The reason for Forge FC’s success in winning three of the four Canadian Premier League championships to date is that the club refuses to rest on laurels.
“A great history is our guide … [but] everything resets with zeroes across the board,” said Forge FC head coach Bobby Smyrniotis.
The Hammers from Hamilton remained undefeated in the early going in 2023 (1-0-2 in league and 1-0 in the Canadian Championship) with a 1-0 victory over Pacific FC (1-1-1 and 1-0) on Sunday evening at Starlight Stadium.
“We gave them too much respect in the first half,” said PFC head coach James Merriman.
Smyrniotis was pleased with his club’s effort on the road.
“This is not an easy place to play,” he said.
“The fans are great and it’s the smallest field in the league.”
The match featured the only teams to win CPL championships. The Tridents interrupted the Hammers’ reign with a 1-0 victory in the 2021 league final at Tim Hortons Field. It was a sweet homecoming Sunday for two former PFC players now with Forge FC. Alessandro Hojabrpour scored the winning goal against the Hammers in the 2021 championship game for PFC and former Tridents forward Terran Campbell turned Hammer is second on the all-time PFC list with 25 goals behind only Alejandro Diaz’s 31 and his 69 games for PFC are tied atop the club list with former Tridents goalkeeper Callum Irving.
For the second consecutive game a storyline is a goal that 19-year-old PFC goalkeeper Emil Gazdov might have second thoughts about. He was charged with an own goal early in the previous weekend’s 1-1 draw against Cavalry FC of Calgary. The Forge FC winner Sunday came on a sharp but soft Woobens Pacius header at 17 minutes that went through Gazdov’s hands and through his legs.
“I don’t put those on Emil [Gazdov]. We put ourselves in those positions,” said Merriman.
The team is fully behind their rookie goalkeeper.
“He is a young goalkeeper and has our full support,” said PFC defender Amer Didic.
“We have his back. We have to look after the ball.”
The game Sunday followed a familiar pattern with PFC pressing for an equalizer after falling behind early. They got those against Cavalry in a 1-1 game that went to a win on penalties in the opening round of the Canadian Championship and in the 1-1 league draw against the Calgary club last weekend. But an equalizer didn’t come against Forge FC, which was able to absorb the PFC pressure in the second half. The Tridents are getting their chances but not burying them and have only three goals this year in run of play in four games across all competitions.
“Someone needs to score. We need to be more decisive in mentality in front of goal. It doesn’t need to be perfect. We’ve put ourselves in position. But we’re taking too many touches. We have to take our chances. It’s about finishing,” said Merriman.
“We’ve dropped points in the last two matches that we shouldn’t have. We have been dominant in large parts of [the last two] games and could have had six points [but] had one point.”
The game Sunday featured the return of two of the best midfielders in the CPL. Forge FC captain Kyle Bekker, the 18-time sa国际传媒 capped former CPL MVP who was injured to start the season, made his first appearance and was cagey and dominant in the middle of the pitch during his 60-plus minutes. Darting PFC midfield-engine Manny Aparicio returned from injury, and was subbed in at 60 minutes, and the lift that gave the Tridents’ attack was immediate and appreciable.
PFC hits the road for the first time this season for a game Saturday in the nation’s capital against 2023 CPL-finalist Atletico Ottawa.
