Port FC Wins 2025 President Cup in Final Against Oxford United

TEMPO.CO, Bandung - Thai club Port FC became the champion of the 2025 President Cup after defeating Oxford United 2-1 in the final match held at Si Jalak Harupat Stadium, Bandung Regency, on Sunday night, July 13, 2025.

Port FC's two goals were scored by Teerasak Poeiphimai in the 44th and 47th minutes through Brayan Perea Vargas. Meanwhile, Oxford's goal was scored by Thomas Mark Harris in the eighth minute.

Port FC became the first foreign team to win the President's Cup. Asnawi Mangkualam, who played for the Thai team, became the first Indonesian player to win this preseason tournament with a foreign club.

Match Progress

In the fourth minute, Oxford United had a chance through Mark Thomas Brannagan, but the powerful shot from player number 8 went far above the goal guarded by Port FC's Michael Valkesgaard.

Oxford United continued to pressure Port FC. The squad led by Gary Rowett dominated the match. In contrast, Port FC relied more on counter-attack schemes.

In the eighth minute, Thomas Mark Harris managed to score for Oxford United, but the player with the number 9 jersey was in an offside position, resulting in the goal being disallowed.

The referee in charge of the video assistant referee (VAR) conducted a check. After about a minute, the goal that was previously disallowed was eventually declared valid, and Oxford United temporarily led 1-0 against Port FC.

Port FC slowly began to dare to attack. Being one goal down against Oxford United made the Thai squad force themselves to attack to quickly equalize.

Oxford again had a near-goal opportunity. This time, Przemyslaw Placheta controlled the ball on the right side of Oxford's attack and sent a cross to the middle, which was immediately met by Brian de Keersmaecker for a speculative shot. However, Keersmaecker's shot still did not find its target.

Entering the middle of the first half, Port FC was still trying to escape from the pressure of Oxford United. Every time a Port player controlled the ball, two to three Oxford players closed down the movement of the Port player.

In the 37th minute, Port FC had the opportunity to score against Oxford United. Oxford's defenders seemed to stretch the game, and Port FC managed to steal the ball, but Brayan Perea Vargas's shot was well blocked by Oxford's defenders.

In the 44th minute, Port FC managed to equalize through a fast attack initiated by Teerasak Poeiphimai. Player number 14 slipped the ball from the right side of the attack, which the goalkeeper of Oxford United, Matthew Robert Ingram, failed to parry. The first half ended with a 1-1 draw.

Entering the second half, heavy rain poured on the Si Jalak Harupat Stadium. In the 47th minute, Port FC managed to turn the situation around through Brayan Perea Vargas's shot.

The rainwater covering the field made the ball's movement sluggish. Port FC realized this first and relied on long passes. The strategy worked, and Perea Vargas successfully outwitted Oxford's defenders and slipped the ball into Ingram's goal. The Oxford goalkeeper had to pick the ball out of his net for the second time.

In the 52nd minute, a harsh tackle by Tanaboon Kesarat on one of the Oxford players made Port FC play with 10 players. Referee Firdavs Norsafarov punished Tanaboon with a red card.

The match was stopped as water covered some areas of the Si Jalak Harupat Stadium. Officials were seen sweeping the water covering the field. The match was stopped for 20 minutes. The referee finally blew the whistle to resume the match.

When the match resumed, in the 54th minute, Oxford initiated an attack from the right wing through Stanlet Mills. Player number 17 sent a cross in front of Port FC's goal, and Thomas William Bradshaw struck, but Bradshaw's shot was well cleared by Port FC's defenders.

In the 57th minute, Asnawi Mangkualam groaned in pain after being tackled by Louie Joseph Sibley. As a result of his action, Sibley was shown a yellow card by the referee.

Entering the middle of the second half, Oxford played more long passes as waterlogged areas still hindered the ball's movement. However, this initiative has not yet produced results. The efforts to attack from the right wing through crosses have also not resulted in goals.

In the 88th minute, Port FC nearly extended their lead through a shot by Matheus Antonio De Sousa Santos, after receiving a well-executed pass from Suphanan Bureerat. However, Santos' shot was still able to be parried by the Oxford United goalkeeper.

Port FC managed to maintain their 2-1 lead until the end of the match. With this result, the Thai club, reinforced by Asnawi Mangkualam, became the champion of the 2025 President Cup and earned a prize of Rp5.5 billion. Oxford United, the runner-up, earned a prize of Rp3 billion.

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