Persijap vs Persib: Maung Bandung's Mission to Avenge Last Season's Super League Defeat

Persib Bandung travel to Jepara with one unfinished mission. Following their historic away win against FC Seoul, Maung Bandung will face Persijap Jepara, the only Super League team that they have never managed to defeat.

Persib will take on the home side at Gelora Bumi Kartini Stadium, Jepara, on Sunday 20 September 2026 as part of the 2026/27 Super League matchday schedule.

This fixture presents the Blue Prince squad an opportunity to erase their poor head-to-head record against Persijap.

Last season, Persib met Persijap on two occasions without securing a single victory. In their first meeting at Gelora Bumi Kartini on 18 August 2025, Persib suffered a 1-2 defeat.

Persijap opened the scoring through Carlos França in the 68th minute. Persib briefly levelled the score via a goal from Uilliam Barros at 90+1 minutes, before S Abdallah sealed the home win with a penalty at 90+3 minutes.

A chance for revenge arrived in the return leg. Playing at Gelora Bandung Lautan Api Stadium on 23 May 2026, Persib - still managed by Bojan Hodak at the time - once again failed to overcome Persijap, with the match ending in a 0-0 draw.

This result did not stop Persib from lifting the Super League trophy at the end of last season. However, for Beckham Putra Nugraha, the failure to beat Persijap has become extra fuel ahead of this upcoming encounter.

"Last year we lost away to Persijap and couldn't beat them at our own stadium either. This is key motivation for us, and I hope the win over FC Seoul will give us even more drive when we face Persijap," he stated on Persib's official website.

There is another reason Persib cannot afford complacency. While Persijap began the 2026/27 Super League campaign with two consecutive defeats, Beckham does not consider this an advantage for his team.

On the contrary, the Persib midfielder warned that matches against the Blue Prince always hold special significance for opponents. Persijap's poor early season form, he noted, cannot be used as a reliable benchmark.

"That is not something we can use as reference. They will absolutely perform differently when playing against us. They had a strong record against us last season, so they will definitely give double the effort. Every opposition always brings extra intensity when they face Persib, no matter who they are," he stressed.

For this reason, Beckham has asked Persib not to get distracted analysing Persijap's current situation. The Blue Prince's main focus is ensuring their own preparations run smoothly, and that their game plan can be executed properly on the pitch.

"So we are prioritising our own team's approach to facing Persijap. There is no need to fixate on the other side," he concluded.

Persib's challenge this time extends beyond just their head-to-head record. A congested fixture schedule is also testing the players' physical conditioning, after a sequence of matches and long travel over the past seven days.

Prior to this trip, Persib faced Persija Jakarta in the capital, before flying to South Korea for their 2026/27 ACL Two fixture against FC Seoul.

That journey was rewarded with a 1-0 victory over FC Seoul at Seoul World Cup Stadium on Wednesday 16 September 2026.

This result delivered a major confidence boost and marked a historic milestone, as Persib became the first ever Indonesian club to secure an away win at FC Seoul's home ground.

Beckham acknowledged that travelling directly from South Korea to Central Java is far from ideal preparation. Even so, he hopes all players can recover fully before returning to competitive action.

"Alhamdulillah, conditions are fine from what I observe, the players handled the travel well. We just came up against very tough opponents too, Persija and Seoul. Especially after the Seoul match, it was a very long journey straight to Semarang, this certainly hasn't been easy. I hope all players can regain full fitness quickly after almost an entire day of travelling yesterday, and that we can deliver our maximum performance against Persijap," he added.