Hong Kong striker Orr hoping to solve side’s goal crisis, with team out to end 9-game drought against Vietnam
- Jorn Andersen’s men have scored just once since June last year, and that was an own goal from Singapore’s Lionel Tan
- Matt Orr though has been on fire in China’s second division, scoring 7 times in his past 6 games for Guangxi Pingguo Haliao
Matt Orr is confident he can carry the red-hot form that has fired him to the top of China League One scoring charts for Guangxi Pingguo Haliao into Hong Kong’s friendly match against Vietnam in Haiphong on Thursday, as Jorn Andersen’s side look to end a barren run in front of goal.
Orr has scored seven times in his past six games to fire Guangxi to the top of China’s second division, and his eye for goal will be much needed for a team that has managed just one in their last four games.
And even that was a Lionel Tan own goal, giving Hong Kong a 1-1 draw with Singapore in March. It is now nine matches since one of Andersen’s players last struck, when Orr was among the scorers in the 3-0 win over Cambodia in Asian Cup qualifying in India last June.
“I’m scoring goals so I’m feeling good,” Orr said. “The confidence and belief is there and hopefully I can bring that into the game on Thursday and we can create some chances and score some goals.
“When I step on pitch I’m always trying to score as many as possible and help my team win, but it’s different coming back to the national team with different players around me and a different playing style.
“I hope we can still create some chances. Vietnam and Thailand [who Hong Kong play on Monday] are strong teams, but I think on the day we can take them on and we don’t have anything to lose. So full steam ahead.”
Orr moved to Guangxi in August last year from Hong Kong Premier League side Kitchee and, after three goals in the final 15 matches of last season, has been prolific this campaign.
The 26-year-old struck in Guangxi’s win over Heilongjiang Ice City at the weekend before linking up with the Hong Kong team.
“I’ve worked really hard on my finishing, I’ve been doing a lot of extra work,” he said. “Sometimes in a game you only get one or two chances and as a striker it’s your responsibility to take your chances.
“I’ve also worked a lot with my coaches on staying more centrally and being in the box more instead of making runs out wide. If I go wide I can still impact the game but, at the end of the day, there’s either no one in the box where I’m supposed to be or you’re not going to score goals in those positions.
“My coaches in China and the Hong Kong coach have really driven it into me to stay in the middle more because that’s where I’m more of a threat. I’m happy to see that the work is starting to pay off and I just hope it continues.”
Orr has been working to model his game increasingly on the likes of Barcelona’s Polish forward Robert Lewandowski, England and Tottenham Hotspur star Harry Kane and Erling Haaland, who scored 52 goals to fire Manchester City to the Premier League, FA Cup and UEFA Champions League treble.
“Recently I’ve watched all their goals,” he said. “Lewandowski has 33 goals and 31 were in the box, Kane has 30 goals and 28 of those are in the box. It just about being there when the ball is bouncing around and being in the right place at the right time. I think that’s important and I’m really trying to drill that into my game.”
Hong Kong’s scoring struggles have prompted Andersen to look around for a solution to the team’s lack of a cutting edge, with 19-year-old Germany-based forward Michael Udebuluzor scoring a hat-trick in a training game at the weekend against Hong Kong’s under-22 team.
Udebuluzor, however, has not been able to travel for Thursday’s game as he still does not have a Hong Kong passport, but Orr is hopeful the youngster can link up with the squad soon.
“He obviously plays for a youth team in the third division of the Bundesliga, but I hope he gets a passport, we definitely need some depth in the side,” Orr said.
“New competition and fresh faces into the squad will only push me to perform more and more and improve my game and develop.”
