Tuesday, October 17, 2017
PSM The Winners In Round Of Surprises
That two horse title race I wrote about last week has been thrown wide open after a weekend of late goals and surprise results that has seen Robert Alberts' PSM force themselves back in the mix after coming from behind at home to Persib.
A handful of Maung Bandung faithful had travelled to Makassar more in hope than expectation after a run of five straight draws and they would have been delighted as early as the third minute when the promising Febri Haryadi gave them the lead. The joy was shortlived however as full back Zulkifli Syukur had PSM back on level terms just four minutes later.
PSM had won their last five home games but poor results on the road had seen them slip behind the more consistent Bhayangkara and Bali United in the title race and they were desperate for three points to keep their hopes alive. Their prayers were answered in the last minute when the Uzbekistan striker Pavel Puryshkin, on as a second half substitute for Zulham Zamrun, scored the winning goal, his fourth since joining the club in the mid season transfer window, and secure the points for the home side.
The last minute goal gods weren't smiling on Bali United. The free scoring side faced a resurgent Persiba in their new Batakan Stadium and despite leading 2-1 with three minutes to play thanks to efforts from Irfan Bachdim and Stefano Lilipaly saw defender Yudi Khoirudin and substitute Bijahil Chalwa put a break on their title ambitions.
It was the second successive away game Bali United had seen a 2-1 lead evaporate before their very eyes and coach Widodo Putra will be demanding his array of attacking talent knuckle down and protect this narrow lead if they are to remain in the mix come the end of the season.
Bhayangkara travelled to Banjarmasin on the back of an 11 game unbeaten run and unlike title rivals PSM and Bali United they were doing well on the road. Sadly Jacksen F Thiago's Barito Putera side have become a bit of a jinx for the police side having won 1-0 in Bekasi back in July and they repeated the hex with another 1-0 win thanks to a goal from Dandi Abdulkak with nine minutes remaining.
This time the last minute goal gods, nor the match officials apparently, were sympathetic to Simon McMenemy's team and they ended the game pointless and nervously looking over their shoulder at a resurgent PSM who they welcome to Bekasi on Thursday in a game that has taken on even greater significance. A win for PSM would see them climb to within a point for Bhayangkara and they know Bali United will face a daunting trip to South Sulawesi early in November as they bid to turn around their poor away form.
# posted by Me @ 10:05 AM 
