Can’t Lok him down as Darren’s a hitman on fire

Grin from ear to ear: Darren Lok (left) celebrating his first of two goals against Kelantan. — PJ City

PETALING JAYA: Petaling Jaya City striker Darren Lok is now a pumped-up goal machine. And Kelantan had no answer to his red-hot form on Friday.

The 30-year-old Darren, who is eager to become one of the top marksmen in the Malaysia Cup, proved to be on the right track when he scored in the 10th and 81st minutes to help the Phoenix beat the Red Warriors 3-1 in their Group D encounter at the Petaling Jaya Stadium on Friday.

For the first goal, Darren collected a superb pass from centreback K. Prabakaran before finishing in excellent fashion past Kelantan goalkeeper Farizal Harun.

The second came when he tapped in V. Ruventhiran’s cross from the left flank.

Darren now has three goals in three games. PJ City’s other goal was scored by striker R. Kogileswaran in the 19th minute.

Kelantan’s only goal came in the 36th minute through centreback Christos Intzidis.

“It was a great team performance. We started strongly in the first 30 minutes and got a deserved two-goal lead but Kelantan came back strongly,” said Darren.

“We endured some pressure in the second half but the third goal finished off the game.

“I’m happy with how I’ve started the Malaysia Cup but I’ll work harder to continue with this form.

“I’m enjoying my football again here at PJ City. Playing for a coach (P. Maniam) who has shown his confidence and belief in me has helped a lot.”

PJ City’s next three fixtures in the group will be tight as they face Kelantan (Nov 2, away), Johor Darul Ta’zim (Nov 6, home) and Sabah (Nov 9, away) - all within two weeks.

Darren said their recovery after every game would be important to deal with the tight schedule.

“The schedule is hectic, so recovery is vital and we’ll have to be tactical too.”