Banda Aceh (MidLand) – East Java men’s football team will challenge West Java in the final of the 21st Aceh-North Sumatra National Sports Week (PON) 2024 after beating hosts Aceh 3-2 in the semi-final at Harapan Bangsa Stadium, Banda Aceh on Monday night.
East Java will compete for the gold medal with West Java, who in the previous semifinals had to fight against South Kalimantan and won on penalties 5-4.
In their first appearance at the Harapan Bangsa Stadium, which had to rest due to the opening ceremony of PON XXI, the hosts tried to show an aggressive game and attack the East Java defense.
As a result, not even three minutes into the match, Aceh managed to take the lead with a header from midfielder Refyansyah that East Java goalkeeper Aldino Fanani failed to anticipate.
Unfortunately, Aceh failed to use this advantage as a basis for the match. What happened was that East Java managed to get up to equalize thanks to Achmad Dwi Firmansyah’s low kick after being freed by Hercules et al’s guard in the 31st minute.
The 1-1 draw success sparked enthusiasm among East Java players who continued to attack the home team’s defense.
Only nine minutes after the first goal, East Java managed to take the lead when striker Wigi Pratama broke free and shot the ball into the home side’s goal.
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The score of 2-1 in favor of East Java lasted until half-time and the hosts tried to enter the second half with great intensity.
Unfortunately, the series of attacks they have built could always be interrupted by M. Yoga et al.
East Java effectively doubled their lead when Fakhri Husaini’s men managed to perfectly complete a counterattack in the 73rd minute.
Wigi managed to get past the Aceh defence before outwitting goalkeeper M. Safrijal to make it 3-1 for East Java.
Aceh struggled to recover in the remaining time, but their efforts were only enough to reduce the deficit to 2-3 thanks to Mahyuddin’s 87th-minute goal.
The hosts were racing against time, six minutes of extra time passed, while the score of 3-2 for East Java lasted until the final whistle blew by referee Rio Permana Putra.
While East Java challenges West Java in the final, Aceh will fight to save face in the bronze medal match against South Kalimantan.
The bronze medal match will be played for the first time on Wednesday (18/9) starting at 16.15 WIB at Harapan Bangsa Stadium, followed by the final starting at 20.15 WIB.
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Reporter: Rahmat Fajri
Publisher: Gilang Galiartha
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