Mohun Bagan Super Giant’s marquee summer signing Jamie Maclaren opened his account at his new club with a goal in their 3-0 win over Mohammedan SC in the Kolkata derby at the Salt Lake stadium on Saturday.
The 33-year-old is the A-League’s all-time leading goalscorer, Australia’s first division, and made the switch to the Mariners in the summer. After spending the initial games, still regaining his fitness, the Australian got his first start for the Kolkata giants on Saturday.
“It was a great feeling (to score my first goal). Last few weeks, I have been building up my fitness, so it was good to start a game. We have such a good contingent of attacking players. Everyone is contributing goals and assists and that’s the beauty of our squad,” he added.
It took Maclaren just eight minutes to open the scoring and set the team on their way to a much-needed victory as Mohun Bagan SG were beaten 3-0 in their previous match against Bengaluru FC. He further reflected on the defending ISL Shield winners’ first clean sheet of the season.
“If you don’t concede, you always have a high chance of winning the game. The guys at the back did well and were supported by the two midfielders. We just got to keep doing that and stick together as a team,” he said.
Maclaren couldn’t have picked a better game to open his account than a Kolkata derby but the Australian is already setting his sights on the next big derby against East Bengal FC after the international break.
“It was a good win. Now we have the international break, so we go back and refresh a bit before we get ready for East Bengal FC,” he concluded.