South Melbourne barely had time to reflect on Sunday’s Grand Final defeat to the Bentleigh Greens before turning their attention towards tomorrow afternoon’s NPL Elimination Finals clash against Hobart Olympia.
Young goalkeeper Fraser MacLaren made a surprise appearance in the showpiece fixture, coming on as a second half substitute for the injured Nikola Roganovic and could once more be called into action if the former Melbourne Heart custodian doesn’t recover in time.
“I wasn’t expecting to come on but you never know what could happen,” MacLaren said.
“So I was always prepared to come on and when I did I just had to adjust to the pace of the game straight away and try and do my job for the team.”
The 20-year-old contends that while the defeat was tough to take, the NPL Victoria premiers are still confident ahead of Saturday’s do-or-die fixture against the Tasmanian NPL Champions.
The finals series provides Chris Taylor’s men with the perfect opportunity to end their season on a high after their Grand Final disappointment, while also allowing them a chance to redeem themselves after losing in the semi-finals of last year’s competition.
“At the moment the mood within the squad is still positive as we’ve got another big game coming up on Saturday,” he said.
“The NPL finals give us a great opportunity to finish the season on a high after what has already been a pretty successful season for us already since I’ve joined the club in late May.”
“I’m not sure how much the team knows about our opposition for Saturday but I know we won’t underestimate them and know that we are in for another tough battle at Lakeside.”
The promising young shot-stopper first rose to prominence last year with the Bulleen Lions, before continuing his good form with Kingston City this year, establishing himself as one of the NPL 1’s best goalkeepers.
Since making the switch to South, MacLaren made a league debut in a 1-0 away victory over Dandenong Thunder, where he made a number of vital saves to secure all three points.
While game time has been limited due to the form of first-choice Nikola Roganovic, the youngster says he has enjoyed working with the more-experienced custodian as well as the club’s goalkeeping coach, Bojo Jevdjevic.
“Working with Nikola and Bojo has been a good experience as they’re two good heads to have around who I have learned a lot from since being at the club,” he said.
“They both certainly have pushed me to become a better goalkeeper with their experience and knowledge.”
MacLaren is also full of praise for the rest of the playing squad, who have made him feel at home since moving to South Melbourne, where his father Bruce MacLaren played in the 1980s and early 1990s.
“My dad Bruce is in the Hall of Fame down at the club and has always helped me along the way, whether it was during my early days at Beaumaris up until now at South, where he still manages to motivate me and give me advice when and where he can,” MacLaren said.
“If I’m half as good as what he was I’m sure I’ll be a half decent goal keeper over the course of my career.”
In a family affair, one of the silver linings to come out of Sunday’s disappointment for MacLaren was seeing cousin Alastair Bray celebrate the Greens’ success and receive a call up to the Olyroos.
“It was good to play against him on Sunday especially in a Grand Final. It wasn’t the first time we’ve played against each other as we played against each other last season when I was at Bulleen,” he said.
“It is awesome to see my cousin get an Olyroos call up and I have no doubt that he has got a good future ahead of him as he’s a great goalkeeper and definitely has the ability to be playing at a higher level.”
Given his young age and shot-stopping exploits over the past 18 months, it will come as little surprise if MacLaren follows in Bray’s footsteps over the next few years.
But the 20-year-old and his teammates currently their eyes firmly set on their clash with Hobart Olympia as they look to end another memorable season on a high by winning the NPL Finals and qualifying for next year’s edition of the FFA Cup Round of 32.