Despite putting up a brave show, Chirag United Kerala FC were knocked out of the Federation Cup 2011 in the group stages at Kolkata after going down to Prayag United SC and Sporting Club de Goa in their first two group matches.
Chirag Kerala suffered setback even before the start of the tournament as Charles Dzisah and Shahbaz Saleel were unavailable the trip. Nigerian defender Charles faced certain technical difficulties while Saleel who was named in the 20 member Chirag squad was hit by virus and withdrew from the tournament in the last moment.
Group Match 1: Prayag United SC 1-0 Chirag United Kerala FC
In what could be called a derby, Chirag Kerala faced Prayag in a very hostile environment at the Salt Lake Stadium with the local crowd cheering for Prayag. Prayag went ahead in the 17th minute through Josimar da Silva Martins who tapped in a free kick from Kayne Vincent. The Prayag team dominated the possession in the game, but Chirag created chances to equalize which they couldn't utilize.
Group Match 2: Sporting Club de Goa 1-0 Chirag United Kerala FC
Chirag needed a win in their second match to keep their hopes alive in the 33rd Federation Cup. while a win for Sporting would see them progress to the next stage after winning their first match against Air India.
After a solid display through out the match, the Chirag defence let in a late goal, scored by Ogba Kalu Nanna in the 86th minute and helped the Goans to top the Group D.
Chirag will now play their final match in the tournament against Air India on Friday.
From the archive. First published on footballkerala.com on Wednesday 21 September 2011, restored from the site's 2012 database. Text as originally published.