KOZHIKODE: An 86th minute goal by Mahindra United defender Lamine Tamba helped the Jeepmen to snatch a point against Viva Kerala during a 1-1 draw in a round 17 tie of ONGC I-League played at the EMS Stadium, Calicut here on Monday.
After a goalless first half, Karma T put the home side in front scoring in the 61st minute, while Lamine Tamba saved the day for the David Booth-coached side scoring in the dying minutes as Mahindra remained second in the standings with 30 points.
Mahindra United received the first shock of the match in the seventh minute when Viva’s wing back Noushad forced an excellent save off the Mahindra custodian Subhashish Roy Chowdhury. In the 19th minute, Patrick Sisupalan’s tap-in hit the post.
Rafi’s free header missed the target in the 20th minute which was the first chance for Mahindra in the first half.
In the 38th minute, Sushanth Mathew had a chance to score into a free post but Viva defenders were able to clear it off the line. Rafi went clear of the Viva defence in the closing minutes of the first half, but Sharath advanced from his goal to clear the ball from the striker’s feet.
Viva Kerala’s Rahul who scored the goal against Churchill Brothers in the last match got injured in the start of second half and was rushed to the hospital in the ambulance. Denzil Franco was given his first yellow for the foul and Rahul was replaced by Anish for the rest of the match.
Sixteen minutes into the second half, Sakeer and Karma played a one-two which allowed Karma to pull off a shot with just the goalkeeper in front. The ball hit the back of the net and the spectators erupted in joy.
Mahindra United coach David Booth brought on all his three substitutes into the match in the 68th minute. Ravanan, Svetozar Mijin and Thoi Singh replacing Debabrata Roy, Ajayan and Steven Dias respectively. The substitutions brought much-needed flair into the Mahindra attacks and it almost produced a result when Rafi was found by Paresh Shivalkar in the penalty area. Viva keeper Sharath K came to the rescue by taking the ball away from Indian international striker.
The 86th minute saw five Mahindra players sending a free-kick from just outside the box. Rafi was the first to hit the target with his head, but Sharath K punched the ball out. Paresh Shivalkar headed the ball back into the box and it was Lamine Tamba who finally headed the ball into the goal for the equaliser.
This was the second consecutive draw for Viva and the fourth unbeaten match. Mahindra could have regained their top spot from Dempo SC, but will now sit at the second position, two points behind the leaders. Viva centre back, Charles Dzisah bagged the man of the match award for his solid performance.
