The Hindu : Sport / Football : Viva finishes third

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, May 18, 2005

Sport

Sport - Football

Viva finishes third

Principal Correspondent

THRISSUR: Viva Kerala has ensured that its debut in the Royal Challenge State football league would not be forgotten in a hurry. Twenty four hours after giving a scare to holder SBT in the semifinals, the boys from Kochi took the third place beating city-mate Central Excise 2-0 in the play-off at the Sree Kerala Varma College Ground here on Tuesday.

Manoharan was Viva's star, scoring both the goals on either side of the break. He struck first in the 18th minute and then in the the 67th minute to seal a memorable victory.

SBT takes on KSEB in an all-Thiruvananthapuram final on Wednesday. Kerala's - and South India's - only team in the first division of the NFL may have had an off day against Viva on Sunday, but has enough firepower in the form of Asif Saheer, Abdul Hakkim, Mohammed Rafi, Ignatious Sylvester and Abdul Noushad, to rattle any defence.

KSEB though will be looking to exploit the slight weakness in the SBT defence (because of the injuries to Abdul Basheer and Lanel Thomas and the suspension of Sivakumar). With their main striker Anil Kumar showing signs of returning to form, KSEB could give a few anxious moments to its more famous rival.

And SBT will remember what had happened when the two last met; it had lost 0-2 to KSEB in the Thiruvananthapuram District league last year. "We want to win tomorrow too," said Anil.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Sport