11 Apr 2007. theage.com.au http://www.theage.com.au/sport/soccer/
Officials face a tough task coping with the heavy rain that forced the
postponement of last night's clash between Sydney FC and Persik Kediri
in Solo City.
12 Apr 2007.
The Jakarta Post
Persik wins rain-delayed match
Blontank Poer, The Jakarta Post, Surakarta, Central Java
Indonesia's Persik of Kediri, East Java, earned its second victory in the AFC Champions League, defeating visitors Sydney FC of Australia 2-1 here in a rain-postponed match Thursday.
The win pushed Persik into second place in Group E, with six points from three matches. Persik beat Shanghai Shenhua 1-0 here on March 21, and lost its initial match in the league 3-0 to Urawa Red of Japan.
Sydney put pressure on Persik in the early minutes of the afternoon game, with midfielder Steve Corica scoring the opening goal in the eighth minute after receiving a cross from David Carney.
Sixteen minutes later, Persik's Erol Iba fed the ball across the field to defender Aris Budi Prasetyo, who headed in past Sydney goalie Clint Bolton.
In the second half, substitute Budi Sudarsono sealed victory for Persik, scoring the decisive goal in the 69th minute.
The match then took a rough turn, with referee Mohammad Abdulleh Holideh of Qatar sending off Sydney's Ruben Zadkovich 20 minutes before the final whistle.
Persik coach Daniel Roekito was satisfied with the result.
"It was a great game. They played very well under the scorching sun and were able to win," he said.
Daniel said his team was not used to playing in the afternoon heat.
"Matches are usually held in the late afternoon or morning, never at noon. But this was the best compromise between Persik, Sydney and the AFC (Asian Football Confederation)," he said.
The AFC delayed the game from Wednesday afternoon because of the waterlogged pitch at Manahan Stadium after hours of heavy rain.
Following Thursday's game, Sydney coach Branko Culina said it was a tough loss for his side.
"My team has been under pressure from playing in various tournaments in the past two months. Besides we were also affected by the heat and the food here," he said.
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