2024 CPL Regular Season — Match #21**
** Forge FC vs. Vancouver FC
** May 18, 2024 at 4 p.m. ET/1 p.m. PT
** Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton, Ontario**
** Watch Live: OneSoccer.ca & TELUS Ch. 980**** // Tickets available here
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Vancouver FC travel to Hamilton for the first time in 2024, for what will be a significant test against undefeated Forge FC on Saturday. Tim Hortons Field remains the only CPL stadium where Vancouver FC has yet to score a goal. The Eagles will also be in search of their first road point of the season, having allowed three goals each in away losses to York United (3-0) and Cavalry FC (3-1) so far this season. “As we saw from Valour at Forge there are opportunities that we can take, and there will be moments that we can get something out of this game,” said Vancouver FC head coach Afshin Ghotbi. “Our attitude is go there to have a good performance, be competitive and keep ourselves in the game and find the right moments to try to steal points.” In a heavy case of déja-vu, meanwhile, Forge FC host Vancouver FC on Saturday, before travelling to take on CF Montréal in their Canadian Championship quarter-final second leg on Wednesday. Last year, they played Vancouver FC for the first time ever, in a 0-0 draw on May 19 at Tim Hortons Field prior to taking on CF Montréal midweek in the cup. Both clubs are coming off draws themselves in CPL action last weekend, the Forge travelling to Starlight Stadium and drawing 0-0 with Pacific FC, while Vancouver battled back to draw 1-1 with Atlético Ottawa. It was the first time this season that Forge has dropped points in league action, as they have won both of their CPL matches at Tim Hortons Field in 2024. Since that aforementioned 0-0 in the first-ever meeting between Forge and Vancouver, the Hamilton club have had the better of the all-time series, They were victorious in the most recent two meetings between the pair after Vancouver stunned them on June 20, 2023 by a score of 2-0. Interestingly, however, no player currently on the Forge roster has ever scored against Vancouver FC. Four of their five goals scored last season against the Eagles, including a hat trick in their most recent meeting on September 3, 2023, came courtesy of the since-departed Woobens Pacius. Aboubacar Sissoko, meanwhile, scored the other during a 2-0 home victory on July 28, 2023. So Saturday promises to be a day for new heroes in this budding rivalry. Moses Dyer, in particular, has a solid career record against Forge having scored four goals and added an assist during eight meetings with the Hamilton club. Terran Campbell remains out for Forge FC on Saturday, but the club’s backline will be given a big boost by the return of Malik Owolabi-Belewu. After dealing with illness last match, Rocco Romeo is available again at centre-back for Saturday’s clash, but David Norman is still a few days away from making his return to the Vancouver FC lineup. Midfielder Grady McDonnell has also returned from international duty, where he played for Ireland’s U-16 squad in the UEFA Development tournament against Portugal, Austria and Switzerland.
All CPL matches are available to stream on OneSoccer, FuboTV, or on TELUS Optik TV Channel 980.
3 THINGS TO WATCH
- **Chung’s return from injury a significant boost for Vancouver FC: **While Vancouver FC had three unavailable centrebacks last week against Atlético Ottawa, their backline received a big boost with the return of Kadin Chung. The 25-year-old set up Vancouver’s equalizer on a lovely cross to Alejandro Díaz. He also made four interceptions and won three tackles defensively — demonstrating just how important he is to the Eagles on both sides of the ball. After the match, head coach Afshin Ghotbi called him one of the best wide defenders in North America. High praise, but an indication of his quality. “It’s been amazing having Kadin back in the lineup,” said Vancouver FC defender Rocco Romeo. “With him being gone for the majority of the season last year, having a key role like him in the team was missing. So getting to play alongside him in the team this year has been a pleasure but also he’s a great guy to have in the locker room and to work with every day, the ceiling is always very high with him.” * **How do Forge manage squad knowing CF Montréal await on Wednesday?: **On Friday, May 19 of last year, Forge hosted Vancouver FC ahead of a midweek match with CF Montréal and significantly rotated their roster. Kyle Bekker, Alex Achinioti-Jönsson, Terran Campbell, Triston Henry and Tristan Borges all started that match on the bench and Forge gave Chris Kalongo his only start of the 2023 campaign. While the rotation made sense, it did seem to disrupt the Hamilton side’s offensive rhythm. In fact, after that game, Forge’s attack largely dried up with just three goals in the next seven matches in all competitions. With the way the attack is clicking this year, Bobby Smyrniotis and his staff certainly won’t want to risk that happening again. What approach they take to this match, with that monumental CanChamp clash looming, remains to be seen. But they will surely take lessons from that Vancouver FC match in May of last year into Saturday’s contest. * **Can Vancouver FC follow Valour’s blueprint against Forge?: **In his pre-match press conference, Afshin Ghotbi specifically mentioned Valour FC’s visit to Tim Hortons Field earlier this season as an example of a visiting team having success in Hamilton. While the Winnipeg side ultimately lost 2-1 on a late goal from Noah Jensen, they were perhaps unlucky not to leave Tim Hortons Field with at least a point, creating plenty of chances and frustrating the hosts at moments during the match. Valour did two things particularly well against Forge, getting into the half spaces just outside Forge’s box to send in crosses, and disrupting the host’s rhythm. Vancouver are tied with the second most successful crosses in the league this season (26), so this approach would suit them well — especially with the likes of Paris Gee and now Chung able to deliver quality service from out wide. With 70 fouls committed, the second most in the league, Vancouver certainly know how to disrupt a match as well.
PROJECTED STARTING XIs
Forge FC: Kalongo; Duncan, Achinioti-Jönsson, Owolabi-Belewu, Parra; Bekker, Jensen, Borges; Badibanga, Choinière, Hamilton
Vancouver FC: Irving; Chung, Romeo, Enyou, Gee; Fisk, Garcia, Kibato, Bitar; Dyer, Díaz
ALL-TIME SERIES
Forge FC wins: 2 || Vancouver FC wins: 1 || Draws: 1
Last meeting:
September 3, 2023 — Vancovuer FC 0-3 Forge FC
KEY QUOTES
“They’re a team full of energy. They’re resilient in the way they go about things on the pitch. Whether that’s playing a little bit higher up the field or being a little bit deeper, there’s been different versions of them throughout these first five games of the year that they played. We’ve seen a couple of different formation changes, things that have gone very well for them. ” — Forge FC head coach Bobby Smyrniotis “Of course, we have enormous respect for Forge, on paper and on the field they’ve been one of the best teams in CPL history. So we go there with the mentality for us to be at our best… I hope collectively we can have a performance that gives us the best chance to get something out of the game.” — Vancouver FC head coach Afshin Ghotbi “We approach it like any other game. We stick to the game plan that’s set out for us by the coaching staff and on gameday anything can happen on any given day. I’m confident that we will come away with a positive result and it’ll be a well-displayed performance from the group.” — Vancouver FC defender Rocco Romeo