Ahmad Fakri Saarani has come in for a lot of stick from fans and pundits alike as the Negri Sembilan forward suffered a wretched year with poor form and injuries.
Fakri burst onto the football scene five years ago when he was given his big break as a 17-year-old by the then-Perak coach Steve Darby and promptly scored a hat-trick on his Super League debut.
Since then, however, he has struggled to live up to his potential but his winner in the 1-0 win over Myanmar in the Sea Games semi-final yesterday could go a long way to answering his critics.
Coach Ong Kim Swee has always maintained he believes in Fakri's ability to be a top player and in an off-the-cuff remark to journalists on Friday, he said "Fakri will score."
Fakri proved his coach right but said his goal would not matter if Malaysia do not successfully defend the gold medal tomorrow.
"I know much has been said and written about me and some people doubt my ability. The coach has kept faith in me and has always encouraged me to keep trying and never give up.
"I try as hard as I can to score and I'm glad that I have finally done it. It will help with my confidence but this was only the semi-finals. The important thing is to win the final," said Fakri, who was born in Kota Baru but raised in Batu Gajah.
Kim Swee reiterated his belief that people are wrong to give Fakri such a hard time as even during the semi-final the forward was not spared scathing remarks on social media fan pages.
"Fakri has been going through a difficult time and he does not get much of a chance to play with his club. I know his character and I told him everything would come together if he scored today.
"He scored and he got us into the final," said Kim Swee.
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