ARCHIE Goodwin scored his first goal in three months and Apostolos Stamatelopouls made it 14 for the season as the Newcastle Jets came back twice to snatch a 2-all draw with Macarthur at McDonald Jones Stadium on Sunday night.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
After a goal-less 68 minutes, the game burst to life.
The visitors went ahead twice through two pieces of brilliance from Mexican maestro Ulises Davilla.
Well contained for much of the match, the pint-sized play maker squeezed a shot inside the left post in the 69th minute.
He then turned provider, chipping a cross to the far post for Valere Germain to get the slightest of touches in the 81st.
Both times the Jets found a way back.
Goodwin, a second-half replacement, made a late run into the box and hit a volley which went in off the post to level at 1-all in the 71st minute.
It was the 19-year-old's first goal since round five and ended a 12-game drought.
Then, with time nearly up, Stamatelopoulos struck from the penalty spot after Lucas Mauragis was felled in the box.
The striker, who went close with two earlier efforts, slammed his spot kick down the middle to move to 14 goals, one ahead of Bruno Fornaroli in the race for the golden boot.
"I'm really happy that Archie scored," Jets coach Rob Stanton said. "It was a real instinctive run and finish. A really aggressive action, which I was pleased with. He works hard at training and it was good to get that reward."
The Jets controlled large periods and had the better of the chances
Mauragis was enormous and Phil Cancar was immense at the back in his return to the starting team.
The Jets had been guilty of conceding costly late goals this season.
Germain equalised in the 90th minute in their 1-all stalemate with the Bulls in round 11.
"We have come back a couple of times now," Stanton said. "Against Victory and against Perth. It shows good signs about the group and where we are heading. It shows that we have fight in us and we are resilient."
The point took the Jets to 19 points, but they still face a tough task of making the play-off. They are eight points behind sixth-placed Sydney FC with eight games remaining.
"Part of me is happy with the performance," Stanton said. "We still have a lot of work to do. You can see there are little lapses at times and we suffer for that.
"I thought we created enough chances to win the game, but we didn't have enough conviction when they presented. We had chances but we just didn't grab them. Once we conceded we thought we have to be a bit detailed and precise. Then we scored straight away from the kickoff."
Stanton made two changes from the lacklustre 2-0 loss to last-placed Western United.
Cancar returned in the centre of defence in place of Nathan Grimaldi and Callum Timmins started in midfield for Kosta Grozos, who reverted to the bench after being hindered by a minor hamstring issue.
Macarthur were backing up from a 120-minute extra time defeat to the Mariners in an Asian Cup knockout match on Wednesday night.
However, Bulls coach Mile Sterjovski resisted the temptation to rest his stars.
The Jets emphasised the importance of a strong start in the lead-up and the home side were straight on the front foot,
Mauragis swooped on a loose ball in the second minute and launched a shot which fizzed past the right post.
A minute later, Stamatelopoulos made a run in behind but the cross from Dane Ingham was a fraction heavy.
Trent Buhagiar also had an early sighter, creating space on the edge of the box and firing a stinging effort which thundered into the side netting.
Mauragis was in everything. He burst down the left and delivered a searching cross that just needed a touch.
Buhagiar had another half chance and Timmins had a shot turned around the post by Filip Kurto.
The shot count was 5-0 after 25 minutes.
After absorbing a ton of pressure, the visitors applied some of their own midway through the half.
Winger Jed Drew struck the right post and the Jets had to twice scramble to thwart danger.
Stamatelopoulos sent a long-range effort to the left in the 44th minute and glanced a header just wide in stoppage time.
The second half started in similar fashion to the first, with the Jets looking dangerous without producing a killer blow.
Stanton freshened the attack on the hour, injecting Goodwin and Daniel Stynes into the fray for Buhagiar and Clayton Taylor.
The change nearly paid instant dividends, with Mauragis forcing a diving save from Kurto.
Then in the 68th minute, against the run of play, Davilla struck.
The Mexican released Germain and stayed alive. Germain got caught in a tangle on the edge of the box and the ball squeezed out to Davilla. He took a touch and pulled the trigger. It wasn't the cleanest of strikes but the precision was pin-point, tucking inside the left post.
The lead was short-lived.
From the kick-off, Daniel Wilmering, who had only just come on the field, burst down the left and cut a cross back for Goodwin. The teenager did the rest, striking a volley in off the inside of the right post.
