A.P.I.A.-Leichhardt: the sick and sorry Tigers
It?s a fact not lost on their affable coach Luke McGuire. Pre-season injuries have caused McGuire no end of worry as the NSW Premier League gets underway.
Going into the game against Blacktown City FC on the weekend, it was no secret that A.P.I.A.-Leichhardt were missing some of their key personnel.
Opposition coaches, who astutely study each other?s formations, will certainly not have the missed the point: A.P.I.A.-Leichhardt are experiencing an injury crisis.
?Yes, we are very disappointed to have had such bad luck so early in the season,? McGuire said. ?Since coming back from our pre-season tour of Melbourne, we?ve had a horrendous run with injuries.
?The situation got so bad that we had to call off a pre-season game with the Sutherland Sharks because we only had four fit players in the squad.
?In the last two weeks we have struggled to have 5 or 6 players on the training pitch at any one time.?
A.P.I.A.-Leichhardt are nothing if not resilient. A club with one of the proudest histories in Australian football, the family-friendly Leichhardt-based outfit is not about to sit around feeling sorry for itself.
As McGuire explains, A.P.I.A.-Leichhardt is a humble club but with plenty of heart.
?Last year we finished eleventh and this year we hope to do a little bit better, but it won?t be easy,? he said.
?The NSW Premier League is full of quality teams, but we too will give the competition our best shot. That?s part of our core values here at A.P.I.A.-Leichhardt; to stay focussed, be humble and accept the cards that we are given without making any excuses.?
However, it must still be noted that arguably one of the competition?s brightest young prospects will miss the first 6 to 8 weeks.
David D?Apuzzo, the midfield ace who has had stints in the A-League with the Central Coast Mariners, has suffered a knee injury.
While McGuire is reluctant to praise individual players, instead preferring to focus on the whole team, D?Apuzzo it must be said will be missed.
-By Joe Russo
