Socceroos striker Jamie Maclaren has been voted PFA Player of the Month by his A-League peers for the second consecutive month.
The 27-year-old continued his impressive form into April, scoring eight goals in six matches for Melbourne City, including a record-matching five goals in a single match against cross-town rivals Melbourne Victory.
On top of his derby haul, he netted a crucial penalty deep into stoppage time to snatch a point from Sydney FC 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.
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 Socceroos frontman continued his purple patch in the final third on Thursday night, scoring two as City continued to close in on their maiden A-League Premiership with a 4-1 win over Adelaide United at AAMI Park.
Patrick Kisnorbo's side did live dangerously at times during the meeting with fourth-placed Adelaide, with the visitors hopeful of causing a shock early in the second half when Ben Halloran halved a two-goal half-time deficit established by City fullbacks Scott Jamieson and Scott Galloway.
However, as they have been all season, City were just too clinical and ultimately Adelaide were handily beaten by the A-League's competition frontrunners.
Maclaren finished confidently from the penalty spot after Josh Cavallo felled Stefan Colakovski, before Marco Tilio laid on goal number 24 of the season for the City marksman to round up a devastating second half salvo.
It leaves City with one hand on the Premiers Plate. Kisnorbo's men host Wellington Phoenix on Sunday, before welcoming second-placed Central Coast Mariners to Melbourne Saturday week.