Darren Lok
Malaysian footballer (born 1990)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Darren Lok Yee Deng (simplified Chinese: 陆伊腾; traditional Chinese: 陸伊騰; pinyin: Lù Yīténg; born 14 December 1990)[1] is a professional footballer who plays as a striker for Malaysia Super League club Sabah. Born in England, he represents Malaysia at international level.[2]
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Lok playing for Malaysia in 2022 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Darren Lok Yee Deng | ||
| Date of birth | 14 December 1990[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Hailsham, England | ||
| Height | 1.74 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||
| Position | 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) |
| 2016–2019 | Johor Darul Ta'zim II | 23 | (9) |
| 2017–2019 | Johor Darul Ta'zim | 5 | (0) |
| 2020 | Terengganu | 4 | (0) |
| 2020 | Terengganu II | 3 | (0) |
| 2021–2022 | Petaling Jaya City | 29 | (13) |
| 2023– | Sabah | 38 | (10) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2016– | Malaysia | 38 | (6) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 17 August 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 21 December 2024 | |||
Early life
Born in Hailsham, East Sussex, Lok is of Chinese Malaysian and English descent.[3][4] His father is from Tengkera in Malacca.[5]
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[6] 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.[7]
Horsham (loan)
At the start of the 2012–13 season, he was loaned to Horsham. He impressed at Horsham,[8][9] but was recalled by Eastbourne after 2 games, due to a player shortage at the club.[10]
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.[11]
Johor Darul Ta'zim
At the end of the 2015-16 season, Lok left Eastbourne to sign for Johor Darul Ta'zim II in 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.[12] 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 for the 2017 season.
Terengganu
In January 2020, Terengganu has signed Lok to be with the team for the 2020 Malaysia Super League season.[13] He only managed to make 4 league appearances for the team.[14]
Petaling Jaya City
Petaling Jaya City announced the signing of Lok from Terengganu in December 2020. He cited a lack of playing time as one of the reasons for his decision to join PJ City after a one-year stint with Terengganu .[15]
Sabah
In December 2022, Lok signed with Sabah.
International career
Born in England, Lok was eligible to play either for England or Malaysia through his father.[7]
Lok made his international debut against Singapore on 7 October 2016 at the Jalan Besar Stadium.
He scored his first international goal against Syria on 22 August 2017 at the Hang Jebat Stadium.[7]
Lok was also part of the Malaysian team that qualified for the 2023 AFC Asian Cup and scored the fourth goal in their last qualifier, his second international goal. Lok also represented the nation at the 2023 AFC Asian Cup.
Career statistics
Club
| Club | Season | League | National Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Eastbourne Borough | 2012–13[18] | Conference South | 31 | 5 | 3 | 2 | — | 2[a] | 0 | 36 | 7 | |
| 2013–14[18] | Conference South | 38 | 6 | 3 | 1 | — | 3[b] | 0 | 44 | 7 | ||
| 2014–15[18] | Conference South | 38 | 8 | 5 | 1 | — | 4[c] | 1 | 47 | 10 | ||
| 2015–16[18] | National League South | 33 | 4 | 3 | 1 | — | 8[d] | 4 | 44 | 9 | ||
| Total | 140 | 23 | 14 | 5 | — | 17 | 5 | 171 | 33 | |||
| Horsham (loan) | 2012–13 | Isthmian League Division One South | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | |
| Johor Darul Ta'zim II | 2016 | Malaysia Premier League | 2 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | |||||
| Johor Darul Ta'zim | 2017 | Malaysia Super League | 3 | 0 | — | 5[e] | 2 | — | 8 | 2 | ||
| 2018 | Malaysia Super League | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2[e] | 0 | 5[f] | 0 | 11 | 0 | |
| Total | 9 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 23 | 3 | ||
| Johor Darul Ta'zim II | 2018 | Malaysia Premier League | 13 | 8 | — | 7[g] | 0 | 20 | 8 | |||
| 2019 | Malaysia Premier League | 8 | 1 | — | 4[g] | 1 | 12 | 2 | ||||
| Total | 21 | 9 | — | 11 | 1 | 32 | 10 | |||||
| Terengganu FC | 2020 | Malaysia Super League | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[e] | 0 | — | 5 | 0 | |
| Terengganu FC II | 2020 | Malaysia Premier League | 3 | 0 | — | 3 | 0 | |||||
| Petaling Jaya City | 2021 | Malaysia Super League | 9 | 3 | — | 6[e] | 3 | — | 15 | 6 | ||
| 2022 | Malaysia Super League | 20 | 10 | 2 | 2 | 2[e] | 0 | — | 24 | 12 | ||
| Total | 36 | 13 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 3 | — | 46 | 18 | |||
| Sabah | 2023 | Malaysia Super League | 19 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 6 | 29 | 14 |
| 2024–25 | Malaysia Super League | 18 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 19 | 5 | ||
| 2024–25 | Malaysia Super League | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | — | 2 | 3 | ||
| Career Total | 244 | 56 | 21 | 11 | 20 | 6 | 38 | 12 | 322 | 86 | ||
- One appearance in FA Trophy, one appearance in Sussex Senior Challenge Cup
- One appearance in FA Trophy, two appearances in Sussex Senior Challenge Cup
- One appearance in FA Trophy, three appearances and one goal in Sussex Senior Challenge Cup
- Four appearances and one goal in FA Trophy, four appearances and three goals in Sussex Senior Challenge Cup
- Appearances in Malaysia Cup
- Appearances in AFC Champions League qualifying play-offs and appearances in AFC Cup
- Appearances in Malaysia Challenge Cup
International
- As of 26 March 2024[16]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Malaysia | |||
| 2016 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2017 | 4 | 1 | |
| 2022 | 10 | 2 | |
| 2023 | 11 | 3 | |
| 2024 | 4 | 0 | |
| Total | 34 | 6 |
International goals
- Scores and results list Malaysia's goal tally first.[19]
| No | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 22 August 2017 | Hang Jebat Stadium, Malacca, Malaysia |  Syria | 1–2 | 1–2 | Friendly |
| 2. | 14 June 2022 | Bukit Jalil National Stadium, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia |  Bangladesh | 4–1 | 4–1 | 2023 AFC Asian Cup qualification |
| 3. | 14 December 2022 | Kuala Lumpur Stadium, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia |  Maldives | 1–0 | 3–0 | Friendly |
| 4. | 3 January 2023 | Bukit Jalil National Stadium, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia |  Singapore | 1–0 | 4–1 | 2022 AFF Championship |
| 5. | 6 September 2023 | East Town Sports Park Stadium, Chengdu, China |  Syria | 2–2 | 2–2 | Friendly |
| 6. | 21 November 2023 | Taipei Municipal Stadium, Taipei, Taiwan |  Chinese Taipei | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification |
Honours
Johor Darul Ta'zim
Johor Darul Ta'zim II
Malaysia
- King's Cup : 2022 runner up [20]
- Pestabola Merdeka : 2024[21]