorial football fans can be.
If there is a nascent rivalry between the Sidoarjo teams, that could well cause problems later in the season as they are both in the same group and both share the same stadium.
Tha game? Oh yeah, Persida won 2-0.
# posted by Me @ 9:28 PM 
