Melbourne City coach Warren Joyce was left impressed by teenager Nathaniel Atkinson in their 1-0 win over Central Coast Mariners on Sunday night.
The 18-year-old Tasmanian defender made his A-League debut on Sunday, but his first senior appearance had already come in their Round of 32 FFA Cup 2-0 win over Peninsula Power, coming in the 94th minute for Bruno Fornaroli.
Atkinson played the full game on Sunday night after having a disruptive season with the Young Socceroos.
Joyce said Atkinson handled himself well in front of the crowd of just under 8,000.
“It’s only one game, it’s a big ask but he’s done really well on Sunday,” Joyce said.
“It doesn’t really surprise me, but he’s made the most of his opportunity.
“Sometimes you don’t know how they’re going to react in front of a crowd with the added pressure and the pressure from the club to win games, you don’t know how he’s going to handle that, but I thought he took it in his stride.
“He’s one that caught my eye as soon as I came to the club really. He’s been away with the Young Socceroos and missed a lot of training.
“He didn’t come back in a great condition, so we had to build him up again. In pre-season, he worked his socks off, showed a good attitude and showed that he can handle the football as well.”
Joyce made just one substitution in the win against Mariners, with 21-year-old Braedyn Crowley coming on for goal scorer Ross McCormack with two minutes remaining.

The City boss hinted he would be trialling more youngsters this season.
“They’ve got to earn the right to play,” he said.
“We want the kids to come through and we want to see all the work that the academy does. The kids have to grasp the opportunity and make sure they’re ready for it in every way, mentally, physically and tactically, they can handle it all.
“There’s a pretty good guide usually if the training is competitive and you’re doing it on a daily basis, you’re more confident that you’ll see it on a Saturday and that’s what happened with Nathaniel.
“It’s unfortunate, at the start of the season, he played in a behind-closed-doors game and did well, then he’s away and we lose him from developing him really.
“You want to develop them in an environment where they are training hard every day, improve their touches, their fitness and understanding of the game.”
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