It is only a matter of time before Romel Morales starts banging the goals in again, just as he did in last year’s successful Malaysia Cup run.
The Colombian forward has struck three times in seven matches this season after missing the start of the Super League as he recovered from an injury.
After sitting out the 2-0 Super League defeat to Terengganu on June 18 with an injury, Morales returned to lead the line in Kuala Lumpur City’s 0-0 draw with PSM Makassar in the opening Group H match of the AFC Cup in Cheras last Friday.
He hit the post early in the second half in the best chance of the match having earlier seen his close-range header blocked by a defender on the line.
But as Morales tries to regain his stride, he knows that he just needs to keep his head down and stay on the ball to ensure the goals start flowing.
“It was a very important game for the club, an international game,” said Morales, Kuala Lumpur’s top scorer last season with 15 goals in all competitions.
“I have mixed feelings because the chances were there, we created a lot and tried to score. We need to score in the next game to go through.
“It is important to show a good performance. I give my full focus and try my best all the time. Even if I don’t score, I try to help someone else to score because it does not matter who scores.
“What is important is to get the goals together and get as many points as possible.”
Morales went through a seven-game drought in the Super League last year before finding form, which he hopes to hit on Thursday when Kuala Lumpur takes on Singapore’s Tampines Rovers in Cheras.
“Every striker wants to score goals,” said Morales, 24, who is 18th on Kuala Lumpur’s all-time goalscorer list with 18 goals.
“Football is like that sometimes when you score two, three goals and sometimes you don’t. We try to do our job, think about the next game and get the three points to go to the next round.”
Morales welcomed the arrival of striker Jordan Mintah on loan from Terengganu and believes the Kuala Lumpur strikeforce can only become stronger with the Ghanian’s presence.
“It’s good for the team because every new player wants to contribute,” added Morales. “He can give the team something else, to make the team better by working together.”