| Final Score: Halifax Wanderers FC 0-0 Forge FC Goalscorers: None Game of the 2025 season: 18 CPL Match: 614 |
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Match in a minute or less
The Halifax Wanderers and Forge FC have maintained undefeated starts to the 2025 CPL season, as they split the points in a 0-0 draw at Wanderers Grounds on Saturday, keeping the Wanderers in second place and Forge in third in the table.
Both teams have several chances to break open this game - Thomas Meilleur-Giguère and Tiago Coimbra had great looks off set-pieces for the Wanderers, while Brian Wright had a couple of good chances for Forge - but in the end, that wouldn't be enough to find the net, as both goalkeepers (and the posts) helped keep this game knotted at 0-0, the first time a CPL match has finished with that scoreline in 2025.
Three Observations
Meeting of two top defensive sides yields predictable result:
For two teams who are typically known for their attacking style, it's flown under the radar how solid the Wanderers and Forge have been defensively to start 2025, as they've done well to keep things tidy at the back.
Heading into this matchweek, they were the top two teams in the CPL defensively, with Forge having conceded a league-low three goals in their first four games, and the Wanderers just behind them with just four goals conceded their first four matches.
Because of that, this result should've perhaps been predictable - sometimes, when two strong defensive teams face off, it's only natural that the game finishes with a cagey result.
Despite that, it's not as if this game was without any offensive juice - both teams combined for 2.83 xG (1.76 for the Wanderers, 1.07 for Forge), with the Wanderers hitting two posts, and Forge hitting one of their own, as they had moments to break things apart.
Yet, that's where the subtle nature of what these teams do well defensively came into play. In those key moments when either team seemed like they might score, it felt like that's where we saw some of the best defensive interventions, as both sides refused to give up any cheap goals to their opponent.
If they were going to get beat, it was going to be off a perfectly executed play, or a wonderful strike - nothing was going to come easy.
There's no better example of that than what happened in the 65th minute, where Forge had the best chance of the game via Brian Wright, who picked up a loose rebound on the Wanderers' box after a nearly spectacular own goal. There, he fired a dangerous shot towards goal, one worth a game-high 0.516 xG.
A shot he'd typically score, he didn't put enough conviction on the strike, however, and that led to a spectacular block from Thomas Meilleur-Giguère, who rescued his team at a key moment.
That was the story of the game - this was a game dominated by individual moments of defensive brilliance from both teams. Where that magic was lacking offensively, the defenders more than made up for it, and it left both teams to share the spoils in a draw that will reflect well on both teams' defensive play, even if their attackers will rue some of the missed opportunities they left on the table during this one.
Both teams won't mind that, however - as the adage goes, defence wins championships, not free-flowing attacks - so look for them to use that to their advantage going forward, especially heading into a crucial Canadian Championship preliminary round clash between these two teams in just a few days time.
Wanderers do well on set-pieces, but lack finish:
Early on, the Wanderers offered a glimpse of what they hoped was going to come for them in terms of offensive output in this game, as they nearly had the ball inside of Forge's net after a great header from Meilleur-Giguère on a corner from Giorgio Probo.
Little did they know, however, it'd end up being a bit of a foreshadowing moment for how their match would go.
On a day when they struggled to hold the ball as much as they typically do, as they finished with 46.9% possession, they knew they had to make the most of their moments they were on the ball.
They certainly knew that - that they finished with an 84.9% pass percentage is a positive sign, showing that they did a great job of being smart on the ball.
Interestingly, they were also quite direct with that possession - they made 65 final third entries and had 118 passes in the final third, as they funnelled the ball forward at every opportunity. By comparison, Forge had just 37 final third entries and 99 passes in the final third despite their strong possession numbers, giving an idea of how important the Wanderers' direct play was to their attacking output.
Unfortunately, however, for as good as the Wanderers were at getting the ball to the final third, they weren't able to turn those thrusts into much open-play output, as they generated just nine shots, with only two of them coming from open play.
On the flipside, they were dominant on set-pieces, as thanks to that early Meilleur-Giguère chance, and a few others throughout the match, the Wanderers finished with seven shots from set-pieces, generating a whopping 1.2 xG from such situations.
That's big, as on most other days, it feels like the Wanderers would've scored on one of those chances, as they did a great job of putting Forge's defenders under pressure every time they had a set-piece to work with. In particular, they had some excellent service to work with - Probo and Sean Rea were constantly sending in perfect balls for their teammates to go and chase, which is a luxury not every team has, with most teams lucky to have one player of that quality to whip in balls, let alone two.
Now, it'll be up for the Wanderers to use that to their advantage. For a team that's typically dangerous in open-play, it's something that could help that side of their game - the more teams will fear giving away corners and free-kicks, the more space it could leave the Wanderers to play into if opponents decide to drop off them or foul them less.
Plus, in games like this against top teams, it can help them break open a game, which sometimes you need in these matches where the margins were so fine.
Therefore, while they weren't unable to find that breakthrough in this match, they'll see it as a yet another sign of growth for a team that is showing a lot more versatility and flexibility than ever before, on both sides of the ball, which has helped fuel their solid start to the year.
Forge struggle to break game open in wide areas:
As mentioned earlier, Forge did a good job of getting on the ball in this game, but didn't get the ball into the final third as much as they would've hoped, which was shown in their final third entries.
Not only that, but they weren't able to get into the box as much as hoped, either, as they had just 18 touches in the Wanderers' box, which they'll feel is quite low given the possession they held in the match.
Yet, that's been a theme this year - heading into this match, Forge had just 75 touches in the box through four games, for an average of 18.75 per game, so it's not as if this performance was out of the ordinary in that regard.
Given that they were third-last in the CPL in box touches with that 75, only two ahead of second-last Vancouver's 73 and last place Valour's 72 (it's important to remember that Valour had one last game played than Forge through the first four weeks), it shows that this has been something they've struggled with through their first few matches.
A team that typically does a great job of getting into opposing boxes with ease, which allowed them to score a league-high 45 goals last year (and be fourth in the CPL with touches in the box with 593), they haven't been getting to those areas in 2025, and now sit with just six goals in five games because of that.
The reason for those struggles in this game, however? They weren't able to find as much joy in wide areas, at least in terms of final actions.
They did a great job of getting the ball out wide - they sent 41.7% of their attacks down the left, and 39.7% of them down the right, meaning they sent over 80% of their attacks in wide areas. Despite that, they whipped in just 18 crosses, with only five of them being successful (28%), which is worrying.
Given that they've got players who can whip in a dangerous ball in wingers David Choinière and Tristan Borges, and in full backs Rezart Rama and Ben Paton - along with a willing target striker in Brian Wright, that feels like a combination that could yield some attacking juice. Especially given that Choinière and Borges are playing as more traditional wide players, with both players deployed with their strong feet on the outside (Borges as a left-footer on the left wing, Choinière as a right-footer on the right wing), it feels like they could use that to be more dangerous with crosses.
Yet, that's a sign of where they're at offensively right now - they just haven't clicked to their usual level as a team at this moment, and that goes beyond their wingers - it's more of a team issue right now. Given that they've had just three goals and one assist come from attackers (two goals from Wright, one goal from Mo Babouli, and one assist from Tristan Borges), with their three other goals and two assists coming from defenders, shows that they'll want to get more offensively out of that attacking group (and by extension, their midfield, which is usually a key attacking piece).
They do that, and watch out, as with their defensive play, they still remain in a good position to pick up results, hence their undefeated start. If they want to defend their CPL Shield, however, they'll want to turn some of these early draws into a win, something they'll only be able to do if they start scoring more.
What They Said
“We worked on our defending (in preseason), we want to be comfortable without the ball. Often, when we didn't have the ball (in 2024), we would jump out and leave spaces, and (opponents) would attack into it, and then they would go into another space, and then they would score. By being comfortable without the ball, being deadly in transition, and by doing a great job of defending our box, it's been great (for us).” — Halifax Wanderers FC head coach Patrice Gheisar
“ I thought for most of the game were quite good. We worked their defensive shape around, like we had planned, but in these games, you need to unlock it (...). That changes the game - otherwise, you've got to be patient. It's a valuable point for us on the road, but we need to create a little bit more for all of the possession we had, as we got into the right areas of the pitch and we moved the opponent around, but we need to create a bit more in the final third and in the box.” — Forge FC head coach Bobby Smyrniotis
CanPL.ca Player of the Match
Thomas Meilleur-Giguère, Halifax Wanderers FC
Meilleur-Giguère was a force at the back for the Wanderers, as he continues to be one of the top signings of the CPL offseason.
He had a couple of good chances to score offensively, generating two shots, and was good on the ball, completing 46 out of 54 passes (85% - including six passes into the final third and five out of nine long balls - but his best work came at the defensive end, where he had one tackle, one block, eight clearances (including one off the line), one interception, five recoveries and won four out of four duels in a commanding performance.
What’s next?
Of course, both teams won't have to wait long for their next game - they meet in the TELUS Canadian Championship on Wednesday, May 7th at Tim Hortons Field (7 p.m. ET/8 p.m. AT).
Afterwards, the Wanderers will remain at home for their next CPL match, as they get set to welcome the 2024 North Star Cup winners, Cavalry FC, to the Wanderers Grounds on Saturday, May 10th (3:30 p.m. MT/6:30 p.m. AT). Meanwhile, Forge won't be back in action in CPL play until Tuesday, May 13th, when they host Atlético Ottawa at Tim Hortons Field in their annual School Day Match (11 a.m. ET).
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