Hindustan Eagles rallies to earn 1-1 draw in the CFA First Division League match

Kivi Zhimomi scored for Viva while Okardgor equalised for Hindustan in the 71st minute. Viva enjoyed the bulk of the possession in the first half although it failed to make it count on the scoreboard. Despite not playing to its potential, Hindustan managed to prevent its opponents from bagging a goal, maintaining a 0-0 scoreline at the end of 45 minutes. 

Zhimomi opened the account for Viva in the 47th minute, putting the ball into the back of the net off a penalty corner. The spot-kick was awarded as a result of handball by Prabakaran who chested the ball, which unfortunately fell to his hand. 

Prabakaran then blasted a ball from outside the 18-yard-box, but it went wide of the post. Eagles later had a wonderful opportunity to equalise around the 60-minute mark, with Mohammad Miqdad dispossessing a defender and setting it up well for striker Cletus Pual, only for him to hit the ball over the crossbar. 

Foreign import Okardgor finally equalised for Hindustan in the 71st minute, which also came off a penalty corner. The fans witnessed a lot of stoppage in the action courtesy some rash tackling, resulting in minor injuries for both the teams. It resulted in six minutes being added to the clock after the stipulated time of 90 minutes. The match ended in a draw, with both teams taking home one point each. Viva’s Basant Rai was awarded the ‘Man of the Match’.

Reserve Bank of India will square off against Viva Chennai at 4pm on Wednesday. After managing a draw, Viva, which finished runner-up to champion Chennai City FC, will look to open its winning tally. 

The other match which was supposed to be between Chennai United and Integral Coach Factory has been cancelled because of the latter’s participation in a different tournament, hence the solitary match has been shifted to 4pm. 

RESULT: Viva Chennai 1 (Kivi Zhimomi 47) draws with Hindustan Eagles (Okardgor 71)