PSIM Yogyakarta Remains at the Top of the Table After Defeating PSM Makassar

JAKARTA, KOMPAS — PSIM Yogyakarta maintained their unbeaten record in away matches of the BRI Super League 2025-2026. They held the home team PSM Makassar to a goalless draw, 0-0, on Saturday (27/9/2025), at the Gelora BJ Habibie Stadium in Parepare, South Sulawesi. The "Laskar Mataram" remain firmly positioned in the upper zone of the temporary standings.

As a promotion team, PSIM has been yielding good results away from home. Persebaya Surabaya, Malut United, Bali United, and PSM have all experienced the difficulty of securing full points when hosting PSIM.

The trend of victories for PSIM in the first three away games of this season indeed came to an end at the home of PSM. However, the additional point from Parepare is quite helpful for PSIM to remain untroubled in the top four positions in the seventh week of the Super League. Specifically, they are in second place.

The acquisition of 12 points by PSIM can only be surpassed by Persija Jakarta if they defeat Borneo FC on Sunday (28/9/2025). Another team, Persib Bandung, has the opportunity to displace PSIM provided they conquer Persita Tangerang on Saturday night.

The achievement of 12 points in the first seven matches of the season has become the best record for PSIM in the highest level of competition in Indonesia. This has been the case since the era of the Indonesian League in 1994-1995.

That historic record is closely tied to the impressive away performance of Ze Valente and his teammates. They accumulated 10 points in four away matches. The other team with the second-best away game points is Malut, with a total of seven points from four matches.

PSIM achieved a five-goal difference that helped them become the highest-scoring team away from home. Unfortunately, their impressive away performance has not been matched by a remarkable home display. At the Sultan Agung Stadium in Bantul, Special Region of Yogyakarta, PSIM has yet to secure a victory. They have only garnered two points from three appearances.

PSIM coach Jan-Paul van Gastel stated that a draw is the most reasonable outcome based on the performances of both teams. Aside from creating opportunities, Van Gastel mentioned that his team was also able to thwart PSM's attacks with saves from goalkeeper Cahya Supriadi.

"I am proud of my players. After competing in Bali, without a day off, we undertook a long journey here (Parepare). My players were still able to perform well and fight. I am proud of this one-point result," said Van Gastel at the press conference following the match.

On the other hand, PSM has not been able to consistently achieve victories. After securing their first win of the season against Persija Jakarta last week, "Juku Eja" returned to a record of draws. PSM has ended four matches in a draw.

The failure to secure three points against PSIM has caused PSM to miss entering the top 10 zone. PSM remains at the bottom of the standings, ranked 14th out of 18 contestants with a total of seven points. The champion of Liga 1 Indonesia 2022-2023 is only two points ahead of the relegation zone.

In terms of gameplay, PSM struggled to counter the dominant play of PSIM. The mere 25 percent ball possession is evidence that the team coached by Bermardo Tavares attempted to contain Laskar Mataram with pragmatic tactics.

Nevertheless, PSM was able to create more shots than PSIM, with a comparison of 13 shots to 12 shots. PSM managed to release five shots on target, while the visiting team produced six shots aimed at the goal.

Although it has not consistently achieved victories week after week, PSM is gradually restoring the effective defensive style that was present during Tavares' coaching over the past four seasons. PSM has managed to keep a clean sheet in two consecutive matches.

Indeed, the match against PSIM was played by Juku Eja without their central defender and team captain, Yuran Fernandes. The player from Cape Verde was handed a four-match suspension. This penalty was imposed by the Disciplinary Committee (Komdis) of PSSI due to Yuran's refusal to shake hands with the referee and assistant referee before the kickoff against Persija.

Previously, Yuran was only able to play against Semen Padang in the third week of the 2025-2026 Super League. He had served a three-month match suspension since May due to harsh comments regarding the performance of the referee.

Tavares respects the decision regarding Yuran. However, he questions the notification from the PSSI Disciplinary Committee, which is always last minute, especially since the email notifying the punishment is received by the club only after they have completed official training before the match.

"We received the letter on the evening of the 26th after yesterday's official training. However, in the email received by the club, the letter was signed on the 25th (September). As a result, we could not field Yuran, who had already been prepared," said Tavares.

He added, "That condition is unfair to us. This is not the first time it has happened to us. If the notification of the penalty had been communicated before the official training, we could have arranged a different team for this match."