PETALING JAYA: Kuala Lumpur midfielder Ryan Lambert loves the cool weather in Uzbekistan but he is bracing for a hot reception in the AFC Cup Inter-Zone final.PETALING JAYA: Kuala Lumpur midfielder Ryan Lambert loves the cool weather in Uzbekistan but he is bracing for a hot reception in the AFC Cup Inter-Zone final.
The City Boys will take on Uzbekistan Super League club PFC Sogdiana at the Sogdiana Stadium in Jizzakh tomorrow.
Sibling rivalry: Ryan Lambert (right) tussling for the ball with twin brother Declan at a training session in Uzbekistan. — Kuala Lumpur FC
And the 24-year-old Lambert is expected to be one of the key players for Kuala Lumpur, especially after his swashbuckling performance against Sarawak United last week where he scored a hattrick in their 5-0 win.
Lambert just loves the cool weather, which has even dipped to 5°C.
“The weather is really nice and I miss it. As someone who sweats easily, it’s great to be able to go out and walk around. This is something I don’t get to do in Malaysia,” joked the Kuala Lumpur-born, who moved to Australia at a young age. But he knows much is expected from Kuala Lumpur as they look to become the second side after Johor Darul Ta’zim to qualify for the final since 2015.
“Of course there is a lot of pressure on us to do well but at the same time, we are really proud to have reached this stage,” said Lambert.
“A lot of people didn’t expect us to get here, so hopefully, we can keep proving them wrong and make Kuala Lumpur and Malaysia proud.
“We know the quality of every team at this stage but we have to treat them like every other team we’ve faced ... keep the same tactics and work hard.
“The win against Sarawak was a good boost for us, being able to keep a clean sheet and score many goals was important for us mentally.”
Lambert has been a standout for the City Boys this season as a box-to-box midfielder.
Upfront, he always comes up with good passes and great shot-taking ability and when defending, he shows great aggression and comes up with superb interceptions.
When asked if he could score more long-range goals just like he did against Sarawak, he said: “Hopefully, I can continue to score and it’ll benefit the team. I’m not too fussed whether I score or not.
“But of course, that would be great to have in such a huge competition.”
