PETALING JAYA: It was far from a smooth start for Madger Gomes (pic) at Kuala Lumpur.
Niggling injuries, particularly to his hamstring, disrupted the Spanish midfielder’s early months at the club, sidelining him for several matches.
With coach Risto Vidakovic fielding a settled starting eleven, there were doubts over whether Gomes would feature prominently this season.
However, an opportunity arose in January when Swedish winger Nicolao Dumitru suffered an ankle injury during a Malaysia Cup tie. Gomes was deployed out wide – and he has not looked back since.
The 29-year-old has now made six consecutive appearances, underlining his growing influence.
Most notably, he struck the decisive goal in the 62nd minute of Kuala Lumpur’s 1-0 victory over Terengganu in their latest outing, keeping the City Boys firmly in contention for a second-place finish.
Gomes arrived with strong credentials, having previously featured for English side Leeds and former French Ligue 1 outfit Sochaux. His resurgence in an advanced role has come at a crucial time for Kuala Lumpur.
Reflecting on the hard-fought win over Terengganu, Gomes described it as a physically demanding contest but was grateful for the outcome.
“Thank God we won and got the three points. It was a tough game physically, but we kept going and absorbed their pressure because we were focused on getting the win,” he said. “We needed to create a gap over them. If they had won, the difference would have been just two points.
“Now we are eight points clear of fifth place and firmly in the top four, but our target is obviously second.”
Kuala Lumpur will next host Melaka at the Cheras Football Stadium on March 7, and Gomes is keeping the focus simple.
“We take it game by game. We want to keep winning to stay within touching distance in our hunt for second place.”
