Forge FC has a message for the rest of the soccer world, especially that part of it around the lower Great Lakes.
It shouldn’t have to be repeated, because so much of the larger soccer universe in The Americas and The Caribbean is familiar with Forge’s experience in big-time games but here it is anyway: Forge FC feels very at home in games of major impact, ones which decide a title or keep the pursuit of one alive.
In fact, in conjunction with tickets now on sale for the first leg of the two-game TELUS Canadian Championship semi-final on Wednesday, July 10 at Tim Hortons Field against Toronto FC, the Forge organization has released a video called “Where We Belong” which emphasizes how often Forge has played, and usually very well, in matches of critical importance.
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“We talk about that as a team,” Forge Head Coach and Sporting Director Bobby Smyrniotis said before training this morning. “In the last five years, we’ve played 20 games in Concacaf, more than any Canadian team. It’s something we’re excited about. It’s a rare situation but it’s something that’s normal for us as a club. Something we’re always striving for.”
While the Hammers continue to chase their fifth Canadian Premier League title in six seasons, they’ve also been plowing steadily ahead in another major title chase; the Canadian Championships.
Hamilton qualified for the Canadian semifinals by upsetting CF Montréal in the quarters, following up a 1-1 draw at Tim Hortons Field by defeating Montreal 2-1 in the second leg at Stade Saputo to win 3-2 on aggregate.
That was Forge’s first-ever win over a Major League Soccer side and avenged an 11-round shootout loss to Montréal in the 2021 Canadian championship semi-finals.
So next up is heavily-favoured Toronto FC — Canada’s original franchise in the U.S.-based MLS — who edged Forge, 2-1 also on penalty kicks, in the pandemic-delayed 2020 Canadian championship played in June 2022 at Tim Hortons Field. Arguably, Forge should have beaten their MLS visitors in both those Canadian championship games.
After nearly 15,000 fans watched Forge tie Montréal in early June in the first “School Day Match”, Forge officials decided they would open both sides of the stadium, upper and lower bowls, for ticket sales, right from the beginning and a huge crowd is anticipated.
There are a lot of themes at play in this head-to-head clash of successful franchises at opposite ends, not only of the QEW but of the financial spectrum.
Among the many talking points of this matchup is that TFC’s total salary is north of $15 million while Forge’s is $1.125. The Forge (along with fellow CPL semi-finalist Pacific FC) puts the Canadian in the Canadian Championship with 20 Canadians on its overall roster while TFC has nine.
There are also the two well-known coaches John Herdman, who worked wonders with both the men’s and women’s national teams and is now TFC coach, and Forge’s Bobby Smyrniotis, who was under consideration for MLS head coaching jobs with Toronto and Montréal and also with the men’s national team.
And two Forge stars Kyle Bekker and currently-injured Jordan Hamilton, were cast off by TFC earlier in their pro careers but have prevailed in the long run. Additionally inaugural CPL player of the year Tristan Borges and Hammer youngsters Kwasi Poku and Malik Owolabi-Belewu were once with various levels of the TFC Academy but left to find better opportunities and development with Smyrniotis.
There will also be some classic personnel matchups between well-known Reds like Lorenzo Insigne and Fernando Bernadeschi and lesser-known but rising Forge FC’s Beni Badibanga and Daniel Parra, although Parra will be forced to miss the first leg because of accumulated yellow cards.
And hovering over the opening leg will be the 2022 time-distorted loss in the 2020 national championship final. TFC, rebuilding at the time, took the match seriously and used most of its “A” lineup while Forge was shorthanded in the backline but still unleashed more threatening scoring chances, matched their opponents in duels won, and forced Toronto goalkeeper Quentin Westberg to be the difference. He had to make several saves, including one-off Borges and another on a Terran Campbell breakaway. Hamilton also hit the post twice: Borges on a first-half penalty kick and Poku on the sixth and last of the penalty kicks which were needed to decide the game which stood 1-1 after regulation time.
“It was obviously one of those games in your short history you’d like back because you’re probably one spot-kick away from lifting a trophy,” Smyrniotis said today. “We lost it on that day when we were excellent, that’s a couple of years ago. We’ve got a great opportunity in front of us to go for a trophy.
“We’ve only played them once. But I think there’s just a natural thing between the two cities being in close proximity, and what’s been built there between the Tiger-Cats and the Argos. That’s the beauty of sport.”
The win over Montréal—a series they actually dominated except for the final 45 minutes of game two when a weather delay changed the momentum—gives Forge a tailwind, and confidence, for another MLS opponent.
“For us, it’s something we’ve now done,” Smyrniotis said. “We’ve played these games very well in the past, that’s kind of our guide. We’ve got players here with a lot of experience in these games and we have a lot of players who are new and what happened in the past doesn’t matter to them. So we’ve got a good mix of that.
“I’d like to see as many fans there as possible. We saw how great the atmosphere was against Montréal. That was a unique game but just having this place full of people gives us great motivation.”