We struggled in the first half but came back strongly- Sanjoy Sen

The 56-year-old Bagan boss was happy with the point earned... 

Mohun Bagan drew 0-0 with DSK Shivajians in a hard fought match at the Balewadi Sports Complex in Pune. The game saw an excellent outing from DSK Shivajians thwart title contenders Mohun Bagan's charge, after the Kolkata side had won four out of four games until then. 

Analysing the game, Mohun Bagan head coach Sanjoy Sen said, "The game was a very good one-full of ups and downs and both side created chances. They also missed a few, and so did we. We struggled in the first half but we came back strongly in the second half and could've won it too. Katsumi missed two sitters, then Subhashish's shot struck the post. In the league, we were going to lose points today or tommorow but the important thing was that we tried to win."

Mohun Bagan had faced I-League newcomers Chennai City in their previous game, and had won 2-1 in what was another tough away outing for the Mariners. Sen continued, "Even when we played Chennai City (it was a very tough game). People think that if Shivajians play East Bengal or Mohun Bagan, but it isn't as easy as that. But it's good for Shivajians and us too."

The 56-year-old pushed Yusa Katsumi further forward in the second half to counter DSK's tactics, but Japanese midfielder had failed to make the most of his oppurtunities. "Katsumi is a player that can play just behind the striker too. At that time, we created two chances as well. I have played this system over the past two years." 

The Bagan boss continued, "DSK played 5 defenders and had two strikers, with three in midfield in the first half. In the second half, they went to more of a 5-4-1. Every tactic was followed by us, but we failed to utilise our plans."

The hosts had almost taken the lead within the first thirty seconds of the game, when Kim Song-Yong went inches from putting his side forward. The Mohun Bagan backline seemed a bit shaken after the fast start, something that Sanjoy Sen acknowledged. "Maybe it happened. When you get an electric shock, you need some time to recover from that. But in the break we discussed it a lot, came back strongly and I'm happy with our second half performance."

"It's good. When we struggle and still manage to win,  that is what's important and that why we're on top," he opined.

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Mohun Bagan now travel to Sri Lanka to play Colombo FC on the 31st of January, in an AFC Cup Preliminary Qualifying Round game. Sen mentioned his side were prepared for the tight fixture list, commenting, "Last year too, we played like this and our players are used to this. We have had a meeting about this and we know we want to achieve something from the game."