Viva put out their first choice defence and midfield but Sreedharan experimented by partnering Rueben with Nishad in attack.  This was a fairly successful experiment as Nishad linked the midfield and attack well and provided Rueben with more support than he regularly gets.  However, when Rueben controlled a rare long pass from Patrick and rolled the ball across the face of goal, no one was there to tap the ball into an empty net.  A natural striker would have the positional sense to be in the box in such a situation but first choice striker Sabeeth made the bench for the first time this season.
Viva had an awful first half reminiscent of the first few home games.  Charles left Ekene completely free in the box then Sharat saved his shot before inexplicably throwing the ball into the back of the net.  Salgaocar had a second but Ekene's strike was ruled out for offside.  It wold have been a fair reflection of the game as Viva continually gifted the ball to Salgaocar who rarely concede possession cheaply.
Coach AM Sreedharan must have shared some words of wisdom with his boys at half time as a hugely improved team emerged for the second half.  Viva kept possession well and mixed patient build up with some quick incisive passing.  Rahul and Patrick's hard work and intelligent passing allowed Sakeer and Siraj to receive the ball further forward.  The duo from Malapuram seem to know where each other are without looking and combined well for Sakeer to score the equaliser with a cool finish.  Sakeer, Siraj and Rueben continued to threaten but none of them could hit the target and new Salgaocar coach, Karim Bencharifa will be relieved to get a point from this match.  Viva also had a strong shout for a penalty turned down.

 

 

Brave Karma, was sent to hospital to receive stitches after being kicked in the face by an opponent. 

Let's hope the first half performance is something we never see again from Viva Kerala and the second half performance should give confidence to the players ahead of the visit of league leaders Dempo.

 

Viva: Sharat - Noushad (Marsook), Charles, Bello, Surjith - Karma (Rahul), Patrick, Sakeer, Siraj - Reuben, Nishad (Sajesh).