Key Valour players down with injury

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This article was published 13/06/2019 (2627 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Valour FC boss Rob Gale stands out from most head coaches in the world of professional sports, especially the ones in this city.

He doesn’t shy away from being in front of the camera and answering tough questions. He’ll use unique analogies, sayings and pop-culture references to break down what’s going on with his team — which is a reporter’s dream, as he provides no shortage of memorable quotes. Gale also does something that this reporter has yet to see anyone else do, and that’s shake hands with all the media, sometimes before and after a scrum.

But if there’s one thing Gale has in common with other professional coaches, it’s how he holds his cards extremely close to his chest when it comes to player injuries. When you ask Gale about one of his banged-up players, you’d think you’re asking for top-secret information. He provides very few details. In fact, when veteran Croatian midfielder Josip Golubar went down with an injury against Cavalry FC on May 8, Gale didn’t confirm that it was a torn ACL until two weeks later.

With all that said, it was rather surprising to hear Gale rule out star midfielder Michael Petrasso and defender Skylar Thomas for Saturday’s match in Hamilton at Tim Hortons Field against Forge FC, following Thursday morning’s training session at Dakota Collegiate. Both players were absent from the practice.

“Both on the treatment table, and we’ll try to get them back as quickly as we can,” Gale said.

It was unexpected to hear Thomas, the team’s co-captain, ruled out two days before the Forge FC match. On Wednesday at IG Field against HFX Wanderers FC in the second leg of their Canadian Championship second-round matchup, Gale made it sound like there was a good chance Thomas would play in Hamilton.

Thomas went down with a lower-body injury last week in the second half of the first leg in Halifax. Thomas had started every game for Valour in this first season of the Canadian Premier League, but he watched Wednesday’s 2-0 loss from the press box.

“Yeah, I think he will be,” Gale said when asked on Tuesday if Thomas would be ready for Wednesday’s game. “He wasn’t in full practice, he did practise yesterday, but more on his own.”

Petrasso did play on Wednesday, but not for long before he left the game with a groin injury. Petrasso was making a run with the ball down the wing into enemy territory and was taken down with no foul called minutes before the first-half whistle. He stayed on the ground for a while before walking off the field. He didn’t return for the second half, replaced by Glenn Muenkat. Petrasso has easily been Valour’s most impressive player this season. Heading into Wednesday, he led the league in creating chances from open play with 12. The stat is even more impressive considering Petrasso missed two games earlier in the season with a hamstring injury.

With two key cogs missing, it will be even more important for the guys you’d least expect to step up. One of those players could be Winnipegger Raphael Ohin, who got his first start on Wednesday and was one of Valour’s few bright spots in the loss. Ohin was all over the field making plays, and looked nothing like a 23-year-old making his first professional start. Ohin, who was born in Ghana and spent the past three years playing for WSA Winnipeg of the Premier Development League, only had 37 minutes of playing time before Wednesday’s start.

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“It’s been a very good learning experience coming from the bottom up,” Ohin said after Thursday’s practice. “There are players that have played at a higher level who’ve been pro before. But me, coming to this new environment, sometimes it’s good to go down low and learn from the older lads, right? You can see the play well from the bench, so you know what to do when you get in.”

Whether it’s Ohin or another player, Valour needs someone to step up. The club has just six goals in eight games, and hasn’t scored multiple goals in a game since their season opener on May 1. Despite the scoring woes, Valour has a 3-3-0 record in the CPL. A victory over Forge (4-2-1) on Saturday, which beat them 2-0 at IG Field on May 16, might be exactly what Valour needs to get back on track.

“We’ve got to turn the tide,” Gale said. “What better way to do it then away at Forge?”

taylor.allen@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @TaylorAllen31 

Taylor Allen
Reporter

Taylor Allen is a sports reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press. Taylor was the Vince Leah intern in the Free Press newsroom twice while earning his joint communications degree/diploma at the University of Winnipeg and Red River College Polytechnic. He signed on full-time in 2019 and mainly covers the Blue Bombers, curling, and basketball. Read more about Taylor.

Every piece of reporting Taylor produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.