Forge FC and their league record 15-match undefeated streak travel to Halifax on Friday to take on the Halifax Wanderers for a fourth time this season already in all competitions.
The Hamilton club, however, will be looking to end a streak of another sort, their winless run in Halifax. The Wanderers Grounds is the only CPL venue where Forge have not won over the past three seasons. Since Patrice Gheisar took over as Wanderers manager, they are 0-2-3 away to Halifax.
In fact, natural grass surfaces in general have caused Forge issues over the past few years (although it is also worth noting the calibre of opposition they have played on them). They have won just twice in their past 17 matches on grass pitches, dating back to the 2023 season.
For Halifax, they have always raised their level when taking on Forge in recent years, especially at home.
"I feel like some of my most memorable moments in the past two-and-a-half years have come from Forge games, whether we win or whether we tied, we lose," said Halifax Wanderers head coach Patrice Gheisar. "The game feels different, the food on that day tastes different. The tempo, the intensity is different, especially what they've done and the record they've got going. They're the hunted."
Halifax will be looking to improve their record against playoff teams over the second half of the season. So far this year, they are 2-3-4 against teams in the CPL's current top five. Halifax slipped back into fourth place this past weekend following a 2-0 loss to Atlético Ottawa, and their current record against fellow playoff teams could be an issue down the stretch should head-to-head tiebreakers become a factor.
After spending the past few weeks in Langford and the nation's capital, however, Halifax return home where they have been solid again this season. They have lost just once in their past 18 matches at the stadium, dating back to last season.
They drew Forge 0-0 in Halifax back on May 3 at home, but have since lost the past two meetings, 3-1 in the TELUS Canadian Championship preliminary round on May 7 and 2-1 in the league on June 8.
Can Forge make it 16 straight unbeaten in the league? Or can Halifax have another memorable day at home against the Hamilton club?
3 THINGS TO WATCH
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Halifax not focused on winning or losing streaks: The Halifax Wanderers would love to be the team that ends Forge FC's league record 15-match unbeaten streak on Friday, but they aren't using that as a primary motivator as they prepare for the match."I think any time I'm using that as a reason to motivate my team, it's not the best way, because I'm focusing everything on the other team," said Gheisar. Halifax's coach also isn't especially focused on his own team's opposing run of form, having lost their past two matches. He says ultimately, it is best to look to the future. "I think you just never really think about what's in the past," said Gheisar. "You've just got to learn and move forward". He says his focus is more on his own side and how they can be perfect in their details, and controlling the match, particularly scoring first if possible.
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A battle of two of the league's best defenders: If the CPL award nominees were decided today, there is little question that Halifax's Thomas Meilleur-Giguère and Forge's Dan Nimick would be among those put forward for the Defender of the Year award. TMG has played a key role in significantly improving Halifax's backline. The Wanderers have gone from conceding the most goals in the league last season to a respectable fourth fewest. He has also chipped in with three goals in all competitions. For Forge, meanwhile, former Wanderer Nimick is playing some of the best football of his career of late. He has been key in Forge conceding the fewest goals in the league this season (just 11) and was named the CPL's Player of the Month for June. He scored his second of the season last match from the penalty spot against Pacific FC. While the two players likely won't clash directly much on Friday evening, it will be intriguing to compare and contrast their performances in what is a big fixture for both sides.
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Forge looking to build on strong away performances: Last season, the CPL Shield was won in Hamilton. Forge won 11 of 14 regular-season matches at Hamilton Stadium and collected 10 more points than any other club did at home last season. However, Forge struggled a little bit more away from home, winning just 4 of 14 matches. This year, they have managed to mostly maintain their home form, albeit with a few more draws than they would hope, while also finding ways to get big results on the road. They already have four road wins this season, and are tied for the league lead with 15 points. That is just one fewer than the 16 they collected on the road all of last season. "I think maybe it's a testament to the tightness of our group," said Forge FC midfielder Noah Jensen. "Knowing that going to places like Vancouver, Pacific, it's going to be a long flight, but you're there to do a job, and I think our group has been very resilient in that sense, being able to travel to these games, stay just one night, after five hours of travel, and be able to put in a good performance."
PROJECTED STARTING XIs
Halifax Wanderers: Yesli; Pearlman, Meilleur-Giguère, Sow, Timoteo; Johnston, Callegari; Rea, Probo, Bahamboula; Coimbra
Forge FC: Koleilat; Rama, Nimick, Achinioti-Jönsson, Jevremović; Paton, Jensen, Bekker; Ampomah, Massunda, Wright
ALL-TIME SERIES
Halifax Wanderers wins: 5 || Forge FC wins: 12 || Draws: 10
Last meeting:
June 8, 2025 — Forge FC 2-1 Halifax Wanderers
KEY QUOTES
"We have to take advantage of our field, our fans, on a Friday night game. We need to be the protagonist that gets out and, knock on wood, we've been extremely good when we score first." -- Halifax Wanderers head coach Patrice Gheisar
"It's a team that knows what they want when they step on the field, both on and off the ball, and they've always got the energy of playing at home. We enjoy going to play in Halifax, it's a great place to play games. Good energy. The same way we feed off of the energy at home, we enjoy playing away in front of a crowd." -- Forge FC head coach Bobby Smyrniotis
"What we've done to start the season has been amazing. But I know as a group we look back kind of at the first half of the season and know there's some points that we left on the table there, so we're just trying to clean things up, keep the games going in our favour, and try and ride this momentum as long as we can." -- Forge FC midfielder Noah Jensen