Night to remember as Persebaya take spoils against impressive WA State Team

Football West News 1752084467,1752383339

Persebaya Suarabaya — Winning captain Bruno Moreira. Photo by Football West/FotoEnzo

An outstanding evening at the Sam Kerr Football Centre last night as Indonesian side Persebaya Surabaya beat the Western Australia State Team 2-0 in the inaugural International Cup clash.

A close-range finish from Mexican Francisco Rivera and Rizky Dwi's deflected effort from 35 yards in stoppage time gave the visitors the win in front of over 1500 fans, with millions more watching live on TV in Indonesia.

Olympic Kingsway's Laat Mathiang and Cameron Teece of Bayswater City went closest for Ian Ferguson's side, who performed admirably against a strong professional team for whom this was Spanish head coach Eduardo Perez's first game in charge.

WA captain Aryn Williams, a former player with Persebaya and still a massive fan favourite with their Bonek supporters, said: "It was a great night to be involved with and I thought we performed really well, especially considering we have had only a few sessions together.

"Persebaya is a great club and we saw the quality of their team. But I thought we matched them.

"I have a great relationship with their supporters and it was nice to see them again. Hopefully we can do something like this again."

Laat Matiang — Laat Mathiang went close for WA. Photo by Football West/FotoEnzo

The match was part of a Memorandum of Understanding signed by Football West and Persebaya. It also coincided with the 35th anniversary of WA's sister-state relationship with the province of East Java. Premier Roger Cook spoke shortly before kick-off, along with Football West CEO Jamie Harnwell and Persebaya President Azrul Ananda.

Other guests included Secretary of East Java Province Adhy Karyono and Daniel Pastorelli, MLA, who represented Deputy Premier and Sports Minister Rita Saffioti MLA. Australian Consul-General in Surabaya Glen Askew presented the trophy to winning captain Bruno Moreira.

Football West would like to thank all for their support, as well as the Department of Creative Industries, Tourism and Sport.

DETAILS

Western Australia 0
Persebaya Surabaya 2 (Francisco Rivera 61', Rizky Dwi 90+3')

Venue: Sam Kerr Football Centre
Date: Wednesday 9 July 2025

Western Australia: 1. Adrian Sinagra (GK) (12. Peter Pilkadaris (GK) 55'), 4. Aryn Williams (26. Jack Hillaire 55'), 6. Franc Gamiz Quer (3. Jackson Stephens 55'), 8. Sean McManus (23. Jeremy Mba 55'), 10. David Ninkovich (22. Laat Mathiang 55'), 11. Cameron Teece (9. Daryl Nicol 55'), 13. Declan Hughes (15. Josh Samson 55'), 17. Brent Quick, 19. Sam Pollard (21. Jonathon Corness 55'), 20. Sasa Njegic (2. Tyler Garner 55'), 25. Theo Leeming (7. Jayden Gorman 55').
Coach: Ian Ferguson

Persebaya Surabaya: 21. Ernando Ari (GK) (52. Andhika Ramadhani (GK) 46' (39. Muhammed Ilham a-arif (GK) 81')), 2. Arief Catur (26. Dimas Wicaksono 81'), 4. Dime Dimov (23. Kadek Raditya 70'), 5. Risto Mitrevski, 7. Francisco Rivera (9. Rizky Dwi 81'), 10. Bruno Moreira (18. Randy May 81'), 22. Gali Freitas (12. Alfan Suaib 70'), 55. Adida Nugraha, 77. Malik Risaldi, 88. Milos Raickovic, 91. Dejan Tumbas.
Coach: Eduardo Perez