East Bengal FC’s head coach Oscar Bruzon was delighted with the team’s defense after their goalless draw against derby rivals Mohammedan SC in the Indian Super League at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan Stadium, Kolkata on Saturday.

East Bengal only had 25.3% possession but they were able to keep the opposition at bay. The Red and Gold brigade took a solitary shot on target but they were able to share the spoils. East Bengal was able to share a point despite being reduced to nine-man after Mahesh Naorem Singh and Nandhakumar Sekar received red cards after half an hour mark.

“We played bravely. I had the option to play with two lines of four but I wanted to win the game. I wanted to win the game by playing long balls, winning the second balls and getting set-pieces in the opponent’s half. We had a few chances. It was a moral victory for us,” Bruzon said during the post-match press conference.

“There are a lot of positives in this game. The fans identified the fight, spirit and character of the players and we have now gone four games in a row without losing,” he added.

The Spaniard revealed his message to the team during the half-time interval was to be compact in their defense. 

“My message to the team at the break was to be compact in our two lines of four and three and block crosses and keep one striker up top so that we don’t suffer. We defended like tigers, we tried to create chances as our objective even with nine men was to win the game,” he said.

East Bengal FC were able to finally claim their first point of the season and the team has been under the pump after losing their first six matches.

“I told the players that we can’t lose any more games. We have lost all the games we had to in 2024. And my message to the players isn’t just psychological or mental. We have to implement our tactics on the pitch. I feel we have a lot of strong points in our team.” he said.