Andre Blake is back in the Union’s net — but not for long
After Saturday's game at FC Dallas, Blake will head off to Jamaica's national team for World Cup qualifiers and the Concacaf Gold Cup. He'll likely be gone for all of June.
Andre Blake finally returned to game action for the Union in Wednesday’s dramatic 2-1 win at Toronto FC, after missing six games due to a knee injury. And in all likelihood, he’ll start Saturday’s game at FC Dallas (8:30 p.m., Apple TV) that finally caps off the Union’s nine-game month.
But after that, fans and his teammates will have to again get used to not seeing him in net. Blake will leave for Jamaica’s national team, which plays World Cup qualifiers on June 7 at the British Virgin Islands and June 10 at home vs. Guatemala.
Then it’s on to the Gold Cup, where the Reggae Boyz will face Guatemala again, Guadeloupe, and Panama in a game that should decide the group winner. Assuming both those teams advance as they should, Blake will probably miss at least three regular-season games: June 14 vs. Charlotte, June 25 at Chicago, and June 29 at Columbus. (He’ll also miss the June 4 friendly vs. Mexico’s Atlas, but he almost certainly wouldn’t have played in it anyway.)
The July 5 game at Nashville will depend on whether Jamaica makes the final on July 6; or, if the Reggae Boyz fall in the semis on July 2, what shape Blake is in when he returns to the Union.
» READ MORE: May was supposed to break the Union. Instead, it has marked their best month in recent memory.
Fans have seen plenty of those intangibles over the years, including speeches he’s given in huddles on the field. But the tangibles matter most, of course, and Blake showed them again Wednesday with three saves.
In past years, Blake’s absences prompted major concern, because the Union didn’t have a backup good enough to stand in for him. They finally do now in Andrew Rick, who will start again while Blake is gone.
Given a choice, anyone would take Blake first. But Rick has shown enough by now for everyone to have confidence in him.
» READ MORE: At last, the Union’s most difficult stretch of the year is almost over
“You have to get the trust,” Carnell said. “It’s a bumpy road as a young, 19-year-old goalkeeper, because everything [regarding] scrutiny is on you. You make one bad moment, or one bad touch, everyone’s looking at you and raising [an] eyebrow. … There’s been moments where he’s gained, by doing, the trust of his teammates.”
The team’s only short-term injury concern is striker Bruno Damiani, whom Carnell said suffered a quadriceps contusion in the Toronto game.
“We’re hoping he’ll be all right,” Carnell said. “There’s one or two guys with question marks, but I don’t want to rule anyone out just yet, until [Saturday] morning.”
Centerbacks Ian Glavinovich and Neil Pierre remain out as longer-term absences.