Sydney FC’s unfortunate luck with injuries may have been one of the down points to the season so far but it has given one player in particular the chance to stake his claim for a regular first team berth.
Youngster Peter Triantis burst onto the scene two years ago, scoring the winning goal against Brisbane Roar in a 2-1 win at Allianz Stadium but injury and competition for places has since hampered his opportunities.
However the recent spate of season ending injuries to Ali Abbas, Corey Gameiro, Nick Carle and Sasa Ognenovski and Terry Antonis’ Socceroos call up has given the 22 year old the chance to press his claims with starting spots against Brisbane Roar and Newcastle Jets.
“You never want to lose your mates to injury and unfortunately we’ve got quite a few but we are all pushing for them to get back and they want us to do well also. I know I need to play to my best because when they come back I want to stay in the team,” he said.
“The two games I’ve started we’ve had two clean sheets which has been good but obviously you want to win the games and against the Newcastle Jets I felt we were unlucky not to do that. The Brisbane game was my first start and it was very humid but I gave it everything I had and felt the hard work I’ve been doing paid off.”
Triantis knows all about what it takes to recover from a long term injury having spent all of last season on the sidelines recovery from osteitis pubis, a chronic groin injury often suffered by young players coming to terms with starting out on a professional career.
“It’s so good to be back after missing last year through injury, I feel it’s a new start and it’s so much better. I had a couple of games off the bench [before starting the last two] and once you are on the pitch and the adrenaline is going it quickly feels like you are back in the rhythm.
“I would have loved to have kept going, [through the Asian Cup] but we have got the time off and can also use it to work on a few other things.
“A few of the boys have had a break after the tough schedule [4 games in 13 days] but I’ve still been coming in to keep on top of things, having not played a lot this season. Hopefully once the season starts up again I’ll be able to hit the ground running.”
With Sydney FC’s next game at the Central Coast Mariners on January 24, Triantis will be hoping he has done enough in his last two games to retain his place.
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