Back in the limelight
Hazwan glad he’s found scoring touch again
Selangor winger Ahmad Hazwan Bakri (pic) is glad that he has rediscovered his goalscoring touch as the Red Giants notched their first win in this season’s Super League.
The 23-year-old showed his predatory instinct to pounce on Police’s defender V. Thirumurugan’s poor ball control to drill home a low shot in the 23rd minute for Selangor’s opening goal in the 4-1 win over high-flying Police at the Shah Alam Stadium on Saturday.
Selangor’s other goals were scored by Mohd Afiq Azmi (46th), Abdul Hadi Yahya (74th) and Guilherme De Paula (78th). Malian striker Dramane Traore scored Police’s consolation goal in the 58th minute.
The win enabled the Red Giants to move up to eight in the 12-team standings with five points after four matches.
Hazwan had earlier also played a key role in Selangor’s come-from-behind win in the FA Cup second round match against Felda United on Feb 28.
The Labuan-born player scored a crucial goal to spark Selangor’s fightback after Felda had taken a 2-0 lead.
The match ended 2-2 after extra time and Selangor knocked out Felda 4-2 in the penalty shootout.
“It feels great to score again after a poor debut for Selangor last season. I have scored in back-to-back matches now and I hope to continue my hot streak,” said Hazwan.
Hazwan’s goal tally has now equalled his whole tally for Selangor last season.
He joined the Klang Valley side from Harimau Muda A last year. It was a struggle for him. He spent most of his time on the bench and only managed to score twice.
Following the departure of Golden Boot winner Paulo Rangel to Terengganu this season, Hazwan was given a chance by coach Mehmet Durakovic to prove himself. He grabbed the opportunity with both hands and is now a regular in the starting line-up.
“I need to thank coach Durakovic for his faith in me. I’m playing on the flanks now but it’s not a big problem because I have played as a winger before. For me it doesn’t matter where I play because my focus is always on helping the team win matches.
“We are no longer a superstar team. Everyone is working extra hard to help the team return to the glory days again.
“We have two wins in a row now but it’s not enough. We need to keep on pushing if we want to land a title this season,” said Hazwan, who was the Harimau Muda A’s top scorer with eight goals in the S-League in 2012.