| Final Score: Forge FC 1-0 CF Montréal Goalscorers: Wright 78' 2025 TELUS Canadian Championship -- Quarter-Final (Leg 1) |
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Forge FC drew first blood against CF Montréal in their Canadian Championship quarter-final with a strong performance to earn a 1-0 victory.
Brian Wright scored the winner in the 78th minute as the Hamilton side held the majority of possession and had the majority of chances, in the match.
"Today, it was excellent execution from the first minute to the end," said Forge FC head coach Bobby Smyrniotis. "Maybe we deserved a little bit more today too, but good first result."
Forge made several changes from their most recent league game, and due to injuries and absences, with Marko Jevremović and Malik Owolabi-Belewu returning from injuries of their own. The latter's inclusion pushed Alex Achinioti-Jönsson further forward into the base of midfield to replace the injured Alessandro Hojabrpour.
CF Montréal, meanwhile, made eight changes from the side that lost 6-1 to Toronto FC in MLS action this weekend. With so much rotation, they played an interesting system, with captain Joel Waterman essentially playing as a midfielder defensively, but moving into the backline with the ball so that he could help the build out of the back.
The hosts were the livelier of the two sides in the opening exchanges, creating two corners inside the opening six minutes. They did not really threaten on either.
The Hamilton side thought they'd opened the scoring in the 11th minute. A lovely ball in from Mo Babouli found Brian Wright, who scuffed his chance before it dropped to Jensen. The Forge midfielder smashed the ball into the roof of the net, but the offside flag ruled the goal out.
In the 18th minute, Forge had another excellent chance as Kyle Bekker cut down the left and squared the ball for Babouli. He couldn't get the decisive touch, and neither could Wright, who the ball fell to next, but saw his shot was blocked.
Montréal started to work its way into the match, particularly on counter-attacking opportunities. They took advantage of situations where Forge either turned over the ball in attack, or pressed too aggressively.
The Hamilton side continued to hold the bulk of play, however, trapping the Montréal side in their own end for most of the half. The MLS club struggled to build out of the back, often playing the ball long, with Forge seemingly first to every 50/50.
Despite holding 63.4 per cent of possession and 107 passes in the final third to CF Montréal's 38, they were not able to test Jonathan Sirois in the Montréal net. Given how much of the ball they had, they would be disappointed that the score was still 0-0 when the two sides returned to their dressing rooms for half-time.
Montréal started to find more joy on the ball to begin the second half, with Waterman continuing to serve as the quarterback from the centre of a back three in possession. In the 60th minute, Montréal made a double change, bringing in Dante Sealy and Canadian international Samuel Piette.
The host won a free kick in a dangerous area in the 68th minute. Tempers flared shortly thereafter, with Piette shoving Wright from behind, who was in front of Sirois, trying to throw off the Montréal goalkeeper. Both players were shown yellow cards, as a scuffle broke out between the two teams around the Montréal net.
Montréal came as close as they had come all match moments later, as Nathan Saliba offloaded to Dante Sealy in good position in the box. Both of Forge's full-backs made crucial blocks, however.
It was Forge's turn to come close next, as in the 76th minute, Jensen tested Sirois from distance, and Babouli couldn't get the rebound on frame from a difficult angle.
Two minutes later, Forge finally found their moment. A brilliant ball from Ampomah over the top in the 78th minute caught the Montréal backline sleeping and dropped to Wright. The Forge striker showed brilliant composure to push the ball over Sirois before heading it into the empty net to give Forge a 1-0 lead.
"As a striker, you always want to score in every game," said Wright. "Obviously, today was a big game and I was able to score today. So I'm happy to have done exactly what Forge brought me here to do."
With their much-deserved lead, Forge set about defending it, and made several key interventions in the dying moments to keep out the MLS side. They have now lost just once in their past five meetings with teams from Major League Soccer in this competition.
The two sides will meet again for the second leg on Wednesday, July 9 at Stade Saputo. Away goals are not in effect in this year's competition.
"It's only half-time, but the way we played in the first half, for sure, it's just unacceptable," said CF Montréal defender Joel Waterman. "We had a game plan that we wanted to execute, that I think we did execute, I think we were just second to everything. They outworked us, so there's no excuse for that.
"We have our home leg now, only down one goal. So it's gonna be a hard couple of months to let that sink in to play them again."
BOX SCORE
Lineups
Forge FC: Koleilat; Rama, Nimick, Owolabi-Belewu, Jevremović; Achinioti-Jönsson, Bekker, Jensen; Ampomah (Koné 84'), Babouli, Wright (Kane 88')
CF Montréal: Sirois; Craig, Waterman, Álvarez; Bugaj (Piette 60'), Loturi, Saliba, Pearce; Guboglo (Vilsaint 72'), Opoku (Sealy 60'), Owusu (Graham-Roache 72')
Goals
78' -- Brian Wright (Forge FC)
Discipline
24' -- Yellow: Malik Owolabi-Belewu (Forge FC)
35' -- Yellow: Alexander Achinioti-Jönsson (Forge FC)
43' -- Yellow: Joel Waterman (CF Montréal)
66' -- Yellow: Prince Owusu (CF Montréal)
68' -- Yellow: Samuel Piette (CF Montréal)
68' -- Yellow: Brian Wright (Forge FC)
90+1' -- Yellow: Brandan Craig (CF Montréal)
90+5' -- Yellow: Noah Jensen (Forge FC)
CanPL.ca Player of the Match
Nana Ampomah, Forge FC
The Forge winger was the key spark in attack, setting up Wright's goal with a brilliant ball over the top. He attempted six dribbles, while contesting ten duels and winning three fouls.
What’s next?
Leg two of this quarter-final series takes place on Wednesday, July 9 at Stade Saputo (7 p.m. ET). Forge FC are back in CPL action this weekend, when they travel to Starlight Stadium to take on Pacific FC on Saturday, May 24 (5 p.m. ET).
Watch all 2025 TELUS Canadian Championship and CPL matches live on OneSoccer. In addition to its website and app, OneSoccer is now available on TELUS channel 980 and on Fubo TV. Call your local cable provider to ask for OneSoccer today.