The Croatian striker put Persija 1-0 up in the 12th minute at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium, slamming Riko Simanjuntak’s cut back from the right under goalkeeper Syazwan Buhari to give the hosts the early initiative.

Rezaldi Hehanusa then doubled his side’s advantage four minutes before half time, cutting inside from the left wing before rifling home with his right foot from 20 yards.

Persija centre-back Jaime was dismissed for a second yellow card in just the 48th minute, but two more Simic strikes in the 74th and 86th minutes sandwiched a 77th-minute consolation for Tampines from Khairul Amri to ensure the 10 men left with all three points.

Next, Persija travel to Vietnam to take on Group H leaders Song Lam Nghe An FC, while Matchday 3 will also see Tampines host Malaysia’s Johor Darul Ta’zim on March 6.

 

The home side fans enjoyed a spectacular victory and had much to celebrate as Persija claimed a comprehensive 4-1 win over the visitors, courtesy of Marko Simic’s hat-trick and a thunderbolt from Rezaldi Hehanusa.

The match on Wednesday ranks third overall in terms of AFC Cup spectatorship history and is just shy of the Kingfisher East Bengal and Kuwait SC semi-final in 2013 which saw 50,000 spectators attend.

The margins were fine as the spoils were shared at the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium, and both teams ultimately paid the price for a lack of quality in key areas.

Cebu lack of cohesion