Coach Rob Stanton is considering giving teenage sharpshooter Archie Goodwin his first start in over a year as the Newcastle Jets search for a much-needed win against bitter rivals Central Coast on Saturday.
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The 19-year-old Young Socceroo came off the bench to score and spark the Jets attack in a 2-2 draw with Macarthur at McDonald Jones Stadium on Sunday evening.
Goodwin was deployed in the 59th minute and found the back of the net in the 71st with a well-timed run into the box and a volley which went in off the post to cancel out Ulises Davila's effort for the Bulls two minutes earlier.
It was his first goal in three months and came after the Cooks Hill junior and fan favourite was rested one week earlier.
"I had to leave him out the week before," Stanton said post-match on Sunday night.
"He had a niggle and he was looking a little tired and I was concerned. The week off did him the world of good and he came back really quickly, which means his body is starting to get to used to the training loads and things like that.
"I just knew if I brought him on at some stage he'd do something. He looked a lot fresher. It was a real instinctive run and finish. A really aggressive action, which I was pleased with."
Goodwin exploded onto the A-League as a 16-year-old but has been limited for game time in his short career due to a string of injury setbacks, including two back surgeries coming into this campaign.
In the past two seasons, he has been restricted to eight appearances in each for a total of 176 minutes and 145 minutes. He has never played a 90-minute game and last started on February 4 last year.
But Goodwin, who scored in a 3-1 loss to Central Coast on November 25, is widely regarded as a game-changer and proved that on Sunday in his 14th outing of the season.
"There's some areas of his game that we want to improve ... but today was really good," Stanton said.
"I'll certainly have a big think about what we do next week and if he's ready to start or whether we bring him on to change the game again.
"It's a tough one but we'll see how the week pans out."
Apostolos Stamatelopoulos became the A-League's leading scorer with his 14th goal of the season coming from the penalty spot in the 89th minute to ensure a share of the points after Valere Germain had give Macarthur a 2-1 lead in the 81st.
The result left the Jets 11th on 19 points with eight rounds remaining as they eye the high-flying Mariners (34 points) at McDonald Jones Stadium this weekend.
Newcastle have not won a match since beating Brisbane 3-1 in round 12 but controlled large periods against the fourth-placed Bulls (29) and had the better chances.
"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.
"It also shows that we need to take the initiative a bit more in games."
Kick-off between the Jets and Mariners on Saturday at 6pm.
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