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Apart 3126 fans, the game was also attended by Indian National Team Coach Stephen Constantine.

The match turned out to be goalkeepers day as both Laxmikant Kattimani and Debjit Majumder produced scintillating saves at both ends to keep their side in the contest.

The first genuine chance came when Mohun Bagan’s talisman Sony Norde powerful shot was tipped off the bar by Kattimani in the 7th minute of the match.

A minute later, Sony’s shot rattled the bar which could have been a superb goal had it gone in. On the other end, it was Debjit Majumder who stood like a wall in front of Mumbai FC’s attackers.

A long-range attempt by Brazilian Alex Silva was brilliant kept out by Mohun Bagan’s custodian in the 16th minute.

Later in the second half, the Mumbai FC number 10 once again saw his shot saved by Debjit’s superb reflexes.
Midway into the first half, Thoi Singh saw his powerful right-footed shot in the back of the net, but the linesman raised the flag for an offside.

Mumbai’s U22 player Farukh Choudhary had an impressive night as he threatened Mohun Bagan’s defence numerous times in the first-half.

The second half was as similar as the first half. Sony and Katsumi linked up brilliantly and created a number of huge opportunities, but couldn’t break Mumbai’s resilience at the back.

Both the sides had to share spoils as the match ended 0-0. For his brilliant saves, Mumbai FC’s Kattimani was handed the man of the match award.

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GOA: Churchill Brothers FC, Goa who gave a good account of themselves in their defeat against Mohun Bagan in the first game of Hero I-League 2016-17, will look to capitalise on home advantage against Mumbai FC.

The fans of the Red Machines will get to see the former I-League champions in action at the Tilak Maidan in Vasco as they look to kick-start their campaign with a positive result against Santosh Kashyap’s men.

The Goan club are still not at their full strength as they are yet to recruit the players in their foreign quota. But there is good news for the team as Trinidad and Tobago striker Anthony Wolfe has joined the club and is sure to bolster the squad in the attacking department.

Meanwhile, Alfred Fernandes continues to be in charge of the team as the expected arrival of head coach Joseph Afusi is delayed indefinitely. The Goan tactician is confident that the arrival of Wolfe will give the necessary firepower for Churchill Brothers.

“In the match against Mohun Bagan, we were lacking in firepower. Wolfe is available tomorrow and hopefully, tomorrow will be a good day in the office for us. Of course, it is very important for us as it is our home match,” coach Alfred Fernandes said.

The club has also been bolstered by the addition of three Indian players in Fulganco Cardozo, Richard Costa and Quan Gomes but they won’t be available for selection against the Mumbai side.

Meanwhile, Santosh Kashyap will be a happy man as his side are coming on the back of a morale-boosting victory against DSK Shivajians in the Maharashtra derby. Kashyap’s men will be looking to carry on their momentum in their first assignment away from home this season.

“We have shown in our last match that in spite of having all Indian players, against a very strong team, we never defended and we were winning. I believe in attacking football and we’ll continue to play my way,” Kashyap emphasised.

As Churchill are yet to open their account, coach Alfred feels that the first priority would be to avoid defeat.

“My philosophy in coaching is that a point is a must first and three points is always a bonus. So if they don’t give us a chance to score, then we also won’t allow them to score. A point is important first and then we go for the three points,” he said.

And Alfred can take heart from the fact that the players who are already in the squad have put in some lion-hearted performances against Bagan.

Skipper Keenan Almeida led from the front despite suffering a bruise on the head while debutant Kingslee Fernandes walked away with the Hero of the match performance.

“It takes guts for a boy to go out there and prove it. He was brilliant and hopefully he can continue with the same vein of form,” the Goan tactician said about young Kingslee.

The only doubt for Churchill is defender Adil Khan and Alfred is expected to take a call on the defender on match day while the rest of the squad are available for selection.

The match is slated to kick-off at 4:30 PM tomorrow (January 15, 2017) and it’ll be telecast live on Ten 2.

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Their second season, in the top tier of Indian football, has brought drastic changes, as the club seems to strengthen their position. The club appointed Englishman Dave Rodgers as head coach in June last year. Prior to the appointment, Rodgers was in charge of Liverpool International Academy.

The Pune-based club has been busy, this term, in the transfer market; signing 12 new players to bolster the side’s fortunes in the upcoming I-League season.

Let’s have a look at some of DSK’s top signings …Shall we?

Foreign Players

Saša Kolunija – In the central of the defence they have recruited this 6ft 4inches tall Bosnian defender whose last club was FC Akzhayik that plays in the 1st division Kazakhstan League. He has previously played for top division Serbian teams like FK Rad, FK Radni?ki Beograd and Iranian premier division teams like Saipa FC & Hamedan F.C. All in all, Kolunija comes into the team with lots of experience and will add a good value to the team.

Juan Quero – This Spaniard midfielder started his youth career with Real Madrid but couldn’t quite live up to his expectations thereafter. He started his professional career with teams from the 3rd division of the Spanish League system and then moved to the 2nd division teams after then he finally got a big break on 14th September 2008 when he played his first match in the La Liga that too against his youth team Real Madrid. After 2013 he moved to abroad and started playing for teams from Thailand Premier League, Bolivian Leagues and UAE Leagues. Before joining DSK, his last club was Birkirkara SC which plays in the Maltese premier league.

Shane McFaul – This 30-year-old Irish defensive midfielder has played for English Championship teams like Brighton & Hove Albion F.C and Notts County. He was also an integral part of St Patrick’s Athletic F.C, one of the most supported teams in Ireland. He has represented Ireland U19 and U21 teams as well.

Kim Song-Yong – He is the first Zainichi-Korean to have represented North Korea National Football Team. Zainichi word is used to refer to foreign citizens residing in Japan.

He was born and raised in Japan but has North Korean Ancestry, his grandfather like many choose to stay in Japan after the conclusion of World War 2. Good Move!

He has been playing in the I-League since 2013, started with Rangdajied United and his last club was Bengaluru FC. Apart from the Indian teams he has also represented Ratchasima FC of Thailand and Kyoto Sanga FC of 2nd Division J-League.

Indian Players

Sanju Pradhan – This pacy right winger from Sikkim is one of the best buys for DSK. Opponents defence needs to be extra vigilant in order to deal with the former East Bengal captain. Not just for skills, he can also be used to attract some crowd into the stadium. Many Sikkimese resides in or around Pune and it is a sure thing that they will drop in for at least one home game at the Chhatrapati Sports Complex to catch their home boy play. The same goes for ardent East Bengal fans of Pune, they won’t miss this opportunity to see their former captain play. They will shout and cheer for him as long as DSK is not playing against East Bengal. As an East Bengal Supporter myself, I can vouch for the accuracy of this Statement.

Jerry Lalrinzuala – This 18-year-old lad from Mizoram has won every Indian Football fans heart with his awe-inspiring performances and an astounding free kick against Goa FC during the ISL3. With a total of 13 performances for Chennaiyin FC, he bagged the ISL Emerging player of the season award. This should be enough to make you know, what a talent this boy is.

Milan Singh – Scored two out of the world long range goals for Delhi Dynamos and was an indispensable part of the Delhi midfield. He made a total of 15 appearances for them in the ISL 3 and is currently in great form.

Md.Sajid Dhoot – This 19-year-old Centre back is an AIFF Elite Academy product and has already represented India in the U14, U16 and U19 format. The previous year he made two appearances for DSK. Hopefully, this year we will get to see the more of him.

Nirmal Chettri – He started his career as a 16-year-old for Air India and then moved to East Bengal where he gave some best performances of his career. He came up through Sikkim Governments Scheme of “The Search for more Baichung Bhutia’s ”. Then in 2009, he shared the dressing room with Baichung Bhutia himself, as they were both playing for East Bengal back then. How cool is that?The Same goes for Sanju Pradhan also, he too came through that same Sikkim government scheme.

When East Bengal played against the youth team of Bayern Munich, Thomas Muller was quoted “The jersey No.3 was very tough to play against”. The Jersey number 3 was none other than Nirmal himself.

Though he has been suffering from injury problems since the last couple of seasons, it will be interesting to see how he plays his part in this year’s I-League for DSK.

Subrata Pal – Do I really need to say anything about this man? The fact that Korean Media gave him the nickname of  “The Indian Spiderman” is enough to know, what a beast this man can be under the goal post. This will be his second stint with the Pune team.

Lallianzuala Chhangte – This 19-year-old announced himself to the world with two world class goals against Nepal for the India senior team and is full of talent. Though after this game things went a bit downhill for him. But you never know with players like Chhangte, all it will take is one good game and BANG!! he will be back in form.

It will be an exciting season ahead for the Pune team. A season opener against inter-city rivals Mumbai F.C. on Sunday evening has all the ingredients for an intense game on opening day.

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Sunday evening’s 8-1 defeat from DSK meant visitors Mumbai F.C. saw their biggest defeat (home & away) this term. DSK opened their goalscoring account on 13 minutes when forward Laldawngkima was found in space inside the 18-yard-box to provide the finishing touch.

Since letting in the first goal, Mumbai F.C. were on the backfoot, fancying their occasional forays on the counter, as they contained pressure from DSK. The anticipated second goal came six minutes from the half-time whistle. Sameer Kashyap scored first of his two goals in the 39th minute as DSK improved their position going into the half time break.

The tart second-45 proved to be the most eventful period throughout, as four goals were scored in five minutes; DSK scored their third goal, three minutes (48′) into the second-half courtesy of C. Lalremruata. A fourth followed three minutes later when Batskhem Nongsiej scored to further extend DSK’s lead. Sameer Kashyap completed his brace a minute later, as the side hammered in a fifth goal, leaving Mumbai F.C. in disbelief.

The visitors, who had little to think and react, found themselves a goal, as defender N. Nikhil Prabhu scored Mumbai F.C.’s only goal on 53 minutes. As both managers shuffled their players, new players were introduced, in an already exerting match, at the point.

As fresh players settled in, already on the pitch, without a goal was forward Harsh Bartwal, who converted a five-goal gap into a chasm as DSK put six past Mumbai F.C. in the 73rd minute.

In the final 15 minutes of the match, found the net twice to complete a fascinating 8-1 scoreline at the full-time whistle. C. Lalremruata scored his second of the evening on 80 minutes, and following him was substitute H. Zawhnmingthanga, as the latter’s strike rounded-up the goalscoring for DSK in the 89th minute.

DSK Shivajians have been free-flowing throughout this season, and constantly showing improvement in each of their six matches, during which they scored 36 times, averaging six goals a game.

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