Goan giants Churchill Brothers picked up their first three points of the new I-League season by beating newly promoted Viva Kerala 2-0 at Vasco's Tilak Maidan thanks to goals from Odafa Onyeka Okolie and Reisangmi Vashum on Tuesday evening.
The defending champions finished the game with nine men with both Odafa and defender Naveen Sudhakaran getting red cards.
Viva’s return to the top flight got off to a nightmare start as they conceded as early as the fifth minute when young goalkeeper Shahinlal’s fist from a corner fell kindly to the path of Vashum who easily found the net to give Churchill the lead.
The Goan side piled on the pressure but was not taking their chances in the final third.
They finally doubled their lead through Odafa Okolie close to the half an hour mark which resulted after Viva gave the ball away cheaply in midfield.
The team from Kerala were playing with a lot of energy but were not causing too many problems for the I-League champions.
But the big turning point of the game came just before the first half whistle when Odafa Okolie was sent off for retaliation against Viva’s Ghanian striker Reuben Senyo.
With numerical advantage on their side, Viva Kerala produced a much better performance in the second half and had lots of chances to score.
But AM Sreedharan’s team were wasteful in front of goal with Reuben Senyo and substitute KP Anish missing good opportunities.
Churchill looked far less dangerous without Odafa and had to depend on their defence heavily to preserve the clean sheet.
Towards the end of the game the IFA Shield and Durand Cup champions were reduced to nine mean when fullback Sudhakaran Naveen Kumar was given a straight red for a professional foul.
Churchill’s win takes their tally to four points from two games but they will miss their talisman Odafa in the next game against Mumbai FC.
Viva start with a defeat but their second half performance will give them confidence for their next round match against Mohun Bagan in Kolkata.
Goalscorers: Reisangmi Vashum (Churchill Brothers) 5’, Odafa Onyeka Okolie (Churchill Brothers) 29’
Source : Goal.com India
From the archive. First published on footballkerala.com on Tuesday 6 October 2009, restored from the site's 2012 database. Text as originally published.