Essien and Cole Fail to Impress in Debut as Persib Goes Drawless Against Arema
Jakarta. Persib Bandung tied in its Liga 1 opening match against Malang's Arema FC on Saturday (15/04), with newly acquired superstars Michael Essien and Carlton Cole putting on mediocre performances in their Indonesian debut.
Essien and Cole – both former Chelsea players – failed to take home advantage from Persib's loyal supporters, known as the Bobotoh, at Lautan Api Stadium in Bandung, West Java, in the club's Liga 1 start.
Arema showed resilience in the 38th minute when Cristian Gonzales delivered the ball to the back of Persib's net, though the goal was later disallowed in an offside ruling.
Essien, showing wear, was substituted in the 76th minute while Cole was only brought in by coach Djadjang Nurdjaman in the second half, though he too failed to score by the match's close.
Barito Putera Win
Meanwhile, PS Barito Putera came back from a one goal deficit to beat visiting Mitra Kukar 2-1 at Demang Lehman Stadium in South Kalimantan on Saturday.
Kukar scored an early goal in the 11th minute after the young Septian David Maulana sent a header straight past Barito's goalkeeper Shahar Ginanjar.
However, the South Kalimantan side outpaced Kukar in the match's second half as Thiago Cunha scored an equalizer in the 58th minute, while Dedi Hartono landed another in the 76th to seal Barito's victory.
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