Maclaren’s Aussie call-up keeps World Cup dream alive
Hibs striker Jamie Maclaren’s hopes of playing in this summer’s World Cup finals in Russia were given a boost when he was named in Australia’s squad for two friendlies later this month.
Maclaren, pictured, made the switch to Easter Road in January in a bid to catch the eye of new Aussie boss Bert van Marwijk, realising his hopes of playing on football’s biggest stage were evaporating as his move to German outfit Darmstadt had turned sour. The 24-year-old has become a regular starter for the capital club and scored the winner from the penalty spot as Neil Lennon’s side defeated Rangers 2-1 at Ibrox. He has been included in a 29-man preliminary squad for matches against Norway in Oslo on 23 March and Colombia at Fulham’s Craven Cottage four days later as the Socceroos begin their preparations for the World Cup, where they have been drawn against France, Peru and Denmark.
Meanwhile, Lennon fears “rustiness” could hinder Hibs’ hopes of Edinburgh derby success against rivals Hearts. The Easter Road outfit will not have played for 13 days when Friday night’s eagerlyawaited clash comes around. Their meeting with Hamilton Accies was called off last Wednesday and then they were not involved in the Scottish Cup quarterfinals at the weekend. The club’s East Mains training ground was also closed for a spell last week because of the wintry weather and the travelling restrictions imposed on the central belt.
Theirtynecastlefoes,meanwhile, will have played twice in that time, having drawn with Kilmarnock last Tuesday and suffered an agonising exit from the cup against Motherwell on Sunday.
Lennon said: “My only concern is we haven’t played since a week last Saturday, while Hearts have had two games in between. Now, that could workforthemoritcouldwork for us, so it will be interesting to see how we approach the game early on, to see if there’s any rustiness there.
“There really shouldn’t be but, with the weather, we’ve had little time to prepare. So, hopefully in the build-up now to the game we can get some more work into the players and have them ready. But I’m very much looking forward to it. I’ve enjoyed the atmospheres in all the games so far.”