Dewa United Begins to Win Consistently After Defeating PSBS Biak

JAKARTA, KOMPAS — Dewa United has achieved two consecutive victories for the first time in the BRI Super League 2025-2026. After defeating PSBS Biak 3-1 on Saturday (20/9/2025) at the Banten International Stadium in Serang, Banten, Dewa secured their third win out of six matches this season. Gradually, the "Banten Warriors" are closing in on the top of the standings.

Three goals from the squad coached by Jan Olde Riekerink were scored in the first half. A powerful left-footed shot from foreign midfielder Jaja opened the scoring for Dewa in the 28th minute. Subsequently, new winger Stefano Lilipaly scored his first goal in the Dewa jersey when the game reached the half-hour mark.

Alex Martins, the striker and main source of goals for Dewa, scored the third goal for his team in the 45+4 minute. A consolation goal for PSBS was scored by striker Ruyery Blanco in the 86th minute.

Aside from the trio of goal scorers, one player who deserves appreciation is midfielder Ricky Kambuaya. Serving as the team captain, Ricky also played a key role in composing the two early goals for Dewa through his assists.

In the previous week, Dewa secured a 2-1 victory during their visit to the home of Arema FC, Kanjuruhan Stadium, Malang, East Java. This marked the second consecutive positive result for the Banten Warriors this season.

Over the past five weeks, Dewa has been inconsistent, alternating wins and losses every week.

Riekerink stated that his team was able to meet the target of securing three important points in this match. However, he mentioned that in terms of performance, his team has not yet been able to replicate the best performance displayed when facing Arena.

"We had a moment where we performed our best for one half against Arema. Unfortunately, we could not replicate that despite the three-point result. I cannot blame the players, as anything can happen in a match," said Riekerink after the game.

With this series of positive results, Dewa has begun to enter the top five with a collection of nine points. Only Borneo FC (12 points) and Persija Jakarta (11 points) have more points than them.

Nevertheless, Dewa still has many notes. This is because their goal difference record remains at -1 goal. This means they have conceded more goals than they have scored. Egy Maulana Vikri and his teammates have only scored 10 goals, while their goal, guarded by Dutch passport holder goalkeeper Sonny Stevens, has already been breached 11 times.

The situation demands that the Dewa squad must continue to improve. The next challenge for Dewa is in the seventh week match, on Friday (26/9/2025), against Persebaya Surabaya. A home match against a team of equal quality could become a setback for the Dewa squad.

In the previous two major home games, Banten Warriors had to acknowledge the superiority of Malut United and Persija Jakarta. Both teams returned home with three points from Serang, scoring three goals and winning with the same score of 3-1.

Certainly, if they can consistently achieve positive results in three consecutive games, it will establish Dewa as a championship contender. The tight competition at the beginning of this season provides Dewa with the opportunity to enter the race for the top two positions before the competition break for the Indonesian national team matches from September 29 to October 16.

"We have experienced high-intensity matches against Malut and Persija. The players will continue to work to prepare themselves to refine our playing identity in the upcoming matches," said Riekerink, the former tactician of the Turkish giant, Galatasaray.

From two matches earning three points, Riekerink is beginning to find balance for his team. The attacking play pattern of Dewa is also now balanced with a defense that skillfully anticipates the opponent's counterattacks.

The roles of Jaja and Alexis Messidoro as dual pivots are becoming increasingly fluid to neutralize the opponent's attacks and quickly regain ball possession. The high defensive line implemented by Riekerink can also be effectively executed by the forwards, such as Stefano, Martins, and Taisei Marukawa, who contribute to early defensive efforts by applying pressure.

In addition, Riekerink is increasingly comfortable fielding the 11 main players. The core squad deployed since the kickoff against PSBS is similar to when they defeated Arema.

This was the first time Riekerink maintained the same lineup of 11 main players in two consecutive matches this season. With the positive results achieved, that initial formation has the opportunity to take the field from the start when facing Persebaya.

Meanwhile, PSBS failed to maintain their good performance when they won 2-1 at home against Semen Padang last week. PSBS suffered their fourth negative result of the season.

The team coached by Divaldo Alves has the potential to fall back into the relegation zone in this sixth week. The condition is that Persita Tangerang and PSM Makassar must secure victories in their matches on Sunday (21/9/2025). Persita will visit the home ground of Persijap Jepara, while PSM will host Persija Jakarta at the Gelora BJ Habibie Stadium in Parepare, South Sulawesi.

According to Alves, Dewa is the first major team that his team has faced this season. He acknowledged that Dewa has an advantage over PSBS in several aspects.

"Dewa played a superior game against us. Congratulations to them for the three points," said Alves.

Despite this, he noted a positive aspect from Serang. This was attributed to the response of his protégés, who were able to play better in the second half.

"We made changes in the second half with player substitutions, one of which was bringing in Iqbal Hadi to put pressure on Jaja. We played better and managed to score a goal. This game serves as an important lesson for us," he stated.