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Antonis eager to win back starting spot

1st March, 2015
7

He came back from a triumphant Asian Cup campaign only to find he’d lost his Sydney FC starting spot, now Terry Antonis is determined to get it back.

The 21-year-old midfielder came on as a late substitute to clinch the stunning winner for Sydney FC in their dramatic 4-3 victory over fierce rivals Western Sydney on Saturday night.

“I was excited to just come on the pitch and play in the derby,” Antonis told AAP on Sunday.

“I came on just hoping I could do my best and help the boys.

“I was so happy to score but more than anything it was great to get the three points.”

With Mickael Tavares suspended for the Sky Blues’ clash with Newcastle on Friday after his late sending off in the derby, the door has opened for Antonis to reclaim his spot in the starting line-up.

The young gun was a permanent fixture in Graham Arnold’s XI early this season and earned a Socceroos call-up on the back of a barnstorming few months in the A-League.

But having not kicked a ball for the entire Asian Cup, Antonis returned to his club lacking match fitness.

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That, combined with impressive performances from the likes of new Senegalese recruit Tavares, Milos Dimitrijevic and Chris Naumoff relegated the midfielder to the bench for three of the last four games.

It was something Antonis admits was difficult to take.

“It was a bit difficult,” he conceded.

“But you’ve just got to keep working hard and do what the coach says.

“You can’t always think you’ve just got your spot. It’s good to have competition on the team.”

Arnold hinted Antonis would slot straight back into his midfielder starting role next week.

But the youngster, who hasn’t played a full 90 minutes since Sydney’s 3-0 loss to Adelaide on December 26, isn’t getting ahead of himself.

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“It would be great to start and get the 90 minutes under my belt but you’ve just got to wait till he (Arnold) names the final squad,” he said.

“But whether you start or not, you’ve always got to play like it’s your last game.”

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