KOCHI: An eighteen member Viva Kerala side, led by midfielder MP Sakeer reached Goa on Wednesday for the opening tie of the ONGC I-League against Salgaocar Sports Club scheduled for October 3. Coming into the country’s top-tier league without any early season tournament exposure, the young squad with an average age of 23 will have to give their best to finish in the top half of the league.
The team is banking on a strong performance in the away games to make the most of the home matches with the passionate football fans of Kerala expected to create quite an atmosphere at the Corporation Stadium in Kozhikode. With the foreign signings arriving late owing to visa constraints, the team’s preparations were greatly affected. Nigerian Bello Rasaq joined the camp in early September while Ghanaians Reuben Senyo and Charles Dzisah arrived only a couple of weeks ago. Coupled with injuries to a few, the team had to withdraw from the IFA Shield tournament in Kolkata, losing out on valuable match practice.
In a practice match against local side Josco FC played last week, Viva struggled to a 2-1 win after conceding an early goal.
The lax performance, however saw the new striking combination of Ghanaian Reuben Senyo and K P Anish finding their names on the score sheet. Allaying fears that the team has been unsettled by the late arrival of the foreign signings, skipper Sakeer said the side had settled into a “good rhythm” after the Africans joined.
Defender Rasaq, who was a tower of strength in the Viva defence last season, brings along the experience of having played for Salgaocar and Mahindra United alongside Ghanaian Charles Dzisah. In central midfield, Player of Indian Origin Patrick Raman Sisupalan teams up with Sakeer. With C S Sabeeth — who played a crucial role in the final phase of the second division league last season — being out for the first three games with a twisted knee, the team has just three strikers — Senyo, Anish and Shibin Lal. The campaign kicks off at the Nehru Stadium, Vasco da Gama.