PSM Makassar vs Arema FC Match Recap - Oct 19, 2025

Arema FC’s Second-Half Surge Sinks PSM Makassar, Shifting the Liga 1 Table at Stadion Batakan

With the wind whipping off the Java Sea and the home crowd still savoring the opening minutes, PSM Makassar seemed set to break their run of stagnation. Barely five minutes into Sunday evening’s Liga 1 clash at Stadion Batakan, PSM found themselves ahead, thanks to a burst of attacking intent and a finish from their as-yet unsung scorer—a rare moment of decisiveness for a squad desperate to climb out of the bottom half.

But the promise of early domination gave way to the hard-learned lessons that have defined Makassar’s season: flashes of potential undone by a lack of resolve. By full time, visiting Arema FC had crafted a comeback for the ledger, scoring twice within five minutes after halftime to walk away with a 2-1 victory, and with it, a crucial boost to their mid-table ambitions.

For PSM Makassar, the evening unfolded as a microcosm of their season’s frustrations. Entering the match with just one win from their previous six outings, the side had drawn four and suffered a single loss, rarely showing enough edge to convert pressure into points. Their lone victory—a 2-0 dismissal of Persija on September 21—already felt distant, sandwiched between draws of equal parts grit and missed opportunity. Recent matches, like the stalemated 0-0 against PSIM Yogyakarta and the 1-1 battles at Semen Padang and Bhayangkara FC, were evidence of a side content to survive rather than shape games.

When PSM struck first, the sense of relief in the stands was palpable. A quick exchange in midfield and a decisive thrust forward unlocked the defense, offering a rare look at what this side could be. Yet as the match wore on, Makassar’s familiar frailties resurfaced. Defensive lines grew tentative, midfielders lost their spark, and the pressure—so evident in the opening minutes—faded into a passive posture.

Arema FC, meanwhile, arrived in Balikpapan trying to reverse their own pattern of inconsistency. Their eight previous points had been earned the hard way: two narrow wins, three draws, and two losses—the latter both recent, the result of stumbling home performances against Persib Bandung and Dewa United. Yet Arema have rarely lacked for drama, as their five-goal September threatened to tip their fortunes either way. Dalberto’s late heroics and Fikri Arkhan’s vital equalizer at Persis Solo had kept heads above water, but the side still hungered for stability.

The second half was Arema’s to seize. Five minutes after the interval, Brazilian midfielder Valdeci set the tone, finishing a patient attack with poise to level the match at 1-1. The goal was more than just an equalizer; it was a bolt to the heart of PSM’s confidence, a signal that the tide was turning. Arema poured forward, and their momentum was rewarded barely five minutes later, when Fikri Arkhan ghosted in to deliver the match-winner—his third goal in the last four outings—a rising star whose growing influence mirrors Arema’s upward ambitions.

With a 2-1 lead, Arema tightened their shape and asked Makassar to find answers they have scarcely produced this autumn. Frustration mounted in the home ranks, but there was no dramatic sendoff. No late twist. Just the echo of missed chances and the quiet march of visiting midfielders corralling the final minutes.

Both teams finished with a full squad; no red cards, just hard tackles and the kind of physical duels that mark a match fought in the table’s shadow. If history between these clubs offers any lessons, it’s that fortune leans with those willing to seize it. In their past meetings, results have often favored the bold, and Arema’s resilience tonight provided the latest illustration.

The consequence for the standings is immediate and clear. PSM Makassar, now in 15th with just seven points from six matches, slide further into uncertainty, their solitary win of the campaign dwarfed by four draws that beg for answers. The promise shown in spurts—a September victory, the fleeting leads—stands at odds with a record that increasingly reads as survival, not assertion.

Arema FC’s win lifts them to 10th place, their tally swelling to nine points from seven matches. With two wins now separating them from their earlier stumbles, and the form of Arkhan and Valdeci hinting at a side learning to convert promise into progress, the mid-table is suddenly within reach. More importantly, the victory injects belief into a squad whose recent draws and late collapses threatened to define their season.

For Makassar, the worries deepen: Goals have come in fits and starts, too rarely to set the agenda, and the defensive lapses that allowed Arema’s turnaround may prove costly as relegation fears begin to gnaw. Their path forward is fraught—each fixture now carrying the pressure of expectation, the margin for error ever thinner.

Arema, by contrast, will look to ride the momentum—buoyed by Arkhan’s emergence up front and Valdeci’s steadying influence in midfield—seeking to translate tonight’s second-half verve into a sustained climb. With the league’s middle pack still tightly bunched, every win opens new possibilities: a run at the top half, perhaps, or at least the assurance that dark autumns can be weathered with resolve.

As the sun set over Stadion Batakan, the story was Arema’s comeback and Makassar’s questions. In a league where form can swing in a heartbeat, tonight’s result may be a catalyst for both—a warning to those who falter early, and a promise to those who seize the moment.