2024 TELUS Canadian Championship — Semifinal (Leg 2)
Toronto FC vs. Forge FC
August 27, 2024 at 7 p.m. ET**
** BMO Field in Toronto, Ontario**
** Watch Live: OneSoccer.ca & TELUS Ch. 980
A place in the TELUS Canadian Championship final comes down to 90 minutes at BMO Field this week, as Canadian Premier League side Forge FC look to finish the job against Major League Soccer’s Toronto FC. Quite the show is expected from this semifinal second leg, and not just from the surrounding CNE. Forge have a 2-1 lead on aggregate after an explosive first contest at Tim Hortons Field in early July. That was quite the magical night for the CPL side, who opened the scoring thanks to Béni Badibanga’s outrageous chip from inside his own half, and then doubled their lead with a cheeky backheel flick from Kwasi Poku — although he won’t be involved this time, having just moved to RWD Molenbeek. However, TFC spoiled the party a little bit with Prince Owusu’s 88th-minute goal, a crucial marker which suddenly made the tie a lot closer. Now, although Forge still have the lead heading into Leg 2, Toronto could still advance with just a 1-0 win thanks to the away goals rule.
RELATED: Forge FC can continue proving big club credentials with CanChamp result against Toronto FC
Forge come into Tuesday night’s game in some of their best form of the year. They sit in first place in the CPL having lost just one of their last 10 games in all competitions. They did play to a sluggish 0-0 draw with York United on Friday night, but they had won the prior three games outscored their opponents by a combined 7-1 in that stretch. Toronto, meanwhile, enter at an interesting part of their season. They were in Texas on Saturday, beating the Houston Dynamo 1-0 in what was their first game since Aug. 8. They hadn’t played an MLS fixture since beating CF Montréal on July 20, but they did reasonably well in the Leagues Cup competition, beating Liga MX side Pachuca and the New York Red Bulls (on penalties) before bowing out to Inter Miami in a 4-3 thriller in the knockout stage. In their league campaign, TFC sit eighth in MLS’s Eastern Conference, just inside the playoff picture. However, the fact they currently find themselves facing elimination from the Canadian Championship may spark some desperation. TFC haven’t won the Voyageurs’ Cup in a full tournament since 2018, despite being the competition’s most successful club with eight titles — including one over Forge in the one-off 2020 final (played in 2022 due to COVID-19). Toronto have had an unusual path to the semifinals, having only beaten semi-pro clubs so far — first League1 Ontario side Simcoe County Rovers, and then Ligue1 Québec champions CS Saint-Laurent over two legs in the quarter-finals. Forge, meanwhile, had to take care of York United in the preliminary round before defeating MLS club CF Montréal 3-2 on aggregate. Forge, with a one-goal lead in the tie, would advance to the final with a win or draw of any kind, or a one-goal loss where they score at least two goals. TFC, meanwhile, need to either overturn the deficit outright and beat Forge by two, or win 1-0 to take it on away goals. The only scoreline that would send the tie to a penalty shootout would be a 2-1 win for Toronto. Forge have already proven this year that they’re capable of taking down an MLS team. Now, as they find themselves one step away from the Canadian Championship final, they’re eager to do it again.
All CPL matches are available to stream on OneSoccer, FuboTV, or on TELUS Optik TV Channel 980.
3 THINGS TO WATCH
- Forge looking to wrap it up early: Despite going into Tuesday with a one-goal lead, don’t expect Forge to play for a draw and go through with that thin margin. It’s not in Bobby Smyrniotis’ DNA to set a team up for conservative football. Instead, Forge will be keen on putting the tie beyond TFC’s reach with a goal in the first half. That’s exactly what they did in the previous round against CF Montréal, scoring twice in the first half to take full control of the tie. Look for a spirited start from the visitors on Tuesday. “You can’t just sit there and look at the result, that’s sometimes a little bit dangerous because the margins are small in this game with Toronto having an away goal,” Smyrniotis said on Monday. “We know scoring a goal is important in this match. … We always play games to go in and score goals.” * TFC well rested for priority cup match: It’s been a quiet month for Toronto FC, who participated in the Leagues Cup during the MLS break, but ended their campaign in that back on Aug. 8. They returned to action on Saturday with their win over Houston, but even in that game they didn’t quite field a first-choice starting XI, keeping an eye on Tuesday’s game against Forge. Head coach John Herdman implied after the match that he’d rested Italian star Lorenzo Insigne, and also taken compatriot Federico Bernardeschi out in the 60th minute, to ensure both are available for Tuesday. As a result, this is a TFC squad that hasn’t played as much football as Forge since the first leg, and may therefore be fresher. * Forge hungry to make history: No Canadian Premier League team has ever won the Canadian Championship, but Forge have come the closest. They lost to Toronto FC on penalties in the 2020 final (played in 2022), but even that wasn’t a full tournament, with both sides qualifying via league paths due to COVID-19 forcing a change in format. Now, Forge find themselves closer than any other CPL side to getting to the final via the traditional route — although they also went down to the wire in the 2021 semifinal, losing to CF Montréal on penalties. Forge are well aware of the gravity of the achievement a result on Tuesday would be, and they’re desperate to lift the Voyageurs’ Cup — but perhaps more than anything, they would love to lock up a spot in the 2025 Concacaf Champions Cup as well.
PROJECTED STARTING XIs
Toronto FC: Johnson; O’Neill, Long, Rosted; Laryea, Thompson, Longstaff, Osorio; Bernardeschi, Owusu, Insigne
Forge FC: Kalongo; Duncan, Achinioti-Jönsson, Owolabi-Belewu, Parra; Hojabrpour, Bekker; Choinière, Borges, Badibanga; Hamilton
ALL-TIME SERIES
Toronto FC wins: 1 || Forge FC wins: 1 || Draws: 0
Last meeting:
July 10, 2022 — Forge FC 2-1 Toronto FC
KEY QUOTES
“They’re organized, they’ve got good chemistry. … We’ve been researching what they look like on the road in Concacaf, and what they look like on the road in the Canadian Premier League. … We’ve got a good look and feel of the Choinière-Borges partnership, how they can damage you. They’re two players that really understand each other and how to bring the best out of each other. I was impressed with the quality of those two players.” — Toronto FC head coach John Herdman “I don’t know that we have to prove what we are, other than the fact we have one game in front of us to give us an opportunity to play for a trophy. It’s a difficult match in front of u of course, when you look at these two-legged fixtures, but we enjoy these matches. We enjoy playing in these stages and giving ourselves an opportunity to compete for hardware.” — Forge FC head coach Bobby Smyrniotis