Melbourne City coach Patrick Kisnorbo has praised the consistency and work ethic of Jamie Maclaren as the striker prepares to celebrate a century of games for the club.
Maclaren will become just the fourth player in City/Melbourne Heart history to reach 100 games in their colours when he runs out against Brisbane Roar on Friday evening, joining Scott Jamieson, Curtis Good and David Williams in hitting the mark.
The 29-year-old grabbed his first goal of the 2022-23 season in his side’s round one win over Western United last week, reinforcing his status as a leading contender for Graham Arnold’s World Cup squad.
“It’s a great achievement, what he’s done in the club,” said Kisnorbo on the 100-games. “We’re really happy for him.
“It’s great that he’s had consistency and we’re very lucky and fortunate to have him in our team. Long may it continue.”
Signed midway through the 2018/19 campaign as a replacement for Bruno Fornaroli after the Uruguayan was frozen out by then-coach Warren Joyce, Maclaren has scored 76 goals and grabbed 12 assists across all competitions since his arrival at City and played a vital role in helping the club establish itself as ALM powers.
City has won two premierships and a championship since his arrival, qualified for another two grand finals, and Maclaren has won three-straight golden boots.
For his coach, however, it’s not just the goals that make his leading man such a valuable member of the squad, but also the work that he does off the ball.
“For me, the most important thing is the areas that he gets himself into,” said Kisnorbo.
“It’s the collective that gets the ball to him but I think he takes up positions in some great areas.
“He’s a smart player, he works incredibly hard. You saw the second goal last week [when Maclaren pressed Leo Lacroix into an error that led to his first goal of the season].
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“It’s a collective. He’s got a knack, he’s got a positional sense that gets him in positions that strikers need to be and he finds himself scoring goals, which is great to see.”
Coming off the back of a 2-1 win over United, Maclaren and his teammates will take on one of his former clubs on Friday evening when they head to Lang Park to take on Brisbane Roar.
Coach Warren Moon’s side grounded Macarthur FC’s high-powered attack on their way to a 0-0 draw in their opening game of the season, but will now be tasked with shutting down an attack that features four players that have featured for the Socceroos in the past World Cup cycle, as well as round-one revelation Valon Berisha.
“They are good, aren’t they? Maybe they can lend us one,” Moon said. “That’s the challenge. That’s why they are who they are. We have to be concentrating and switched on because they can punish you from a slight mistake.”
“It doesn’t get much tougher than the benchmark of the competition for the last three years.
“We expect a tough challenge, but we hope with a big turnout and home support we can get the job done.”
City, however, will be seeking to break down the Roar defence without the services of Florin Berenguer, after the confirmation came through that a hamstring injury would keep the French maestro out until after the World Cup break.
“It’s sad. Florin is a very important player for us,” said Kisbnorbo. “Unfortunately he’ll be out for a bit of time.
“But that’s part of football. It’s sad to see because he’s been tracking really well. But unfortunately, we have to wait until then. But then there are opportunities for other players to step into that position now.”
Nuno Reis will also miss the Roar clash, with Kisnorbo saying that he just missed out on selection as he recovered from a hamstring injury of his own, but Curtis Good and Thomas Lam will make the trek to Queensland – the former returning from a knock that kept him out of week one and the latter recovering from a malady that forced an early substitution against United.
“They’re fit enough to start. I’ll need to have a look and see what best fits the team. But they’re available, which is a good thing for us,” said their coach.
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Header Image Credit: Melbourne City
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