Sean Rea prepares for first playoff experience with Wanderers, with an eye on a higher level

Training is nearly over when Sean Rea, arguably the Halifax Wanderers’ most dynamic offensive player, takes a knock during a set piece drill. He limps away from the fray and heads to the player’s bench, his face contorted in pain. His session is clearly over.

However, only a few minutes later, despite his discomfort, he walks over for his scheduled interview pitchside. He’s stripped down his right foot — which has taken him from Montréal to Portland to the shores of the Iberian Sea — so that a red welt is visible. But he’s already forgotten the incident and happily answers questions about the following day’s match versus York United FC and everything the 23-year old midfielder hopes to achieve.

It’s integral in football, he says, to not lose track of what’s ahead of you. For Rea and the Wanderers, that means putting in a good showing in the playoffs, with the goal of winning silverware for the first time in the club’s history. And there’s no denying that the next few months — whatever happens — will be huge for the Montréal-born midfielder’s career.

“What’s important is we qualified for the playoffs four or five games before the end, which is big. Now, we’re pushing for a fourth-place finish so we can bring a home playoff game to the fans,” Rea tells OneSoccer.

“To be able to share this with this group of guys, it’s just great because we’re eight, nine guys from Montréal, guys I’ve played with my whole life, just being able to go through this with them is amazing.”

Rea’s season, his second in Halifax, has seen its fair share of ebb and flow. After starting the year as one of head coach Patrice Gheisar’s roving No. 10’s, paired with the since-departed Giorgio Probo, he found himself on the bench after a half-dozen matches, used as a super-sub to pick apart tired defences. His offensive skill on the ball has always been deadly, with the ability to beat opposition with a tidy nutmeg or surgical pass. And yet, like the Wanderers, he needed to prove that he had the consistency to keep his place in the starting XI.

Rea, as described by Gheisar, is a player fueled by feel and intuition. Recently playing as a No. 10 in Halifax’s 3-4-2-1, he’s trusted to rotate and move freely. And, like a shark drawn to blood, he’s asked to go in for the kill — be it with a cross or shot — when the opportunity presents itself.

“Patrice gives us a lot of freedom up front. I feel like when there’s a lot of freedom, and it’s not too robotic, other teams struggle to defend because a lot of people are moving and they don’t know who to track anymore,” explains Rea.

“Even though my role changes, my job doesn’t. I come on the field to win a game, create chances and score goals. Whether I’m starting or coming off the bench, that’s my job and at the end of the day, my job is to make Patrice feel like he made the wrong decision. I have to be in the line up to score, assist, create chances. I feel like that’s what I was able to do to get back into the line up. That’s just football.”

The second half of the season has seen Rea’s best football in a Wanderers shirt. He’s playing free, something he credits to his partnership with Brazilian midfielder Vitor Dias, whom he says sees the game the same as him. Their performance versus Pacific FC on September 20 — a 3-0 win where Rea collected a goal and an assist — highlighted Halifax’s potential. It’s no coincidence that the Wanderers are at their best when Rea is on the pitch.

Yet it feels like Rea’s full potential hasn't been realized despite chipping in two goals and four assists across 26 appearances. He looks much more comfortable than the player who arrived in Nova Scotia last August. He’s creating chances, although not always being rewarded statistically. And he’s showcasing a work rate greater than his 5-7 frame, which speaks to the strides he’s taken in a year where the Wanderers have vowed to be harder to play against.

But Rea covets a higher level. After CF Montréal declined his option in 2024, he headed to Oregon for a two-month trial with the Portland Timbers. Later, he joined CD Castellón in Spain before deciding to sign for the Wanderers. The football world didn’t stand still as he forged his path, with players he came up with at CF Montréal’s academy moving to Europe and, in the case of Nathan Saliba, also into the Canadian men’s national team.

“We signed at the same time, we played together. He’s a good buddy of mine,” says Rea.

So, has he thought about next year, given he's in the last months of his deal?

“Honestly, I haven’t. It’s my first time in the playoffs and I’m really focusing on what’s ahead. I feel like depending on what happens in the next few months can affect what happens next year. I don’t want to start thinking about too many things when my job right now is to get to the playoffs, have a good performance, win (the North Star Cup) with the team and then make a decision,” he says.

A higher level, however, be it MLS or another league, is what he’s striving for.

“That’s my goal, I’d say. I want to get to the next level. I’m still young. I feel like every player should strive for that,” he says.