In the first of two play-off matches for 5th-8th place in the VIVA World Cup, Tamil Eelam suffered a heavy defeat by a rampant Occitanian side. In a lively encounter, Occitania managed to keep possession and condemn the Leopards to their worst defeat so far in the tournament.

Tamil Eelam, donning the black and white away jersey, was once again supported by several fans in the stadium, proudly carrying their flags.

The game was dominated by Occitania from the start, although the Leopards did have a few runs on goal. Tamil Eelam was only down 1:0 by the half time whistle, thanks to another great performance by the defence.

The start of the second half saw 3 goals in quick succession and saw the collapse of the team. The players were exhausted from playing three days in a row and the strain was showing on their faces and their movement.

Lakshman received his second yellow card of the tournament and will be suspended for the next match.

Although Biraveen and Jana put in a tireless performance in midfield at first, the Occitanians outplayed the Leopards and scored another three goals.

After Rathees came in for the excellent Biraveen, he managed to create two good

chances for Tamil Eelam, with the last chance being taken by Rosh, who came very close to scoring the first goal for the team, but it was just blocked by the Occitanian defence.

Tamil Eelam’s players, devastated by the 7:0 defeat, were comforted by fans in the stadium and messages of consolation and support continued to flow in on Twitter and Facebook.

Team manager Ragesh expressed disappointment at the scale of the defeat, but remained confident that the team will return to form in their last match on Saturday.

“It is a huge shock to us to have lost like this. There were a lot of tired legs and some of the players had started to feel the strain of the intense programme. The Occitanians played very well and it was a deserved victory. The players are of course disappointed, but they remain upbeat and I’m confident we will bounce back from this defeat, with a good performance on Saturday. The support we have received is tremendous and is giving us the boost that we need for the next game.” he said to the Tamil Guardian on Thursday night.

Tamil Eelam’s next game will be played on Saturday against the losers of the other play-off match for 5th-8th place between Raetia and Western Sahara.