Double Winner, Sriwijaya FC !

Sriwijaya FC beat a 10-man PSMS Medan 3-1 in Bandung on Sunday to become the champion of the Indonesian league, which has been plagued with problems on and off the pitch. The final match was rescheduled and moved to Bandung following the death of a fan during semifinal matches in Jakarta on Wednesday. The match at the 30,000-seated Si Jalak Harupat stadium, about 27 kilometers to the northwest of the city, was held without spectators in order to avoid rioting by supporters. The rest of the matches in the quarterfinal stage also had to be moved from Kediri to Sidoarjo due to rioting by fans.Sriwijaya, which beat Persija Jakarta in the semifinals, moved ahead in the 14th minute with a goal through midfielder Anoure Obiora.James Koko Lomel was close to equalizing for PSMS but he shot the ball straight to keeper Ferry Rotinsulu.

A few minutes before half time, PSMS was forced to play with 10 men after Murphy Kompumple was red-carded by referee Purwanto. The midfielder was judged to have pulled Obiora to the ground. Despite the manpower deficit, PSMS powered ahead in their attack which paid off in the 69th with an equalizer courtesy of Lomel. At full time the score was 1-1 so the game was forced into extra time. Sriwijaya broke the stalemate in the 17th minute of extra time through striker Keith Kayamba Gumbs, who had previously appeared as the team's savior in the game against Persija. Zah Rahan doubled Sriwijaya's lead with his goal at the 25th minute of extra time. The Liberian 22-year-old playmaker was later declared the tournament's best player.

It was Sriwijaya's second laurel this season following its triumph in Copa Dji Sam Soe last month. "The lads were in fact too cautious after PSMS dropped to 10 men," coach Rahmad Darmawan told The Jakarta Post after the match. "But I might be to blame because I warned them to be careful after they collected a lot of yellow cards," he said. Despite the double victory, Rahmad said he had urged his players not to boast. "If I'm still with the team, I want to see to it they are not gloating." His PSMS counterpart Freddy Muli said he wanted to remain positive after the defeat. "This is football," he said.

"They could still hold on almost in 120 minutes although they played with 10 men," Freddy said. PSMS keeper Markus Horison said the absence of spectators had changed their motivation levels. "For us, spectators are like the 12th player," he said. "But I'm glad that I helped PSMS to the first final in 15 years."