Darren Lok

Darren Lok Yee Deng (born 18 September 1991; simplified Chinese: 陆伊腾; traditional Chinese: 陸伊騰; pinyin: Lù Yīténg) is a professional footballer who plays as a striker for Malaysia Super League club Sabah. Born in England, he represents the Malaysia national team.[1]

In this Chinese name, the family name is Lok.

Darren Lok
Lok playing for Malaysia in 2022
Personal information
Full name Darren Lok Yee Deng
Date of birth (1991-09-18) 18 September 1991
Place of birth Hailsham, England
Height 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s) Striker
Team information
Current team
 Sabah
Number 28
Youth career
2009–2012 Eastbourne Borough
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2012–2016 Eastbourne Borough 140 (23)
2012 → Horsham (loan) 2 (1)
2016 Johor Darul Ta'zim II 26 (5)
2017–2019 Johor Darul Ta'zim 5 (0)
2018–2019 → Johor Darul Ta'zim II (loan) 22 (9)
2020 Terengganu 4 (0)
2020 → Terengganu II (loan) 1 (0)
2021–2022 Petaling Jaya City 33 (15)
2023– Sabah 22 (10)
International career‡
2016– Malaysia 25 (5)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 7 October 2023
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 7 October 2023

Early life

Born in Hailsham, East Sussex, Lok is of Chinese Malaysian and English descent.[2] His father is from Tengkera in Malacca.[3]

Club career

Eastbourne Borough

Lok began his career with the Eastbourne Borough Academy. Later, he was promoted to the senior squad in 2012. Darren Lok was working shifts in an NHS psychiatric hospital as a psychiatric support worker[4] in the south of England while also playing part-time football for Eastbourne Borough of the National League South, the sixth tier overall of the English football league system.[5] At the start of the 2012–13 season, he was loaned to Horsham. He impressed at Horsham,[6][7] but was recalled by Eastbourne after 2 games, due to a player shortage at the club.[8]

Early in his Borough career, Lok gained a reputation as a 'super-sub' due to the late goals he would score after coming off the bench.[9]

Johor Darul Ta'zim

At the end of the 2015-16 season, Lok left Eastbourne to sign for Johor Darul Ta'zim II of the Malaysia Premier League. His registration was delayed, due to having to apply for a Malaysian passport. In September 2016 he received his Malaysian passport, which enabled him to play for JDT II as well as the Malaysia national football team.[10] Darren Lok only managed to appear twice for the JDT II Team before the season ended.

For the 2017 Malaysia Super League, JDT Coach Mario Gómez announced that Lok would be promoted to the JDT first team from JDT II for the upcoming 2017 season.

Terengganu FC

In January 2020, Terengganu FC has signed Lok to be with the team for the Malaysia League 2020 season.[11] He only managed to make 4 league appearances for the team.[12]

Petaling Jaya City FC

Petaling Jaya City FC announced the signing of Lok from Terengganu FC in December 2020. He cited a lack of playing time as one of the reasons for his decision to join PJ City FC after a one-year stint with Terengganu FC.[13]

International career

Born in England, Lok was eligible for Malaysia through his father.[5]

Lok made his Malaysian national football team debut against Singapore in 2016 and scored his first international goal against Syria in 2017.[5] Lok was also part of the Malaysian team that qualified for the 2023 Asian Cup and scored the fourth goal in their last qualifier, his second international goal.

Career statistics

Club
As of 23 May 2023.[14]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Eastbourne Borough 2012–13[15] Conference South 31532—2[lower-alpha 1]0367
2013–14[15] Conference South 38631—3[lower-alpha 2]0447
2014–15[15] Conference South 38851—4[lower-alpha 3]14710
2015–16[15] National League South 33431—8[lower-alpha 4]4449
Total 14023145—17517133
Horsham (loan) 2012–13 Isthmian League Division One South 2100—0021
Johor Darul Ta'zim II 2016 Malaysia Premier League 41———41
Johor Darul Ta'zim 2017 Malaysia Super League 30—5[lower-alpha 5]2—82
2018 Malaysia Super League 20202[lower-alpha 5]05[lower-alpha 6]0110
Total50207250192
Johor Darul Ta'zim II 2018 Malaysia Premier League 148007[lower-alpha 7]000218
2019 Malaysia Premier League 81001[lower-alpha 7]10092
Total2290081003010
Terengganu FC 2020 Malaysia Super League 40000[lower-alpha 5]00040
Terengganu FC II 2020 Malaysia Premier League 10—00—10
Petaling Jaya City 2021 Malaysia Super League 93006[lower-alpha 5]3—156
2022 Malaysia Super League 2010220[lower-alpha 5]0—2212
Total29132263003718
Sabah 2023 Malaysia Super League 1240000—124
Career Total2195118721622528069
  1. One appearance in FA Trophy, one appearance in Sussex Senior Challenge Cup
  2. One appearance in FA Trophy, two appearances in Sussex Senior Challenge Cup
  3. One appearance in FA Trophy, three appearances and one goal in Sussex Senior Challenge Cup
  4. Four appearances and one goal in FA Trophy, four appearances and three goals in Sussex Senior Challenge Cup
  5. Appearances in Malaysia Cup
  6. Appearances in AFC Champions League qualifying play-offs and appearances in AFC Cup
  7. Appearances in Malaysia Challenge Cup

International
As of 6 September 2023[14]
National teamYearAppsGoals
Malaysia
201650
201741
2022102
202342
Total235

International goals
Scores and results list Malaysia's goal tally first.[16]
NoDateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.22 August 2017Hang Jebat Stadium, Malacca, Malaysia Syria1–21–2Friendly
2.14 June 2022Bukit Jalil National Stadium, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Bangladesh4–14–12023 AFC Asian Cup qualification
3.14 December 2022Kuala Lumpur Stadium, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Maldives1–03–0Friendly
4.03 January 2023Bukit Jalil National Stadium, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Singapore1–04–12022 AFF Championship
5.6 September 2023East Town Sports Park Stadium, Chengdu, China Syria2–22–2Friendly

Honours

Johor Darul Ta'zim

Johor Darul Ta'zim II

International

References
  1. Darren Lok at National-Football-Teams.com
  2. Shamsudin, Shaiful (3 July 2021). "Euro 2020: Setiap kejohanan utama 'it's coming home', kata Darren Lok". stadiumastro.com (in Malay). Archived from the original on 9 December 2021. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
  3. "JOHOR Southern Tigers". Facebook. Archived from the original on 16 March 2022. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  4. The Armchair Malaysia Ep 10 | Darren Lok and Building Lok-al Stars!, archived from the original on 18 April 2022, retrieved 18 April 2022, Minute 3:15.
  5. "Darren Lok: The phone call that turned non-league player into Malaysia international". BBC Sport. 8 October 2019. Archived from the original on 8 October 2019. Retrieved 8 October 2019.
  6. "Whitstable Town 2-2 Horsham". Horsham F.C. 11 September 2012. Archived from the original on 23 August 2017. Retrieved 3 December 2016.
  7. "Whitstable Town 2-2 Horsham - We're not finishing teams off, says Whitstable boss Justin Luchford". Kentish Football. 11 September 2012. Archived from the original on 23 August 2017. Retrieved 3 December 2016.
  8. "Lok's the key as Borough end their losing streak in style". Eastbourne Herald. 18 September 2012. Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 3 December 2016.
  9. "Lok aims to be more than an impact sub". Eastbourne Herald. 16 October 2014. Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 3 December 2016.
  10. "Darren Lok granted passport - eligible to play for Malaysia and JDT II". Nicolas Anil. ESPN. 23 September 2016. Retrieved 3 December 2016.
  11. "DARREN BAKAL MEMBERIKAN PILIHAN BUAT NAFUZI ZAIN DALAM VARIASIKAN JENTERA SERANGAN TFC". Terengganu FC. 30 January 2020. Archived from the original on 29 May 2022. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  12. "Malaysia - Darren Lok - Profile with news, career statistics and history - Soccerway". my.soccerway.com. Archived from the original on 15 May 2022. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  13. Monday, 14 Dec 2020 05:27 PM MYT (14 December 2020). "Darren Lok among three new signings of PJ City FC | Malay Mail". www.malaymail.com. Archived from the original on 4 March 2022. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  14. Darren Lok at Soccerway
  15. "D. Lok: Summary". Soccerway. Perform Group. Archived from the original on 15 January 2022. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
  16. "Lok Yee Deng, Darren". National Football Teams. Archived from the original on 10 September 2018. Retrieved 24 August 2017.
  17. Fai, Ooi Kin (25 September 2022). "Harimau Malaya lose King's Cup final after penalty shootout heartbreak". nst.com.my. Chiang Mai, Thailand: New Straits Times. Archived from the original on 26 September 2022. Retrieved 26 September 2022.
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