Viva Kerala almost upset Goan favourites Salgaocar SC when they were held to a 1-all draw at Maharaja's College Ground.

 

A highly polished performance of all departments made sure that the young Viva team gave on-paper superior Salgaocar SC a run for their money. In the end, the draw was a fair result and reflected the 90 minutes of the match.

 

Prior to the match, coach Sreedharan made some tactical changes to his side. He ordered young midfielder Shahbas Saleel to completely isolate Liberian striker Frank Seator from Salgaocar's game. This man-marking resulted in a five-man defence comprising Noushad, Rasaq and Saleel as stopper-backs and Sajesh and Sathish Kumar as wing-backs. A striker (Shibinlal) had to be sacrificed and his place was taken by P. Rahul in midfield. Nigerian Baba Tunde was fielded as the lone attacker.

 

In the first half, both teams had opportunities to score (Lalu for Viva and Seator for Salgaocar), but these attempts have been thwarted by the respective defensive line. From Viva's point of view, goalie Shahinlal and defender Bello Rasaq had an outstanding game. Especially the hitherto inexperienced Shahinlal Meloly put up his best performance so far and if it was not for him, the match could have turned to Salgaocar's favour.

 

But the midfield excelled equally with Lalu und Sakeer staying compact in the center half and Siraj (left wing) and Rahul (right wing) always being agile on the flanks. It was one such move which resulted into Viva's lead in the 62nd minute:A ball won by attacker Baba found its way to Rahul on the right who in turn relayed an accurate cross to the center. Siraj made full use of the chance when he outjumped defenders Edu and Peter and headed the ball into the net much to the joy of the numerous fans present.

 

However, in the following time, injuries to Siraj and Rahul were the cause for a dip in Viva's game as they had to be substituted. Adding to this, Baba was also suffering from an injury which denied him to attack at full throttle. He was eventually replaced in the injury time.

 

In the 83rd minute, the Goan team was rewarded for its efforts as Alvito Rodrigues scored the equaliser. As earlier said, the draw was a deserved result and Viva Kerala can be happy that they were close to securing the full points. The next task would be the match against Malabar United on 18th, which cannot be taken lightly. A win, however, would almost assure Viva of its place in the final round. We hope that the whole team uses the upcoming days of rest to fully focus on these important 90 minutes.

 

Viva: Shahinlal - Sajesh, Noushad, Rasaq, Saleel, Sathish Kumar - Rahul (Manoharan), Lalu, Sakeer, Siraj (Shihab) - Baba Tunde (Shibin).