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1.5 @ PSM(Indonesian Cup First Round First Leg) With another league match in four days, we'll put only a token effort at this one. If we manage to not get slaughtered, we'll push harder in the return leg.
GK: Setia
D: Faizal*, Prasetyo, Abidin*, Urwan -- Abidin and Faizal are the best of the youth defenders, this will be their first competitive match with the first team. Faizal is actually probably better than Kasipmabin at this point according to my staff.
M: Ningmabin, Azmi*, Saputra -- I plan to give a half each to Saputra and Herlan, which should let them recover.
A: Bayhaqi, Priyono*, Oropka
Yeah it's basically one big sacrificial lamb, and we'll play defensively with this group for obvious reasons, but I'm trying to keep my eyes on the ball here and all that. They are 2-5 favorites even if we were going all out here. It's probably going to be ugly.
Rainy conditions gave me hope that they'd be slowed down by the elements. Astoundingly, it was Priyono who had the first shot, a blast from the edge of the area that was right at the keeper. Not bad, kid.
[b]9'[b/] -- Bayhaqi to Herlan, good look and its off the bar and over. You know, I would just laugh if we won this ...
14' -- Good clearance by Priyono breaks up a corner. He's actually playing like he belongs out there, the arrogant whelp!
27' -- First decent shot for them from the edge of the area, Setia saves it easily. I'm thrilled with the way this is going so far.
30' -- Sharp cross by their captain Iskandar, mishandled by Setia for a corner and it caught him enough by surprise that he almost fumbled it into the goal. It goes to Mandowen at the far post, easy header for the score.
Well, what did we expect. Took half an hour at least, 0-1.
45' -- A good look on a counter for Priyono, long shot headed for the left corner ... off the post! He's looked really good today and nearly tied it up right there.
HT-- We've done pretty well for who is out there. Saputra on for Herlan as intended.
68' -- Nice acrobatic clearance by Praestyo on a corner, it's out to Bayhaqi and we're headed the other way on a promising counter. Priyono hits Saputra, just wide right but he was offside anyway. I get Priyono out, he's played great but is quite tired, Sutanto on. Who knows, maybe lightning can strike here at the end, we've still got a puncher's chance at a draw ...
They really start pushing hard at us, obviously not content with winning by one at home. It's corner kick defense after corner kick defense at the end, and then a ridiculous counter off a intervention by Faizal ...
82' -- Sutanto, Bayhaqi, Oropka, nice execution of the triangle and Oropka's shot is off the bottom of the bar ... and it just bounces there in the goal mouth, leaking out to the right. Oropka gets to it first but it's almost a parallel shot he has to try ... off the near post! He hits the woodwork twice in less than ten seconds, and they clear it away.
88' -- Close freekick by Iskandar is high.
89' -- Bayhaqi gets an angled look from the left, nearly scores it but Perdana makes a nice fingertip save. The corner is out for another corner. Two contested headers in front of goal are popped straight up ... and it's a third corner. This one's cleared as regulation expires and they come back the other way. Bayhaqi makes a nice read, we run it back down but Saputra's return pass leads him too much.
A pair of booming clearances by Praestyo and we have a minute left, give or take. Sutanto runs down the ball, centers for Oropka, decent chance but it's well right.
FT -- We lose 0-1 in a match we played well enough to draw in. Fantastic effort though, I'm so proud of these young guys. We've given ourselves a reasonable shot at advancing if we do well in the home leg.
1.6 -- We'll be facing a new coach in that return, as Roberto Bianchi Pelliser has left the Super League to take the reigns at PSM, a big surprise move. It'll be interesting to see what he does.
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