ZOAHARIAN.COM – Persib Bandung had to swallow the bitter pill in the derby match against Persija Jakarta. Maung Bandung lost with a score of 1-2 in the match which took place at the Gelora Bung Karno Main Stadium (GBK), Jakarta.

This defeat meant that Persib failed to bring home any points from its rival's headquarters. Persib coach, Igor Tolic, also admitted that he was disappointed with the performance of his team, especially in the first hour of the match.

The Croatian coach even apologized openly to Bobotoh who had provided support to Persib.

"I apologize to the supporters. The first 60 minutes we played, to be honest, were not good," said Igor.

According to Igor, Persib only showed a game character that was more in line with expectations in the last 30 minutes of the match. A number of player changes made Maung Bandung's game become more aggressive.

Persib began to dare to take risks, increase pressure, be more active in asking for the ball, and open up space to create opportunities.

In that period, Persib actually had the opportunity to equalize. However, several opportunities that were obtained were not able to be converted into goals.

"In the last 30 minutes, when we made several substitutions, we showed how we should play in a match like this," said Igor.

Igor said courage was one of the main factors that made Persib's game improve. The players started to press more aggressively and continued to try to catch up.

"We played bravely, we wanted to score goals, we pressed, kept running, actively asked for the ball, and we took risks," he said.

Unfortunately, these changes were not enough to save Persib from defeat.

When the match started to lead to a draw, Persija was actually able to score a goal at the end of the match. This goal ensured that the Kemayoran Tigers secured a 2-1 victory over Persib.

For Igor, this result was clearly a blow to his team. However, he asked the players not to dwell on disappointment for too long.

Persib must immediately get up because a tough agenda awaits. After playing the derby against Persija, Maung Bandung is scheduled to leave for South Korea to face FC Seoul in the Asian competition.

"We don't have much time to be sad, we also don't have time to feel tired. We have to immediately recover and prepare for Seoul to show our best performance," said Igor.

The defeat against Persija is an important evaluation material for Persib, especially regarding its performance at the start of the match.

Igor hopes that the aggressiveness, courage and intensity shown in the last 30 minutes can become the standard for Persib's play in the following matches.

With a busy schedule, Maung Bandung is now required to immediately forget about the derby results and shift focus to the battle at the Asian level