Harm van Veldhoven was obviously a very happy man after Delhi Dynamos FC scored their second consecutive win in the Hero Indian Super League by trouncing Mumbai City FC 4-1 on Friday night. The win lifted them from the last place to the fifth position and revived their chances of a top four finish. “I am very happy for everyone but more than that, I am very happy for Manish (Bhargav) as he is the first Indian to score for the Dynamos. We didn’t start well. In the initial 10 minutes we were very nervous. But after that, we picked up momentum and had more ball possession, especially in the midfield. We got stabilised and scored our first goal, which was very vital for us. The second goal, which happened within minutes in the second half, gave us a lot of confidence which led to the next two goals,” the Delhi head coach explained at the post-match press conference. Although the Dynamos have improved their chances of making the playoffs if they keep on course, van Veldhoven said they must not be carried away by today’s result. “Now we have to be extra careful as everybody expects much more from us. Also, today we had a few moments which were not that good but we also had good chances. We have to be calm and see how we can play better. We have to be sharp again and play harder in our forthcoming games,” he maintained. Van Veldhoven’s tactical changes have fetched him rich dividends in the last two games but he informs that these adjustments could only have been made over time. “We have to use all our players and we have to observe their performance progression. For example, (Gustavo dos) Santos has now learnt how to give passes and use his speed at the correct moment. Initially, he only looked to play the ball but now he has matured in his passing,” van Veldhoven averred. The Dutch gaffer however said he would like to see more combination play in the midfield. Mads Junker, former Danish international striker, also felt that if they become stronger in the middle they can score more goals. “The way we played today and against NorthEast United is maybe a better way to play, because here in India there is a lot of space to play on the counter. The Indian backs are not that tactically strong which creates a lot of space for the wingers. We could have scored 6-7 goals today,” he said. Bhargav, a 20-year-old midfielder from the Punjab who has been with Mohun Bagan for the past two seasons, had a rewarding debut in the tournament after coming on as substitute and scoring the last goal of the match. The youngster was obviously thrilled about his feat and confessed,“I had not got a chance yet but today the coach gave me a chance, so ‘thank you, coach’. I am very happy today and this goal will always be very special in my life,” he said.
