After battling injury for the better part of twelve months, young midfielder Josh Demarte says he has got his career back on track. Demarte joined Inglewood United at the beginning of last year but was limited to only scattered youth team appearances by recurring hamstring problems. It took until March for the talented 20-year old to fully regain his fitness but he’s since come on in leaps and bounds, featuring regularly in the Under-20s engine room and picking up a handful of outings with the first team.
With last year’s injury problems a fading memory, Demarte is understandably thrilled with how things have panned out for him this year. “I have been happy with my form so far this season, especially considering how little I played last year,” he said. “I had recurring hamstring issues, on and off, which meant I was never really fit for more than two weeks throughout the whole of last season. So to play regularly in the Under20s and be involved with the first team this year has been great, it’s where every young player is aiming to be.”
Demarte’s form in the Under-20s was rewarded with a second half run-out in last week’s friendly win over Perth Glory. “Getting on against Glory was an exciting experience. As a young player it gives you a lot of confidence when you play against established, quality players and to get a result in front of a crowd is always a bonus,” said Demarte of the Kramer Cup game. “It was also another opportunity for us to farewell and honour Siggy (Kramer), which I feel the whole club did well with the way the entire night panned out.”
It’s been a tough season for Inglewood’s Under-20 team, who are placed eighth with only a handful of games to play. “We’re a better team than where we are on the table,” Demarte commented. “We’ve played some great football throughout the season and came away with results against some of the top teams, but then there have been other times when we’ve not won games that we should have. I think inexperience has played a part – we’re quite a young team compared to others in the league – as well as bad luck and injuries to key players.”
Demarte has come a long way in the past twelve months but the midfielder isn’t one to rest on his laurels. “I haven’t always been at my best week in week out and to progress into the first team that’s something I have to do, I need to bring that sort of consistency to my game,” said Demarte, who is looking forward to play his part in Inglewood’s future. “Winning the Kramer Cup reflects the quality and depth we have at Inglewood, and the move towards promoting youth from within the ranks will be key to the club’s future success.”
