Kolkata: Mohun Bagan will look to return to winning ways after two back-to-back draws when they face DSK Shivajians in an I-League football fixture at the Rabindra Sarovar Stadium here on Saturday. Out of a possible six, title aspirants Mohun Bagan collected two points from their two away matches and they would hope to turn it around against the Pune outfit.
Mohun Bagan have been flawless at home, winning all of their four matches so far as all eyes would be on Darry Duffy in the likely absence of their Haitian ace marksman Sony Norde who’s still not fully fit from his knee problem.
Duffy, who has found the back of the net six times till now, said the team has won without Norde and there’s not much of a difference.
“We win as a team. We played against Churchill (Brothers) without Sony. I don’t feel there is extra pressure when Sony does not play,” the Scot said.
Mohun Bagan won at home by a solitary goal against Churchill at the Barasat Stadium in their opening game of the season sans the Haitian.
In the first meeting between the two sides, Shivajians held Mohun Bagan to a goalless stalemate in Pune.
Duffy said the Shivajains were able to hold them in the first leg as they played defensive with five at the back and two holding midfielders.
“It would be difficult for any team to break that,” the former Salgaocar player said.
Coach Sanjoy Sen stressed on the fact that their backline has been the least porous of all the teams and that is a good sign.
Mohun Bagan’s defence drew a lot of flak after their AFC Cup preliminary stage game against Colombo FC at their home on February 7.
“We will try and maintain the all-win home record. Mohun Bagan have also conceded the least number of goals in the league. That holds our defenders in good stead. We will definitely try to score goals and win the match.”
The Dave Rogers-coached Shivajians have had a spate of good results recently with a draw against defending champions Bengaluru FC and win over Shillong Lajong on the road.
They were held by newbies Minerva Punjab FC in their last game.
Shivajians are sixth in the table with ten points from nine outings whereas Mohun Bagan are placed second, having garnered eight points more while playing one match less. (PTI)
