Chuchill got past Viva Kerala 2-0 at Tilak Maidan in Vasco. Goals came from Both strikers Reisangmi Vashum and Odafa Okolie for Churchill earlier in the match.
Odafa was sent off for a challenge and Churchill were reduced to 10 men. Later in the closing stages Churchill's Naveen Sudhakaran was sent off. But the I-league champs saw through Viva attacks without conceding.
"We played really well today though Churchill took all three points. In the first half they played a rough game and that was the reason why Odafe was sent-off".
He was disappointed by the fact that his side was unable to find the net after dominating the 2nd half. "We put Churchill under immense pressure in the second half and we had our moments with Anish, Karma, Reuben all missing open chances. But this is something positive, which I will take to our next game against Mohun Bagan," said Sreedharan.
Inputs from Indianfootball.com
From the archive. First published on footballkerala.com on Tuesday 6 October 2009, restored from the site's 2012 database. Text as originally published.