The Reason Bojan Hodak Replaced Kevin Ray Mendoza Until Persib Bandung Lost 1-4 to Persebaya Surabaya in League 1 2024-2025

Persib Bandung coach , Bojan Hodak, revealed the reason for replacing Kevin Ray Mendoza with young goalkeeper Sheva Sanggasi in the 77th minute when Maung Bandung faced Persebaya Surabaya in the continuation of Liga 1 2024-2025 which was held at the Gelora Bung Tomo Stadium, Saturday, March 1, 2025 evening WIB. Bojan Hodak admitted that the change of goalkeeper was part of the strategy.

Unfortunately, this change was a disaster for Persib Bandung. The withdrawal of Kevin Ray Mendoza caused chaos in communication in the back line so that Persib Bandung conceded three additional goals in the remaining 13 minutes of the match, thus losing 1-4 to the host.

The match between Persebaya Surabaya and Persib Bandung (Photo: Persib Bandung)"I had to take a risk when the first goal happened. The risk I took could have been good, but it could have been bad. I replaced Kevin and brought on a young player, Sheva the goalkeeper," said Bojan Hodak after the match.

1. Kevin Ray Mendoza was replaced to make way for another Persib Bandung foreign player
Kevin Ray Mendoza was deliberately taken out to give space to Curacao striker Gervane Kastaneer who came on at the same time in the 77th minute to crash into Maung Bandung's attacking power. Before Gervanee Kastaneer came in, Persib Bandung had already played six foreign players. In order to be able to include Kastaneer, one foreign player had to be sacrificed to be replaced.

The choice fell on Kevin Mendoza who was pulled out and replaced by Sheva Sanggasi. While Gervane Kastaneer who came in to replace Adam Alis was plotted to sharpen the attack line,

"I took Kevin off and brought in a young player, Sheva the goalkeeper, to play four strikers up front. My goal was to open up a deadlock situation so I could score a goal," said the former coach of the Malaysian U-19 National Team.

"Until 1-0 I thought the match was going quite well. You could say it was 50-50, we could understand the opponent well. They also played well. However, I had to take a risk when the first goal happened," said the bald-headed coach.

2. The Disaster Began After Persib Bandung Replaced 4 Players in the 77th Minute
In this match, Persebaya Surabaya took a 1-0 lead after Persib Bandung player Marc Klok scored an own goal in the 61st minute. After that, Bojan Hodak replaced four players at once in the 77th minute.

Kevin Ray Mendoza, Adam Alis, Edo Febriansah and Henhen Herdiana were withdrawn. Meanwhile, Gervane Kasteneer, Zalnando, Ryan Kurnia and Sheva Sanggasi entered. Unfortunately for Persib Bandung, they conceded three goals after that.

Other goals for Persebaya Surabaya were scored by Rizky Dwi in the 79th minute, Bruno Moreira (82') and Francisco Rivera (90+2'). Meanwhile, Persib Bandung's only goal was scored by Ryan Kurnia in the 89th minute.
Due to this defeat, Persib Bandung began to be squeezed by its competitors. Persib Bandung now sits at the top of the standings with 51 points, five points ahead of Dewa United and seven points ahead of Persebaya Surabaya in third place.