It was a long and treacherous road for Rob Gale’s Valour FC throughout June and July, when key player Michael Petrasso missed out on 7 consecutive league matches through injury. In those 7 matches, Valour picked up a measly 2 points, plummeting to the bottom of the Spring season table, and giving them a less-than-impressive start to the Fall season as well.

It became clear in the first few weeks of the season that Petrasso is Valour’s ‘X-Factor’. He assisted the clubs first ever goal, scored their first ever goal at home, assisted the only goal in a win against Edmonton, and caused problems for the opposition every time he stepped onto the pitch.

You would expect nothing less from a Canadian international, though.

The former Queen’s Park Rangers and Toronto FC youth product was by far the biggest signing made by Valour ahead of their inaugural Canadian Premier League season, and he became one of just a handful of players league-wide who had represented Canada at senior international level. Throughout his career, Petrasso has made a name for himself as a “chameleon”-type player, who is able to fill in at multiple positions across the pitch whenever required.

This trend has continued with Valour, as Petrasso has been used as a right-back, left-winger, right-winger, attacking midfielder, and a centre-forward in a front 2, throughout his minimal appearances for the team. Last season with Montreal Impact in the MLS, Petrasso was used solely as a right-back. His desire to play in more attacking roles led him to the CPL, to work with his former Canada U20 manager, Rob Gale.

Now, Petrasso is back from injury, and he hasn’t taken much time to catch up to his usual level of brilliance.

His contributions off the bench made the difference for Valour in their draw against Pacific on August 1st, as he twisted and turned his way through Michael Silberbauer’s backline in the final 33 minutes, eventually converting a penalty in injury time to seal the point.

This is what’s Michael Petrasso’s March tying goal looked like pitchside. #CanPL pic.twitter.com/FdD8kG5MgP — Ryan Brandt (@Ryan_Brandt) August 1, 2019

Last weekend, Valour managed to halt their winless run with a victory over York 9, which affected the league table significantly, pulling Valour out of the basement and preventing York 9 from reaching the summit. Petrasso played a key role in that match too, scoring a long-range late goal to seal his teams first victory since June 2nd. That goal won the CPL’s fan-pick for play of the week.

Now no matter which position Rob Gale asks Petrasso to play, he seems to come up big for his team by influencing scorelines – and that’s his greatest quality. He has only featured in 7 of Valour’s 16 league matches, but he has grabbed a goal or an assist in 5 of those matches.

At this point, it’s safe to say that nobody, apart from maybe Tyler Attardo, has been getting the fans at IG Field on the edge of their seats more than Michael Petrasso. His dynamism, character, versatility, and ingenuity has been a breath of fresh air to this struggling team, who missed his contributions mightily throughout the summer months.

This might be the only season in which Petrasso represents Valour however, as his contract is only 1-year long, and he will likely look for more glamorous opportunities elsewhere for next season, after proving his attacking qualities in the CPL.

While challenging for the Fall season title may be too much to ask from Valour, if they can keep Petrasso and their other key players healthy, we could certainly be in for some improvement in terms of results, as the season continues.

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Mahith Gamage Website An avid football fan right from his first experiences with the sport, Mahith Gamage has been dabbling in football journalism for a few years now, creating his own world football blog and podcast, freeflow football, whilst featuring frequently on many other football media outlets, covering European football. With the start of the Canadian Premier League in 2019, Mahith began coverage of his hometown club, Valour FC, through NSXI. He enjoys spreading his knowledge and opinions of the beautiful game to fellow football fanatics in Canada and throughout the world, using articles and tweets, thriving particularly on tactical analysis and player scouting. You can find him tweeting about world football day and night, at @mahithgamage.

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