How Kolkata Derby heroics can help Jamie Maclaren push for ISL golden boot in second half of 2024-25 season

Jamie Maclaren has six goals in the ISL 2024-25 season so far.

Jamie Maclaren showcased his class by playing a decisive factor in Mohun Bagan’s win over East Bengal in the Indian Super League (ISL). The 31-year-old pounced on an early chance to give his side the lead within the first two minutes, which ultimately ended up being the winning goal of the game.

Maclaren is starting to show why Mohun Bagan paid big bucks to draft him into their squad last summer and appears to be hitting his peak form heading into the business end of the campaign. The 31-year-old has now scored ine very Kolkata Derby he’s played in and is Mohun Bagan’s highest-scorer in the ISL this season.

But the Australian forward is a very ambitious forward whose personal end-game would be to win the ISL golden boot. Doing that can be a challenging task for Maclaren, considering he’s only scored six goals so far. The ISL golden boot race is being led by NorthEast United forward Alaaeddin Ajaraie, who has 14 goals so far.

While it’s not impossible for Maclaren to catch up to him, the Mohun Bagan striker has to perform at a really high level and need to tap into his absolute ruthless goal-scoring instincts. There are certain aspects of his game he must take to a whole new level to bang in goas consistently heading into the final months of the campaign and push to challenge for the ISL golden boot.

Rapid start feat. Jamie Maclaren 🥵Keep watching the fast paced #MBSGEBFC LIVE NOW on #JioCinema, #StarSports3 & #Sports18-3! 👈#ISLonJioCinema #ISLonSports18 #JioCinemaSports #LetsFootball pic.twitter.com/zG2qN2PJJL

— JioCinema (@JioCinema) January 11, 2025

Maintain utmost sharpness and fitness on the pitch

Maclaren won the A-League Golden Boot four times in his career, including in three consecutive seasons from 2019 to 2022. He definitely possesses the experience o oust this opponent in the Golden Boot race, but there is need for him to be at his best physically to have a chance at doing so this time around. Maclaren looked razor-sharp with his movement and final product against East Bengal and he needs to maintain that kind of hunger in every single remaining match.

The 31-year-old has to be sharp with how he moves around his marker and get into key goal-scoring positions more often to terrorize the opposition defenders. On top of that, Maclaren also has to work hard to maintain his fitness and avoid injuries as he knows that an injury at this point could potentially end his campaign itself.

Improve his away form

Maclaren might’ve been Mohun Bagan’s king in their Kolkata derby wins, but he’s not been at his most decisive self in a lot of away games this season. In fact, the 31-year-old has only scored two goals in games held outside of Kolkata so far in the 2024/25 capaimgn, having disappointing outings in away games against the likes of Odisha FC, FC Goa and Bengaluru FC.

He needs to be much more prolific in the away games for the Australian forward to have any chance of closing in on the Golden Boot race and challenging for that. Mohun Bagan have six more away matches remaining in the league stages of the 2024-25 ISL campaign, and Maclaren has to look to get maximum return on those games too. Unless he’s able to consistently score goals away from home, he can’t be regarded as the top striker in the ISL or hope to beat the likes of Ajaraie in the Golden Boot race.

Need for consistency

The biggest trait of a ‘goal machine’ (a term for strikers who regularly score goals) is their ability to maintain impressive consistency in banging in goals for their teams. Ajaraei has deserved that tag this season thanks to his heroics for NorthEast United. Maclaren, however, can’t really be called one just yet. That is because his ISL goals so far have come in patches.

The 31-year-old has only scored in consecutive matches once in the 2024-25 ISL campaign so far, which came in the back-to-back wins over Mohammedan Sporting and East Bengal in October (2024).

If Maclaren wants to really close in on the top of the scoring charts, he has to go on a goal-scoring run of 4-5 matches, if not more. Unless he can show himself capable of having that consistency in converting chances and getting at the end of chances, he can’t really be regarded as a worthy Golden Boot contender.

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