Daniel’s double brace in CFA Senior Division League

Four goals by Nigerian import Eze Daniel highlighted Viva Chennai’s massive 5-1 win over Integral Coach Factory (ICF) 5-1 in a CFA Senior Division League match here at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here on Friday. 

Sohail Khatri scored the fifth goal for Viva after Daniel’s double brace, which took home three points. Despite scoring the first goal of the match, ICF failed miserably in the defence, leaking three and two goals in the first and second halves respectively. 

S Karthick opened the account for ICF in the 15th minute but after that the game was fully tilted in favour of Viva. Daniel equalised in the 22nd minute after he shot from just outside the box straight into goal. 

He once again put his name on the scoresheet in the 31st minute, giving Viva a 2-1 lead in the contest. The Nigerian stole the ball from a defender despite coming from behind and had a shot at goal only to be halted by the goalkeeper S Agastin. But, Daniel pounced on the rebound to slot the ball into the back of the net.

He completed his hat-trick in the 35th minute, where he ran with the ball for almost 15 meters and shot to make it a two-goal advantage for Viva. It was clear dominance from Viva after the goal by Karthick as it went into half-time with a 3-1 lead. 

Viva started the second half on a strong note as well as Daniel struck again in the 62nd minute to take his tally to four goals. 

He received a well-weighted pass and deposited the ball into the bottom left corner. To make things worse, Khatri made it 5-1 after converting a pass from Lalkimduia inside the 18-yard-box. 

Speaking on the Man of the Match Daniel’s performance, Viva coach Ranjith said, “It was a great performance from Daniel (he scored four goals) and credit will have to be given to Digbeu Leoh as well as he supplied Daniel with good passes.”  

“We still have to improve in our central midfield, that is where we are lacking. Apart from that, all the boys are playing well. Our aim is to finish in the third spot by the end of the season,” he added. Ranjith also pointed out that Kivi Zhimomi had been released by the club because of an injury. 

In another match, Chennai FC completed a 2-1 win over Southern Railway. Abishek Kumar and Timmy scored for Chennai FC while Sarath put his name on the board for Southern Railway. 

Results: Viva Chennai 5 (Eze Daniel 22,31,35 & 62, Sohail Khatri 87) beat ICF 1(Karthick 15); Chennai FC 2 (Abishek Kumar 2, Timmy 18) beat Southern Railway 1 (Sarath 34)