Late goal keeps Forge in 1st with draw vs. Atlético Ottawa | MATCH ANALYSIS

Match in a minute or less

Forge FC retained their two-point lead in the CPL Shield race, as they emerged from TD Place with a 1-1 draw against Atlético Ottawa.

Gabriel Antinoro put Atleti in front midway through an excellent first half from the home side, but Forge picked themselves up in the latter 45 and sent torrents of pressure at the Ottawa goal. Finally, substitute Hoce Massunda managed to smash home a loose ball in the penalty area with less than 10 minutes to play, as Forge will head back to Hamilton with a point.

Now, with just four weeks left in the regular season, both sides remain alive in the title chase, though Forge now control their own destiny, meaning Atleti would need their foes to slip up if they're to seize the Shield.

Three Observations

Forge depth provides late equalizer in second-half turnaround

Not many teams in the CPL — if any — can bring the kind of quality off the bench that Forge FC did on Sunday. Viktor Klonaridis and Hoce Massunda, both of whom checked into the game in the 64th minute, offer tremendous talent (and, in Klonaridis' case, big-game experience).

That was how Bobby Smyrniotis used his first substitution window, and his second might've been even more impressive; he brought on two players who have started (and won) CPL Finals in David Choinière and Noah Jensen, as well as another experienced midfielder in Ben Paton.

All five players brought off the bench have contributed massively to Forge this year, and did so again on Sunday in a game where the Hammers desperately needed to avoid defeat.

Both Paton and Klonaridis touched the ball in the immediate build-up to Massunda's 82nd-minute equalizer, in a goal almost entirely produced by players off the bench.

Bobby Smyrniotis has the luxury of changing games with the players he's able to add at late stages, and he'll be delighted that the players he turned to on Sunday delivered for him.

"It's a blessing, obviously, and it's a curse at the same time, because I don't sleep well sometimes the day before the game, trying to make the final decision on who the best ones are," Smyrniotis said of his depth postmatch. "But I'll take that all the time. It's something that I've always tried to build this team as ... I choose these guys and try to fit that all into a puzzle, and it's very important.

"It's a key part to our success, so it's a fantastic thing to have. Obviously it gives you challenges, but when you have a group like these guys, and the mentality they have, they come out to train; they're all at their best, they're all at their right mentality, and they know that I'm a fair person in how we move and rotate the squad."

That depth is a major part of the reason why Forge are leading the CPL Shield race, and now have full control of their destiny. With players like Viktor Klonaridis getting up to speed, and with the recent addition of Harry Paton, they're only going to improve as the next few weeks go on.

Missed opportunity for Atlético in intense title fight

Atlético Ottawa will definitely be the less happy of the two sides leaving this game, especially after they were just 10 minutes from taking over first place. Now, they'll need Forge to slip up at some point in the next four weeks for them to have a chance at winning the CPL Shield.

The first half went almost entirely to plan for Atleti, who weathered an early storm of attacking pressure from Forge while settling into the game, then found their goal with a well-worked piece of play. However, they'll be frustrated that they struggled to get the ball back in the second half, which made it harder for them to control the game and calm things down when Forge were getting closer.

For a while, Ottawa seemed destined for a remarkably gritty win, thanks to a combination of a strong final line of defence, excellent goalkeeping from Nathan Ingham, and some timely duels won (plus a little help from the goalpost).

Atleti won 56.8 per cent of the duels, made 17 tackles (from 22 attempted), and completed 514 passes in a largely well-organized showing from them, which makes it so frustrating to concede.

Head coach Diego Mejía suggested after the match that it had been his team's best first half of the season, and it's hard to disagree, but Forge adjusted well and Atleti didn't manage to respond.

"You need to be focused in everything," Mejía said. "I have a lot of experience in this sport; I was born with a ball in my hands. I played more than 20 years. I smell the moments in the game. We need to score one or two more because if not, maybe it's impossible to win this match. You start to smell some situation that puts the pitch like this, and it's incredible. The small decisions, they can change the balance of the pitch. We need to have a lot of resiliency and keep pushing."

Some heated words were exchanged between the two sides after the game, which seemed to stem from something Forge's Marko Jevremović said to the Ottawa bench.

The rivalry budding between these two clubs in the course of the title race has made for an even more entertaining battle. Mejía did mention after the game that he took exception to Jevremović's remarks, including something he apparently said in the aftermath of Massunda's goal.

However, Mejía heavily complimented Bobby Smyrniotis, and suggested that these kinds of fiery moments are the hallmark of a great title race.

Mejía said that he thinks this might be the best ever year in the CPL, particularly with two great teams so close to each other in a fight for the Shield.

Now though, the margin for error is incredibly thin for Ottawa, and they'll need some outside help if they're to get past Forge.

U-21s on both sides steal the show as Mejía shows faith in youngsters

Due to a variety of injuries and absences, it's been over a month since Atlético Ottawa started a game with their entirely U-21 back three of centre-backs Sergei Kozlovskiy, Noah Abatneh and Loïc Cloutier.

In fact, for just the third time this year, Diego Mejía deployed a full back five of U-21 eligible players, as Gabriel Antinoro and Joaquim Coulanges lined up at right and left wing-back, respectively.

That starting XI alone was a significant choice from Mejía, who pulled Coulanges off before halftime in the Canadian Championship game against Vancouver FC on Thursday. Mejía showed faith in the the 18-year-old, though, by putting him straight back in the lineup, and Coulanges rewarded the trust with a great performance. His excellent touch and turn to find Ballou Tabla set up Antinoro's goal in the first half, and Coulanges was otherwise excellent throughout.

Mejía spoke before the game, and then extensively after, about how developing young players is his number one priority at Atlético Ottawa.

"I always say that Atlético Ottawa is not trying to play for the Cup," Mejía said. "Atlético Ottawa play for the development of young players, to try to create a good culture, and try to win in a good way. I think we showed during all the season, even the match against Vancouver where we were eliminated, what this team has, with very, very, very young players; it's incredible."

That said, Forge also had their own significant U-21 contribution on Sunday, thanks to 20-year-old Hoce Massunda.

The Toronto native has been a revelation for the Hammers this season, with nine goal contributions (three goals, six assists) in all competitions now. He frequently offers dynamism off the bench that has helped Forge pull out results late, and did so again in this match.

There's going to be heavy competition — perhaps more than ever — this year for the CPL's Best U-21 Canadian Player award, but Massunda could be a candidate, and it seems almost certain that at least one if not several of Atleti's youngsters will be nominated as well.

Antinoro himself mentioned after this game that giving these high-stakes minutes to young players is a big part of what the CPL's all about, and it's true.

What They Said

"It's a very good match. I think we're watching maybe the best year in this league, and this race is incredible. I think we come here to improve all of the league, because a lot of coaches have improved just by playing against Atlético Ottawa, and it's incredible. I enjoy these kinds of matches because we train all this year just to play this kind of match, with the opportunity to race for the Shield." — Atlético Ottawa head coach Diego Mejía

"We can talk about four games, and how much points, but the only points that are important are the next three. That's it. The rest is all math, and I leave that to the mathematicians and supporters and you guys to try and figure it out." — Forge FC head coach Bobby Smyrniotis

CanPL.ca Player of the Match

Gabriel Antinoro, Atlético Ottawa

The young wing-back provided the goal for Ottawa, but also won all five of his duels and had two successful dribbles. Antinoro has been excellent for Atleti all year, and truly shined in a tough matchup against Forge's left side.

What’s next?

Both sides are at home next Saturday, Sept. 27, beginning with Ottawa hosting Cavalry FC (1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT). Later that afternoon, Forge will host Pacific FC (4 p.m. ET/1 p.m. PT).

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