Hazwan desperate to break goal-scoring duck
AHMAD Hazwan Bakri arrived in Yangon with a reputation of being the country’s top striker in the AFF Cup.
The Labuan-born has not found the back of the net yet though he managed one assist in the 3-2 win over Cambodia last weekend.
Hazwan is not satisfied with his performance and he hopes to regain his form against Myanmar today.
The 25-year-old, expected to be unveiled as a Darul Ta’zim signing after the AFF Cup, warned his teammates that a lapse in concentration against Myanmar will have disastrous consequences on Malaysia.
Hazwan played for 68 minutes against Myanmar in the 0-0 draw in a friendly in Yangon in May, where the hosts dominated play.
He said Myanmar have the ability to dominate possession and pressure their opponents for long periods.
“Myanmar players have pace. They are disciplined and they can keep playing high intensity for 90 minutes. However, every team have their weaknesses and Myanmar’s eagerness to score could be their downfall tomorrow,” he said yesterday.
Hazwan, who has scored seven goals in 20 appearances for the national team, believes Myanmar’s pressure game can be dealt with by slowing down the tempo.
“Young players normally cannot handle pressure especially from their own fans. We must exploit this. Although an early goal will be perfect, we should not put any pressure on ourselvesm,” said Hazwan, who partnered Darren Lok against Cambodia and played as a sole striker in the 1-0 defeat to Vietnam on Wednesday.
Hazwan said the late goal conceded against Vietnam is a good lesson for the team.
“It shows that a team can lose a match by making just one mistake. I neither fear Myanmar fans nor their players… It would be great to score a goal here,” he added. By Ajitpal Singh