A goalkeeper’s main role is to stop the opposing team from scoring. A great goalkeeper keeps you in the game, ensuring that you always remain with a fighting chance for victory, or at least a draw. In the case of Kuala Lumpur City, they have been blessed with at least two quality custodians, Mendoza and Azri G. who both can perform at the highest level with full confidence from their colleagues and technical staff.
The 23-year old Azri G. who joined the City Boys in January this year, has yet to gain a start in the Super League this season, playing second fiddle to Mendoza, but in the AFC Cup, he has been head coach Bojan’s go to man for the position between the sticks.
Perhaps, some may argue that he has been a forced choice for the Croatian due to the 3 + 1 regulations governing foreign players in the AFC Cup competition this year (each team may field up to 3 players of non-AFC member associations and 1 player from an AFC member association) but the mere fact that he has started in all of the City Boys’ AFC Cup encounters with the exception of the 2-1 win over Tampines Rovers during the group stage, indicates the faith that Bojan has in him to carry the team forward, as he did in the ASEAN Zonal Semi-final 6-5 sudden death penalty shootout win over Viettel FC in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), a fortnight ago.
On Wednesday night in the 5-2 win at home against PSM Makassar of Indonesia in the Final, Azri G. once again produced a mighty performance to keep the visitors at bay especially after they were pushing hard for the equaliser, following their goals in the 58th & 63rd minute through Yakob Sayuri and Akbar Tanjung that narrowed the deficit to 3-2, making life uncomfortable for the City Boys.
While there was nothing he could do to stop both goals which came from defensive lapses in concentration, the 1.77 metre Kota Bharu native quickly got his defenders back on track to focus on the job at hand and see out the win.
Picking up from his post match interview with football sites MakanBola and Harimau Malaya, Azri G. was grateful for the opportunities that have come his way.
“Thank you to the coaches, my teammates, who helped me a lot, always providing plenty of encouragement so that I can perform at this Asian stage”, he said.
“Alhamdulillah, tonight we put on a good show. Even though I’ve not played in the league for a very long time (September 2021, for Perak), every time we play at this stage (AFC Cup), I tell myself to remain patient and tonight I repaid that faith with another great performance.”
Continuing, the National Under-23 goalkeeper said,
“i have to be ready at all times. An encounter against a big team like (PSM) Makassar is the best chance for me to gain some playing time in the Super League.”
“We played them (PSM Makassar) before during the group stages, and I don’t think we faced too many problems then. We learnt from that game for this win. Perhaps the aura of this final, was just the impetus we needed to do what we did tonight,” he added.
To read the match report of KL City vs PSM Makassar on 24/8/2022 (AFC Cup), please click COMING SOON
To watch the highlights of KL City vs PSM Makassar on 24/8/2022 (AFC Cup), please click https://youtu.be/UqYV452zEQQ
To watch the complete match of KL City vs PSM Makassar on 24/8/2022 (AFC Cup), please click the-afc.com/en/home.html