A goal on his starting return to the A-League delighted Melbourne City striker Jamie Maclaren.
The Australia international was brought in for his bow alongside Tottenham Hotspur loanee Shayon Harrison in City's 1-1 draw at home to Adelaide United.
My job was to press hard and try to force mistakes, there are positives to take from it.
Jamie Maclaren
Maclaren scored with a close-range backheel to cancel out Craig Goodwin's header for United.
It came when Luke Brattan capitalised on a tired Adelaide clearance, forcing a turnover from keeper Paul Izzo and delivering a low cross that Maclaren converted.
The striker said it had been a dream start, adding: "It was a great ball from Brattsy; obviously scoring is great and it's been a tough week for us. To score in front of my family is amazing.
"It was a bit nitty gritty but my job was to press hard and try to force mistakes, there are positives to take from it."
Coach Warren Joyce felt City had started slowly but then worked their way into the game and created good chances.
"We've played well the past few weeks and often got no points, but Shay (Harrison) did well, a good performance from (Maclaren), he's had a lot of jet lag and had to integrate into a new group, so they've done brilliantly," he said.
City missed the chance to leapfrog United into the top four. But they were at least able to maintain their two-point gap, having lost their previous two games against Wellington Phoenix and Sydney FC without scoring.
They now have a spell of four away games out of five rounds, including the Melbourne derby against Victory on 23rd February.
Melbourne City are 9/1 to win the Grand Final.
Adelaide United are 8/13 to win their next game against Western Sydney, who are 4/1 with the draw 3/1.
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A goal on his starting return to the A-League delighted Melbourne City striker Jamie Maclaren.
The Australia international was brought in for his bow alongside Tottenham Hotspur loanee Shayon Harrison in City's 1-1 draw at home to Adelaide United.
My job was to press hard and try to force mistakes, there are positives to take from it.
Jamie Maclaren
Maclaren scored with a close-range backheel to cancel out Craig Goodwin's header for United.
It came when Luke Brattan capitalised on a tired Adelaide clearance, forcing a turnover from keeper Paul Izzo and delivering a low cross that Maclaren converted.
The striker said it had been a dream start, adding: "It was a great ball from Brattsy; obviously scoring is great and it's been a tough week for us. To score in front of my family is amazing.
"It was a bit nitty gritty but my job was to press hard and try to force mistakes, there are positives to take from it."
Coach Warren Joyce felt City had started slowly but then worked their way into the game and created good chances.
"We've played well the past few weeks and often got no points, but Shay (Harrison) did well, a good performance from (Maclaren), he's had a lot of jet lag and had to integrate into a new group, so they've done brilliantly," he said.
City missed the chance to leapfrog United into the top four. But they were at least able to maintain their two-point gap, having lost their previous two games against Wellington Phoenix and Sydney FC without scoring.
They now have a spell of four away games out of five rounds, including the Melbourne derby against Victory on 23rd February.
Melbourne City are 9/1 to win the Grand Final.
Adelaide United are 8/13 to win their next game against Western Sydney, who are 4/1 with the draw 3/1.
View all Soccer betting
Source: bet365.com