Delhi Dynamos came into their game against NorthEast United in Guwahati at the bottom of the table after two straight losses. Trailing the all-important fourth spot by five points, the team knew they needed a win to keep up their hopes of qualifying for the semifinals. The performance reflected their urgency, as Delhi came racing out of the blocks, going up by two goals within the first 15 minutes. Even in that period, however, keeper Kristof Van Hout was called upon, reacting well to close off space when NorthEast striker Koke was clean through on goal. The striker still managed to squeeze off a shot, but it hit the outside of the post. Van Hout stood firm to deny NorthEast on numerous occasions thereafter, as Delhi won a thrilling encounter 1-2 to grab a vital three points. The tall Dutchman gave an exclusive interview to indiansuperleague.com after the match, and stressed on the need to build on this victory.You were at the bottom of the league; how important was it for your mental psyche to win this match?I think we were in a position that was not the most comfortable to be in. We also had opportunities in the previous games, but we didn’t take them. And then, you know when the competition reaches its end, every game becomes important. I think that we really needed to win this game today, and we did our job!Despite winning today you still have to go and win your next remaining games. How do you feel about that?Yes of course, today was just the first step. We’ve dropped a lot of points already, but I think today we took a step forward and we have to grow on this. Now we will see what we can do in the next few days. We have to win if we want to have a chance."I think we did not keep the ball as much as we should have."Kristof Van HoutAfter your team scored the second goal, you ran over to the touchline to instruct somebody. What was that all about? It was a tactical instruction. I think we did not keep the ball as much as we should have. I felt that we could have made them run about a bit if we retained possession, but at that time, we were losing the ball a bit too much.How important is it for a goalkeeper to constantly speak to his defenders?I think it’s very important but not just for the goalkeeper, it’s important all over the pitch. The goalkeeper is the last player. The defenders have to speak to the midfielders and the midfielders have to speak to the strikers and then you can do so many good things tactically and you move in a good way.
