That was an awfully big goal by Hoce Massunda.
And it spoke, as all CPL insiders pointed out, to the depth and breadth of Forge FC’s bench strength.
Massunda, who had checked into the game 18 minutes earlier with veteran forward Viktor Klonaridis, drilled home the tying goal in the 82nd minute as The Hammers rallied for the 1-1 draw in Ottawa Sunday.
That was a crucial comeback—after Gabriel Antinoro’s early goal had given Atlético confidence—as Forge exited the weekend the same way they entered it: two points up on Atléti. But they also ticked another game off the calendar, which is also significant in what the CPL bills as the Chase, the stretch run to the league’s post-season.
Forge needed to extract a point from Ottawa and hold them to a single point, as it guaranteed that should the two teams finish deadlocked at the top of the table when the season concludes with all four teams playing at the same hour on the same day (Oct. 18), Forge would claim first place and the CPL Shield because they own the tiebreaker. In their four games against Ottawa, Hamilton has one win and three draws.
It's almost certain that Forge and Atlético, who have developed a bitter rivalry ever since the Hammers went into Ottawa and won the 2022 CPL championship game, will meet in the Summit Showdown, the single-game head-to-head semifinal that pits the top two finishers against each other. The winner of that advances directly to the league final, while the loser would host a “contender semifinal” against the survivor of the three other playoff teams.
But there are still four games remaining, and with the first two of those at home, Forge needs to take advantage of Hamilton Stadium beginning Saturday afternoon (4 p.m.) against seventh-place Pacific FC, who are out of the post-season picture but is playing for pride and sixth place, which can make them a relaxed and dangerous opponent. Pacific ownership has also announced that the team is up for sale, and its players will strive to make an impression to secure their future with the franchise. So Bobby Smyrniotis and his crew will want to strike early and often and not leave anything to chance.
The following week, the Hammers host Vancouver FC, who are still basking in the greatest moment in franchise history as they eliminated Ottawa in the Canadian championship semifinal and will play for the title against the Vancouver Whitecaps, who sidelined Forge in the other semifinal in an all-B.C. title game. Forge would also like to capture that one, as their final two games are on the road, against the surging Cavalry, the league’s hottest team right now, and York United, their 905 Derby rivals, battling for a home game in the 3-4-5 playoff duel.
Forge has won all three games against Pacific this year by a combined 5-0 score as the Tridents are the lowest scoring team in the league with 24 goals, 18 fewer than Forge. The west coasters haven’t won since Aug. 10, when they beat Vancouver FC, completing their only back-to-back wins of the season. Since then, it’s been three losses and three draws.
Mexican forward Alejandro Díaz and French midfielder/defender Aly Ndom, who has played in France, Italy, and Finland, lead Pacific with five goals apiece, while Yann Toulay has a quartet.
Forge, meanwhile, played an excellent second half in Ottawa after conceding early, and used its five-substitution depth, which brought Massunda and Klonaridis off the bench together as well as veteran pros David Choinière, Noah Jensen, and Ben Paton later. They were all in or close to the picture for the tying goal as Klonaridis was set up wonderfully by Paton, but had his drive go off the post. An alert Massunda, who had changed the dynamics of the attack, drilled it home for the important point. Massunda, who turned 20 in June, has been part of eight Forge goals, potting three himself and adding five assists, just two off the league lead.
Klonaridis played three games for Forge last year, then the Belgian-born forward played parts of this season in Greece. The 33-year-old has plenty of big-time experience, competing in the Europa League and UEFA Champions League. The Ottawa game was his first Forge appearance this season, and he should be an important factor down the stretch.
Forge will be looking to gain full 90-minute consistency against Pacific. Since their record 20-game CPL undefeated streak ended with a 4-1 loss in Calgary Aug. 30, they’ve had a win over HFX, the draw with Ottawa, and an upset loss to Valour in Winnipeg. They’ve enjoyed some purely dominant stretches, but as they look to hold off Atlético and claim first place and a spot in next year’s Concacaf Champions Cup, they’ll need to sustain a more thorough imposition of their talent, will, interesting variety up front (with Nana Ampomah now on top of his game), and, of course, depth throughout each match.