Jamie Maclaren’s A-League peers have voted him as the LUCRF Super PFA Player of the Month for the second consecutive month.
The 27-year-old Socceroo striker continued his prolific run of form in April, scoring eight goals in Melbourne City FC’s six matches throughout April.
Maclaren scored a record-equalling five goals in one A-League match in the 7-0 thrashing of Melbourne Victory, netted a crucial penalty eight minutes into stoppage time at the end of a 1-1 draw with Sydney and scored in wins over the Jets and Wellington Phoenix as City shot up to the A-League’s summit.
Maclaren also became the fastest player in Australian national league history to net 100 goals – taking just 144 games to do so.
Arguably the A-League’s standout player this season, Maclaren was voted by A-League players as the best player during April, ahead of fellow nominees Ulises Davila (Wellington Phoenix) and Jay O’Shea (Brisbane Roar).
In his typically humble fashion, Maclaren paid tribute to his teammates and club for his rich vein of form.
“It’s nice to go back-to-back player of the month, but I would like to credit this one to my club and my team,” Maclaren told pfa.net.au
“I think winning helps my form and they’ve put me in great positions, so I feel like this is not an individual award this month, I feel as if it’s a squad one.
“I’d like to thank everyone who voted for me, my teammates and even the guys who I play against and I’m very grateful and truly honoured.
“I’m also proud to have reached the 100 goal mark in the A-League and just look forward to finish off the season well. We’re edging closer to some silverware for this club, so we just need to focus on the last few games.”
Maclaren has 24 goals in 21 appearances this season and leads the A-League Golden Boot charts by 11 goals; the next closest player is Macarthur’s Matt Derbyshire (11 goals) and Bruno Fornaroli and Matt Simon (9 goals).
The LUCRF Super PFA Player of the Month award is proudly supported by PFA Major Partner LUCRF Super and has recognised the on-field efforts of the players in Australia’s domestic competitions since 2014. A-League and W-League players are asked to vote in a 3-2-1 basis from a shortlist of nominees chosen by an awards committee, which consists of a range of prominent former footballers, coaches and Australian football media personalities, at the end of each month.
A-League and W-League PFA Player of the Month Winners (2020/21):
December/January: Alou Kuol (Central Coast Mariners) and Michelle Heyman (Canberra United)
February: Oliver Bozanic (Central Coast Mariners) and Clare Wheeler (Sydney FC)
March: Jamie Maclaren (Melbourne City FC) and Kyra Cooney-Cross (Melbourne Victory FC)
April: Jamie Maclaren (Melbourne City FC)
