PETALING JAYA: Negri Sembilan’s Japanese winger Mio Tsuneyasu hopes that his hot brace in the come-from-behind 2-1 win over Selangor on Sunday will signal an end to his bench-warming days.
The 23-year-old Tsuneyasu said he doesn’t want to be remembered only as a ‘’super sub’’ by the Deer fans.
“I’m proud of the impact I’ve been able to make as a super sub, but I can’t be satisfied with just that,’’ said Tsuneyasu.
“From here, I want to keep improving and push myself to earn a spot in the starting line-up and be a key player from there.”
Thrown into the fray in the second half, Tsuneyasu turned the game on its head with two late decisive strikes, delivering Negri’s first win of the season and sending the crowd into raptures at the Tuanku Abdul Rahman Stadium.
He fired home the equaliser in the 82nd minute after pouncing on a loose off a save by Selangor goalkeeper Kalamullah Al-Hafiz.
In stoppage time, Tsuneyasu coolly slotted home Hadin Azman’s cutback to complete the turnaround.
With Negri set to face Kuching City at the Tuanku Abdul Rahman Stadium on Friday, Tsuneyasu knows another stern test awaits.
The Sarawak side recently showed their defensive resilience by restricting champions Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) to just a narrow 1-0 win.
“Kuching held JDT to just a 1-0 result, so my impression is that they’re very strong defensively.
“As for Negri, I think we have many creative players in attack.
‘‘If we can make the most of that and keep creating chances, I believe we can get closer to victory.”
