The final game of their Hero Indian Super League campaign proved to be a bittersweet moment for Delhi Dynamos head coach Harm van Veldhoven. His side fought back from 2-0 down away against league leaders Chennaiyin, but fell short in their quest to get the win which would have guaranteed their spot in the semifinals.“The first ten minutes were good. We played well,” remarked the Delhi gaffer when reflecting on the game at the post-match press conference. “But we conceded from a corner, and we gave away too many loose balls, and it became 2-0 in the first half.”The Dutch-Belgian gaffer did not fault his side’s performance in the opening period, crediting his opponents for their play. “It was not down to our poor performance in the first half. Chennayin FC played a lot of attacking football.But he was proud of the second-half fightback. “In the second half, we played remarkably well. We kept the ball, Alessandro del Piero had better service and kept getting into the right places, and had there been more time we could have scored the winner. The players played really well and gave it their best. I am very happy with the performance of the 2nd half.”Thoughts turned to the semifinal scenarios, with Delhi now needing a Goa win over Kolkata to have any chance of qualifying. “In the end we are disappointed that we didn’t guarantee the fourth position. We are dependent on other teams; now, we will have to watch the other games,” remarked Van Veldhoven.Del Piero began the comeback with a trademark free kick, his first ISL goal, but he was quick to deflect praise onto his teammates for effecting the turnaround in the second half. “I am very happy with the goal that I scored, but at the same time the team played really well,” said Del Piero modestly. We kept going till the end and we should have scored a third. We had a chance which was blocked by Gouramangi Singh; if that had gone into the net then the whole complexion could have changed,” reflected the Italian legend.He was also questioned about Delhi’s qualification chances, and he responded by saying he hoped his ISL season was not over. “I have had a wonderful experience here! Hopefully, we will have luck on our side.”The Delhi playmaker was asked about the Italian presence in Chennaiyin camp, with player-head coach and former Inter Milan defender Marco Materazzi having recently recruited AC Milan legend Alessandro Nesta. “I have played with them and against them,” Del Piero reminisced. “They are friends of mine for life. I had a wonderful time playing against them, and we have won the World Cup together, so to have them play here is truly remarkable,” Del Piero said excitedly.Defender Adil Khan joined his head coach and Del Piero for the press conference, and was in good spirits following the team’s comeback. “The second half was a very good performance,” remarked Khan. “I personally am satisfied with my performance, given the fact that players like Jeje and Balwant are in form right now, so to ensure we kept them at bay was crucial.” He reflected on the comeback by saying, “There was no pressure. We went down 2-0, but the gaffer made changes for the second half, the team reacted very well and we did well to come back and finish the game 2-2. Although we would have liked to win the game which would have guaranteed us the semifinal spot.”
