Jamie Maclaren has spoken of his relief in scoring his maiden Hyundai A-League goal in Sunday’s 1-0 win over Melbourne Heart but hopes there are more goals to come as he and his younger teammates continue to work hard alongside Perth Glory’s more senior players.
Jamie Maclaren has spoken of his relief in scoring his maiden Hyundai A-League goal in Sunday-s 1-0 win over Melbourne Heart but hopes there are more goals to come as he and his younger teammates continue to work hard alongside Perth Glory-s more senior players.
Maclaren-s strike in the 51st minute proved the difference between the Glory and Heart, with the No.10 pouncing on Patrick Kisnorbo-s unlucky injury slip to beat goalkeeper Andrew Redmayne on the second attempt to send the majority of the 13,856 fans into raptures.
“Scoring my first A-League goal was a special moment. The last few weeks I’ve been having chances but I-m glad to have scored yesterday,” Maclaren said from the team-s injury recovery session.
“I felt like a lot of weight was off my shoulders as soon as it went in but hopefully it’s the first of many.”
“I had chances in the last two games away and I felt like I needed this goal, and to get it at home and in front of the crowd was really good,” he added.
Maclaren-s relief in opening his Hyundai A-League account was clear for all to see with the 20-year-old skipping over the outer fence before jumping into the infamous Shed supporters- area.
“The fans were awesome. All the boys were saying after the game how unbelievable they were so hopefully they turn out this week and we can turn out a good result for them.”
Alistair Edwards was also delighted for Maclaren, and his other home-game debutant players, as he continues to look for the perfect balance of home-grown youth and experience.
“He’s sort of following the same pattern in the pre-season. The first couple of games he was creating chances and then he got one and went from strength to strength,” Edwards said from the post-match conference on Sunday.
“I think it’s not only good for him to get a goal on his home debut but his contribution to the team has been immense – his work rate and everything. It’s great, one of our best young players in the country playing for Perth Glory and getting some good time to develop for the future.”
Edwards also reserved special praise for 18-year-old Matthew Davies who was making his Hyundai A-League debut at right fullback.
“I-m particularly pleased for Matty Davies. He was playing in the Youth League last week and he got the opportunity to play today and I thought, if not our best player, he was close to being our best player, so that’s great for us.”
“You had Jamie Maclaren, Ryan Edwards and Sidnei making their home debuts today, and also Matty Davies, so you’ve got four guys doing that. And I thought all four of them did very well so that’s very pleasing for us moving forwards.”
“I think everyone in the change rooms knows that we’ve got such a very good blend of experience and youth, the likes of Jacob Burns, Steve McGarry, Danny Vukovic, Shane Smeltz and the soon to be William Gallas are crucial to us moving forward,“ Edwards added.
