Hardy hitman: Darren Lok’s relentless pressing gave Turkmenistan’s defence more than a few problems, and also created space for other attackers to exploit.
PETALING JAYA: In the modern game of total football, the top coaches say that the striker is also the “first defender”.
A hitman’s duty is, of course, to score goals but he can’t get by without doing his share of defending.
National striker Darren Lok is no exception to that. The 31-year-old forward has been doing much pressing up front of late.
His industry made the difference for Malaysia in their friendly against Turkmenistan on Friday.
Darren’s relentless pressing gave the opponents’ defence more than a few problems, and also created space for other attackers to exploit.
The Harimau Malaya won 1-0, with midfielder Akhyar Rashid scoring in the 29th minute.
Darren felt his job was not complete as he did not get on the scoresheet, but is happy that his extra work up front helped the team to a win.
And he’s ready to go the extra mile again in Malaysia’s friendly against Hong Kong at the Sultan Ibrahim Stadium in Iskandar Puteri tomorrow.
“It’s not always about scoring goals as sometimes, the striker can contribute in other ways to help the team win. Of course, my duty is to finish off the chances that come my way but there will be games where you won’t score,” said Darren.
“In situations like that, the constant pressing that I do will help create space for the other players to have a crack at goal. When the team win in the end, I’ve also played my part.”
Darren is expecting to face a feisty Hong Kong side, who will be treating the game as more than a friendly.
Their motivation will be high, as Malaysia beat them 2-0 in June last year at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil.
“We know their quality from the last time we played them. This will be more than a friendly and we can’t take it easy. They want to win as much as we do,” added Darren.
