Arema FC coach Ze Gomes revealed the factors that caused his team to lose with a crushing score of 0-3 when facing Persik Kediri, at the Kanjuruhan Stadium in Malang.
Ze Gomes, in a press conference after the match ended, said the defeat was due to his players' less than perfect finishing when they had opportunities in front of the Persik goal.
"In the first half we tried to develop the game but the finishing was still lacking, (Persik) Kediri was able to score a goal and it became increasingly difficult for us," said Ze Gomes.
Then, in the second half, Ze Gomes admitted that he tried to increase the attacking power by bringing in Lokolingoy to accompany Dalberto in the front line.
The change in strategy initially worked well, but it did not last long. Because, Arema FC had to lose Alfarizi because he got a red card from the referee.
"There were already two strikers up front but we got a red card and it became more difficult," he said.
The minor result in the first home match at Kanjuruhan Stadium was so regretted by all the players and the coaching team. Moreover, the match was also witnessed directly by Aremania and Aremanita.
"We are certainly sad because we played close to the supporters but could not produce good results," he said.
However, the Portuguese coach stated that the defeat against Persik was a material for evaluation in preparation for two matches, namely against PSBS Biak and Semen Pedagang.
"Tomorrow we will prepare to achieve victory against Biak and come back here to win the match against Semen Padang here (Kanjuruhan Stadium)," he said.
Meanwhile, Arema FC player Julian Guevara added that the match against Persik was a difficult match that he and his teammates had to go through.
The two early goals scored by Persik also influenced the performance of all Arema players on the field.