Anish heads first away victory for Viva

43rd Minute header from Anish KP gave Viva Kerala their first away victory in i-league

Image not recovered: Anish KPMumbai FC’s ten match unbeaten run came to an end as a first half header from Anish was enough to give his side their second successive victory as the I-League reaches its half way mark. Viva Kerala had previously held Mahindra United at the Cooperage while beat Air India in their last match.

Mumbai FC started with Pradeep Mohanraj partnering Evans Quo in the central midfield with Noel Wilson not being present in the squad for the day. Viva Kerala, who were missing Reuben Senyo due to suspension, had Anish KP alongside Shibinlal.

It was the home side which started in style as they looked to put Viva Kerala on the back foot right from the kick-off. They even won a couple of corners, which created aflutter in the opposition’s defence.

Evans Quao’s free-kick from 30 yards in the seventh minute kissed the upright on its way out. The following minute saw Surjith’s cornerkick being weakly connected by Shibinlal before Anas cleared.

Thereafter, the game settled down as both teams matched each other in terms of possession but neither could create many chances for their strikers.

Abhishek Yadav had a glorious opportunity to put his side ahead in the 28th minute in a one-on-one situation but the Indian international failed to convert.

Towards the end of the first half, Sakeer’s free-kick from the right found Siraj, who lobbed it for Anish to head it in to leave the assembled Mumbai FC fans disappointed.

Mumbai FC coach Khalid Jamil brought in John Coutinho to replace an ineffective Surojit Roy at the start of the second session.

Image not recovered: Sharath KJust two minutes after the break, Mumbai FC should have restored parity through Basheeru Abbas, who sent in a wide shot from inside the box after Abhishek Yadav used his head to find the Nigerian.

Faizal Rehman has impressed with his displays in the right back slot as he denied Shibinlal a chance to put his name on the scoresheet from a swerving cross from Karma.

Viva goalkeeper Sharath K punched the ball out from a John Coutinho free-kick around the hour mark. The luck factor wasn’t with the home side as Abhishek Yadav header from a Subhas Chakrabarty cross came off the inside of the far post in the 74th minute.

Substitute Kayne Vincent could have saved the home side from going down but sent his shot wide just two minutes from final whistle.

Source: Goal.com

From the archive. First published on footballkerala.com on Wednesday 3 February 2010, restored from the site's 2012 database. Text as originally published.