As the final whistle blew, the Canadian National Exhibition –surrounding BMO Field like a light show- was still in full swing, but for Forge FC, this particular ride was over. A goal by Italian Lorenzo Insigne –the second highest-paid player in all of North American soccer after Lionel Messi—early in the second half gave Toronto FC a 1-0 win over Forge Tuesday night, earning the MLS side a berth in the Canadian Championship final against league-mates Vancouver Whitecaps. After Hamilton had won the first game 2-1 at Tim Hortons Field more than six weeks ago, Tuesday’s result left the two-leg national tournament semifinal tied at 2-2 on aggregate. But TFC advanced because of the scrambly away goal (Prince Owusu) they scored last month just before regulation time expired. The Hammers couldn’t match that away goal last night and had very few chances to do so, as the Reds came out pressing as expected, kept the ball in their control most of the way, and didn’t let the Forge gather any sustainable pace. Still, the Forge had a couple of chances, a diving header by striker Jordan Hamilton off a lovely feed from Béni Badibanga which just missed, and a chance by Nana Ampomah. But the majority of the drive in this game was generated by the home side which played with more finesse and determination than they did in Hamilton, taking 19 shots to just four for the visitors. Seven were on target, while Forge had only one on target. “We were just a little bit flat,” said Forge captain Kyle Bekker. “I think from the first minute you could see we didn’t have our best stuff. We found it a little more difficult to get into a rhythm building up, compared to other games, and that’s what opened things up for us a lot. “Credit them; they pressed us, but I think there were still opportunities for us and some moments in that little half-space. In the first half, you saw that Béni found one for Jordan. We made that happen. It was about finding a rhythm and we didn’t have it today. “For the most part, I think we defended very well but I think there was a little bit too much of a willingness to sit back and try and absorb pressure, versus when we are building up well, we get on the attack, we push them back and we kind of impose ourselves on the game. “I think we’ll feel a little bit hard done by in the days to come but it is what it is …. A learning experience.” TFC’s Federico Bernardeschi, who was muffled and frustrated in the opening leg, upped his game and had his footprints all over this one, crisscrossing the field from the left side and creating numerous threats with his speed and creativity. Bernadeschi was Toronto’s best and, perhaps paradoxically, Hamilton’s best was the man who was marking him, right back Malcolm Duncan, who seems to improve every game. “He’s playing against a world-class player, he was excellent,” Smyrniotis said. While TFC had control of the first half, the Hammers came out of the opening 45 minutes with a 0-0 draw and were one-half of football away from advancing to the national final. But they were visibly tired in that half and could not mount enough threatening penetration or continued meaningful possession. The Hammers were playing their fifth game in 18 days and had another key match Friday night against visiting Pacific FC, with important CPL-standing points on the line. “I thought our first half was good,” Smyrniotis said. “As we planned it; we knew they were going to be very aggressive in the way they wanted to go about things and we were able to block a lot of that off. “They’ve got some quality players in the final third and guys like Richie Laryea make the difference. We created some moments but weren’t sharp in the final third, uncharacteristically. We’re usually better in those situations.” TFC had Laryea and Jonathan Osorio, both national team members, for this game, which fortified their attack and created a different moving-forward scenario for TFC which fired its president Bill Manning, the morning after Toronto’s long losing streak was extended in Hamilton. Since then, they’ve been trending upward both in the standings and in self-belief. “A hundred percent,” Bekker, who started his pro career at TFC, said when asked if that pair made a difference. “They add a lot of quality. Two guys who’ve played in a World Cup, two guys who’ve been brilliant for them. They add a lot more to what they do in their attack and they add a bit more quality to their game in general. “That being said, I think there were some moments we could have done better and I think we kind of let ourselves down a bit when we were on the ball, which allowed them to press higher and higher and keep us out of the game…but it was still a hard-fought 90 minutes and we only lost 1-0 and 2-2 on aggregate. It is what it is.” What it is, Smyrniotis said, was move on to the next game, concentrate on piling up CPL points to win either the regular season or playoff championship, or both, and earn their way into next year’s Concacaf Champions Cup that way. The winner of the TFC and the Whitecaps also gets a Cup berth. It was suggested that the transfer of Kwasi Poku to Belgium’s RWD Molenbeek for a record fee last week affected the Forge attack, and it was evident that they didn’t stretch the field the way they could, but Smyrniotis pointed out that they’ve won twice and tied once since he left the team, adding “He’s a quality player but we have a lot of quality players, who can do the business.” Bernardeschi set up the series-deciding goal after taking a short pass from the top of the box and sending a cross to the streaking Insigne on the left wing. He was wide open and volleyed the ball into the net, then sprinted toward the stands and cupped his ears to encourage TFC fans to cheer louder. “Obviously, they have good players so they’re going to come inside and get their 10 chances a game, that’s what happens when you’re playing week in and week out against good competition,” Bekker said. “There are a lot of things you just have to concede when you’re playing against quality.” Insigne, who had a few confrontations with Forge players during the series, also said something on the sideline to Smyrniotis. “You do not want me to repeat that,” said Smyrniotis, who is clearly not impressed with Insigne. “It shouldn’t be repeated.” Forge dominated the first game, particularly in the first half, and should have had more goals. TFC controlled things last night and should have had more, but in the end, it came down to that pinballing away goal in game 1, and Forge being unable to score one in game 2. “It’s unfortunate,” Smyrniotis said. “You go back to the first game and the goal that goes in before the end of time and the way it went in. But that’s football. The game is played on the margins. This series between two very good teams was decided on a very small margin. One team won one game the other one won another.” The Hammers, who had never beaten an MLS team until this year, won and drew against CF Montréal, and won and lost—each time by a goal—against playoff-bound Toronto. “It doesn’t matter if it’s an MLS team or a CPL team, it’s the team in front of us,” Smyrniotis said. ‘There’s a game plan for each team. “The important thing for us is we want to challenge for trophies. We got ourselves close. It was a challenging draw for us: York United, CF Montréal, and now Toronto FC. We knew the route to get to the final was going to be tough but you’re proud you’ve played five games and you’ve lost one. You take that in a season and you’d be very happy with what you accumulate in points but in Cup competition, you don’t accumulate points, you accumulate rounds. “It was great but the goal is to play for a trophy and we missed out on that and that’s the way we look at it. We’ve done an excellent job playing against some quality competition now we have to make sure that keeps on translating to our league play.” While the door on this route to Concacaf Champions Cup has closed, there are two still open: Forge has a narrow lead atop the CPL and, beginning with Pacific Friday night at Tim Hortons Field, they will concentrate on trying to win the regular-season championship or the playoff championship, or both. “This one’s done, you can’t rewind time,” Smyrniotis philosophized. “We’re going to put one foot in front of the other and walk forward.”
Written by:Nico Correa