Viva, Chirag share spoils

Viva, Chirag share spoils
AGENCIES
KOLKATA, APRIL 1
Chirag United dominated the proceedings but missed chances could not help them as they held Viva Kerala 1-1 in their ONGC I-League round 19th encounter at Salt Lake stadium here on Thursday.
In terms of ball possession and attacks, Chirag stole the show but when it mattered the most, converting their chances, they failed. Returning from a two-match ban, Edmilson missed two sitters in the second half as they had to settle for a 1-1 draw.
The scoreline could easily have been 4-1 had Edmilson and Gouranga Dutta not muffed their three chances but Viva Kerala returned home with their heads high after snatching one point from the match.
The draw meant that Chirag retained their third spot on the table with 30 points, while Viva now find themselves at sixth spot with 24 points.
C Sirajuddeen was adjudged man-of-the-match for his 27th minute strike that helped Viva put some early pressure on the home side. The medio was at his agile best and converted the chance he got.
Chirag took 10 minutes to equalise but the Anjan Nath-coached side must have been disappointed for losing out on three easy points.
With Edmilson-Josimar at helm, Chirag began on an attacking note as Gouranga Dutta created opportunity but Viva held on. There was a fourth minute free-kick by Viva but Sakeer could only manage to shoot at the opponent’s custodian Sandip Nandy. Sakeer ,however, was instrumental in their team’s drawing first blood when Sirajuddeen scored off a pass in the 37th minute.
But their joy lasted only 10 minutes with an Edmilson free-kick resulting in a goal. The Brazilian could not make it a powerful kick but his shot hit the post as an alert Ashim scored from the rebound to make it 1-1.
After the changeover, Chirag dominated from all sides but their attacks did not translate in goals with Edmilson and Gouranga muffing their chances.