Final Score: Forge FC 2-2 Atlético Ottawa |
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Match in a minute or less
Forge FC and Atlético Ottawa entered Tuesday's match as the league's only two undefeated sides, and remained that way following a thrilling 2-2 draw in front of a CPL record crowd of 17,971 at Hamilton Stadium.
Kevin Dos Santos opened the scoring for the visitors on a lovely counter-attacking sequence in the 37th minute, before Nana Ampomah equalized almost immediately for Forge.
Atleti took the lead in the second half through now-Golden Boot leader Samuel Salter's sixth of the season in the 58th minute, but Amadou Koné's first professional goal ensured the sides left the match with a point apiece.
Atlético Ottawa played the final ten minutes plus second-half stoppage time down to ten men after David Rodríguez was sent off after receiving his second yellow card. But Atleti were able to hold on for the point.
The draw ends Atlético Ottawa's five-match win streak, while for Forge they now have four straight draws in the league for the first time in club history.
Three Observations
Record-breaking crowd at Hamilton Stadium treated to a thrilling contest between two of the league's heavyweights
Tuesday morning's match was technically just the 23rd match of the CPL regular season, but the occasion felt like so much more as the first meeting of 2025 between the defending regular season winners Forge and the team currently leading the charge to take that title from them.
The significance was only elevated by the stage, as an outstanding crowd of 17,971, a CPL record, packed Hamilton Stadium. Many of them were students from over seven different school boards as part of Forge FC's second annual School Day Game.
There was an energy in the air from well before the opening whistle, and it only picked up until the moment the two sides traded goals in the first half. Up until the dying moments, when Amadou Koné nearly won it for Forge in stoppage time, that energy and sense of importance of the match remained.
After the resounding success of last year's School Day Game, a 1-1 draw against CF Montréal in the Canadian Championship, this year's match raised the level, both on and off the pitch.
"If I was in the position of the kids in the crowd, I'd be buzzing," said Forge FC captain Kyle Bekker. "This is the thing that I was itching for when I was a kid. So, hopefully, there are some soccer players in the crowd that are inspired to know that the professional game is in their backyard and if they just keep pushing, they can keep pushing and make a name for themselves.
"Maybe the next CPL star was in the stands today, so that's pretty special."
In the end, on the pitch, neither side could solve the other, or more accurately, they both solved each other an equal number of times.
The 2-2 draw showed moments of brilliance from both sides, with Atlético Ottawa capitalizing on some well-worked moments of direct play, and Forge showing good fight to twice battle back after going down a goal.
Tuesday's match surpassed the league's previous record attendance, of 17,611 set in the league's inaugural game, at Hamilton Stadium back on April 27, 2019 between Forge FC and York9. A few of the players were on the pitch that day were part of Tuesday's match as well. Kyle Bekker and Alexander Achinioti-Jönsson played for Forge, while Atlético Ottawa's Nate Ingham and Manny Aparicio played for York9 (now York United) during that match.
The 2025 season may have only started just over five weeks ago, but it already feels like meetings between Forge and Atlético Ottawa this season are going to carry a lot of significance in this year's regular season race, and potentially beyond.
With key attackers missing, Nana Ampomah steps up for Forge
With several key wide attackers missing on Tuesday morning for Forge, including Tristan Borges and David Choinière, not to mention Alessandro Hojabrpour in midfield, Forge needed another star to step up.
They got that through Nana Ampomah, who delivered an outstanding performance for the Hammers down the right flank. The right winger opened the scoring on a great run into the box and header after a great delivery from Ben Paton.
He then played a crucial role in Forge's equalizer, with a great run through the centre of Atlético's backline. His shot was saved by Nate Ingham, but the rebound wasn't cleared and Amadou Koné popped in the equalizer to earn a point for Forge.
Having been in an out of the Forge lineup this season, Ampomah is still looking to find crucial consistency, but has been very bright in his past few performances for the club. He finished Tuesday's match with four shot attempts, three successful dribbles and 17 contested duels during a heavily involved day down the right flank.
"He's an excellent player," said Forge FC head coach Bobby Smyrniotis after the match, "he's been plagued by little minor injuries since he's got here last year, but his quality is immense. I question if there's many other players who have played over 100-and-some games in top divisions in Europe who are playing in this league."
Still, despite Ampomah's heroics, Forge were still frustrated that they could not make more of the chances they created in the match. They finished the match with four big chances, and 10 shot attempts inside the box.
With the match finishing in a draw for the fourth straight time for Forge, the first time in club history, they are still looking to be more lethal in the final third.
Atlético Ottawa adopt a possession-based style
Coming into Tuesday morning's match, all the talk had been about Atlético Ottawa's high-flying style of attacking football.
But playing a Forge team that sat back and didn't offer much space, especially in behind, Atleti were content to hold onto the ball and adopt a more patient approach than they had in past matches.
For long periods, especially in the opening half, they would knock it between their back three of Noah Abatneh, Loïc Cloutier and Sergei Kozlovskiy.
It was a prudent approach from the capital club. For one, it allowed them to quiet the energy in the building, in many ways lulling the crowd to sleep for moments of the match. With little rest coming into the match as well, having played Valour at home on Saturday, it also conserved their energy.
Ballou Tabla, and then occasionally Rodríguez, would drop back deep in midfield to provide another outlet through the Forge lines.
They also used the possession as a way to figure out the Forge press, and in the 37th minute did that perfectly, with Noah Abatneh stepping through the lines before finding Sam Salter in the centre who played the ball through the middle. David Rodríguez ran onto the ball in behind, before squaring to Kevin Dos Santos right in front of Jassem Koleilat, who had a wide open net to open the scoring.
On the second goal, Atlético Ottawa head coach Diego Mejía said that his club had seen a space between the lines in front of Forge's backline, so had Sam Salter drop a bit deeper. It was Salter who arrived late to tap home his league-leading sixth of the season in the 58th minute.
At the end, despite being a man down for the final, ten minutes, plus stoppage time, Atleti finished with 55.9 per cent possession and did a good job of executing their tactical plan on the day.
What They Said
“The best things in football in this country happen in this city. From trophies to crowds, to big games, to historic moments. Everything is here. And I've just been blessed to be here for six plus years and live it all.” — Forge FC Bobby Smyrniotis
“The patterns that the team had were amazing. Just to remind some patterns on our video, and I think our players adjusted very well to the game plan. I think it was perfect, the second half too." — Atlético Ottawa Diego Mejía
CanPL.ca Player of the Match
Nana Ampomah, Forge FC
The Forge winger played a key role in both of his side's goals on Tuesday. He scored the first in the first half with a lovely header, before creating the moment in the box that led to the second Forge goal with a great run.
What’s next?
Forge's next match comes in the first leg of the Canadian Championship quarter-finals against CF Montréal on Tuesday, May 20 (7 p.m. ET). They are back in league action against Pacific FC on Saturday, May 24 (5 p.m. ET).
Atlético Ottawa, meanwhile, also have this coming week off in league action before they travel to Halifax to take on the Wanderers on Saturday, May 24 (2 p.m. ET)
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