•    HOME   
•    NEWS   
•    BUSINESS   
•    INTERNATIONAL   
•    TECH   
•    SPORTS   
•    LIFE & TIMES   
•    OPINION   
•    MY JAKARTA   
•    BLOGS   

There were to be two Indonesian Super League games in Jakarta on Sunday, but it turns out only one will go on.

League administrator PT Liga Indonesia scheduled two games in the capital on Sunday — Persija Jakarta versus Persisam Samarinda at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium and Persitara North Jakarta versus Persiwa Wamena at Soemantri Brodjonegoro Stadium — forgetting that the Jakarta Police have never allowed two games on one day.

On Friday, PTLI secretary Tigorshalom Boboy confirmed that the police were reluctant to issue two match permits and that one of the matches had to be postponed until Monday.

PTLI decided to move Persitara’s match back a day.

“We decided not to move Persija’s game due to live TV coverage,” Tigorshalom said. “We’ve informed all the teams and they accepted the decision.”

He said that because of the postponement, Persitara’s home game against Persipura Jayapura, scheduled for Wednesday, would be played on Thursday.

Persija was glad it could still play on Sunday and vowed to keep up its momentum with a win against Persisam. A 3-0 victory over city rival Persitara on Wednesday ended Persija’s five-match winless run.

"We have high hopes that we can continue winning as we saw a positive trend in the last three matches," Persija technical director Benny Dollo said. “But we also have to beware as Persisam has many good players, and has also played better recently.”

The East Kalimantan club is coming off two consecutive wins, a 1-0 victory over Sriwijaya FC on Saturday and a 2-0 defeat of Persib Bandung on Tuesday.

Sunday’s highlight will be the match between the top two teams in the ISL, as leader Arema Malang hosts Persiba Balikpapan at Kanjuruhan Stadium.

Persiba could trim the gap to only three points if the East Kalimantan club can manage to beat the Crazy Lions.

Also on Sunday, Pelita Jaya hosts Persipura, Bontang FC goes to PSPS Pekanbaru and Persijap Jepara plays against Persela Lamongan.

On Saturday, Persib hopes to rebound from a 2-1 loss at Persisam Samarinda on Tuesday, as it hosts Persebaya Surabaya.

Coach Jaya Hartono said victory over Persebaya was a must if Persib hoped to maintain its title chances.

“I’m not preparing any special strategy against Persebaya. We’ll just try to attack because we really need a win,” Jaya said.

Also on Saturday, Sriwijaya, which has not won in three games, hosts Persik Kediri, while PSM Makassar visits Persema Malang.