HFX Wanderers midfielder Andre Rampersad may still be underrated in the Canadian Premier League but it’s getting harder to ignore what he’s doing at the Island Games. Especially after a stellar performance against FC Edmonton in a 3-1 win.
He set up goals for teammates João Morelli and Akeem Garcia, delivered four tackles and thought he had a goal of his own.
“I was already on my way to the corner flag to celebrate with João Morelli but it hit the crossbar,” said Rampersad of his power header.
Rampersad’s biggest impact on the game came in the 34th minute when he intercepted an Eddies pass near the middle of the field then delivered a perfectly weighted ball to Akeem Garcia who took care of the rest.
“One of my biggest qualities is that I can read the game really well. The pass that I picked off was automatic and I knew where Garcia was from looking at him before the play,” Rampersad said while reflecting on the assist.
“So when I got the ball, it was just automatic to put it in the space. He had lots of space, he has speed and I knew he would get onto it just for the finish.”
The play highlights what the box-to-box midfielder from Trinidad and Tobago brings to the team. He has a passing accuracy of 87 percent — including 77 percent in the opponents half. He leads the team with seven key passes, two assists and 10 interceptions. And he comes out on the winning side of duels the majority of times with a 60 percent success rate.
Rampersad, known as Rampy to his teammates, has been vital for the Wanderers in his second season with the team, playing all but eight minutes of the Island Games so far.
“Last year when I got here, it was more like me adapting so I started pretty slow. I was hard on myself kind of and then eventually I got into the groove where I was just playing,” he said.
“I wasn’t playing to my full potential, I was still trying to be safe and trying not to lose the ball, not taking risks.”
The message from Stephen Hart to him this season — take more risks. Now that the player is comfortable and has a feel for the league, he’s producing more. He also has added responsibility as one of three team captains. He teased those leadership abilities at the end of last season when former Wanderer captain Elton John and the team agreed to give Rampy the captain’s armband for the final game of the season.
“I think that stood out for the coach and he saw that they trusted me. He’s seen my leadership qualities as well. This year was just me continuing what I did,” he explained.
It’s not the first time our midfield dynamo has been a captain. When he was in school, he played cricket and captained his team. Eventually he had to shift his focus from cricket and soccer to just one sport.
“It wasn’t like a stressing point. It was more like I got to focus on one. I always liked soccer. My uncle, we used to sit down and he used to show me videos of the old Pelé and Maradona and I liked the excitement of the game. It caught my eyes pretty quick and I fell in love with it.”
Rampersad played for eight years with FC Santa Rosa in Trinidad and Tobago where he won a Super League title in 2018. Playing with the Wanderers last season, he was reunited with former FC Santa Rosa coach Derek King, who was an assistant on Hart’s coaching staff. King saw the potential in Rampersad at Santa Rosa and appreciated his hard work in practice.
Now King is back in Trinidad and Tobago as an assistant for the men’s national team under Terry Fenwick and also manages the under-20 team. He hopes to perhaps link up with his former coach on the international stage.
“Every player dreams to play for their country I would think. For me that’s one of the biggest things in my career, playing for your country. I want to represent the red, white and black to my full potential,” he smiled.
The touch maps from the Wanderers first four matches show the Trini’s influence in the matches so far, with his stats up there with the top players in the league.
Well worthy of an international call up if you ask any of his teammates, our fans or anyone at our club!
“With Derek King being there, I still work for my pick regardless, but I think it makes it just a little bit easier because he knows what I can do. If needed, he could bring me in.”
Last season, Wanderers teammate and fellow Trini Akeem Garcia was recalled by the national team for the first time in four years after a strong Canadian Premier League campaign.
“Seeing him go to the national team was really inspiring for me, to do better because I know if both of us go to the national team, we can connect,” said the Wanderers skipper.
The midfielder also understands there are bigger things than soccer. Every member of the eight CPL teams were together before the Cavalry and Atletico Ottawa game to show solidarity for the Black Lives Matter movement and a renewed call for social justice after the shooting of Jacob Blake in Wisconsin.
The players took a knee during the national anthem and then observed another moment of silence at the 8:46 mark when the game was paused to honour George Floyd, who was killed by police in Minnesota on May 25.
“Just to be a part of something so important and so massive because of what’s happening in the world today, it gives you that joyful feeling because at the end of the day when you look at the bigger picture of what’s happening, after the soccer is done and all the fun and games is done, then what do we do? What did we accomplish? Yeah we accomplished championships and that, but to help people learn and educate themselves in certain ways is a big thing as well.”