State Bank of Travancore clinched the Kerala State Club Championship Title by beating Viva Kerala 1-0. The goal was scored by Mohammed Shafi in the 33rd minute.

 

The stage was set for an absorbing final of the Kerala State Club Championship in Perinthalmanna. Viva Kerala could take revenge for the loss in the final of the Bhagath Cup against SBT. 

But both teams had to leave out some of their players, mostly due to injury. While Abdul Noushad and Abdul Hakkim of SBT took part in illegal sevens tournaments and hence were suspended by the institutional club, Viva had to replace important players Rahul, Manoharan, Nidhil, Devadasan, Shahinlal, Sabeeth, Firoz and Sajesh. Nevertheless, the boys that were fielded by A.M. Sreedharan were ready to put up a fight.

 

In the early minutes of the match, captain K.V. Lalu tried his best off a 30-yarder, but he missed the goal. Apart from that, Viva had two or three more chances to score, but as in earlier matches, the conversion rate has been miserable.

 

In the 33rd minute, SBT then advanced when Mohammed Shafi scored the all-important goal. The second half was one-sided as Viva increased pressure in order to equalise. But all efforts went in vain as Conte and Saleel failed to capitalise on their chances. An off-colour Shibin was replaced by Sanid in the second half. While Sanid moved into midfield, Mohammad Conte played as a striker - a role in which he is not very effective.

 

Despite all the efforts and a very improved performance in the second half, Viva ultimately had to surrender and SBT thereby retained its title.

 

A.M. Sreedharan: 

"Despite our injuries, these young boys did very well to reach the finals. But they were a bit nervous today and the performance was not as good as in our earlier matches. Nevertheless, it has been a fine game. Our main worry is the striking department. Sabeeth is injured and Devadasan unregistered. If we had an effective striker upfront today, the match could have gone the other way. The boys will enjoy two days rest now and after that we will meet in Udyogamandal to begin our final phase of preparation for the 2nd Division I-League."

 

Viva: Anoop - Shihab, Mansa, Noushad, Sathish - Sakeer (Jain Raj), Lalu, Conte, Siraj - Shibin (Sanid), Saleel (Karma).

 

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