In their first meeting of 2026, rivals Forge FC and Cavalry battled to a 0-0 draw at Hamilton Stadium, despite the hosts going down to ten men for most of the second half.
Forge's Rezart Rama was sent off after being shown a second yellow in the 56th minute, forcing the hosts to adopt a more defensive shape.
Following the draw, the two sides remain first and second in the CPL table, with their unbeaten record intact.
The return of 2025 Defender of the Year Dan Nimick was one of three changes for Forge FC, including starting last week's hero, Max Filion, and Ismael Oketoukoun up top. Cavalry FC, meanwhile, made no changes from the group which defeated Atlético Ottawa 3-1 last weekend.
In the fifth minute, Forge had the first clear chance of the match. Filion sent a lovely cross that Tristan Borges headed goalward. It was initially blocked, but Oketokoun got on the rebound and forced an excellent save from Nate Ingham.
Moments later, the Cavalry goalkeeper was called into action again to parry an Antoine Batisse header over the bar.
Filion was incredibly lively for Forge in the early stages, holding the ball up well and providing great work rate on both sides of the ball. On a few different occasions, he tracked back well and helped break up Cavalry attacks.
Cavalry quickly tightened things up at the back, and while Forge had a few more strikers at net in the coming minutes, none of them truly challenged Ingham. They also got on the ball more as the half wore on, looking to find a way to break down the Forge block.
After the flurry of early action, it was a fairly quiet final half-hour of the first half, with neither side creating any chances of consequence. They retreated to the rooms with the score deadlocked at 0-0.
Early in the second half, Ingham was called into action again. This time Hoce Massunda cut down the right and then sent a strike across goal, which Ingham tipped wide.
In the 56th minute, Forge were down to ten men as Rezart Rama was shown a second yellow card for a tackle on Goteh Ntignee. Forge challenged the call with FVS, but it was upheld.
Understandably, Cavalry started to get into more and more dangerous areas, as Forge adjusted their shape to account for the loss of Rama. They had a great chance from a free kick in the 72nd minute, but Tobias Warschewski's strike was straight into the wall.
In the 78th minute, they had a great chance to go ahead as Harry Paton found himself alone in the box after some good buildup, but sent his strike over the net.
Cavalry emptied the bench for the final five minutes, bringing on Ali Musse, Michael Baldisimo and Jay Herdman in a bid to push for a late winner.
It was Forge, however, who had an outstanding chance moments later as Jensen picked out Brian Wright in the box. The Forge striker, however, sent his shot wide.
As is the nature of these games, tensions boiled over late, with both clubs flying into challenges and every whistle drawing a crowd.
But when the final whistle went, neither side had found a breakthrough.
Forge still have yet to concede a goal this season. Despite playing 34 minutes down a man, the host also did not allow a single shot on target during the game.
BOX SCORE
Lineups
Forge FC: Bertaud; Rama, Batisse, Nimick, Jevremovic; Aromatario, B.Paton, Borges (Bourgeois 64'); Massunda (Jensen 64'), Filion (Wright 74'), Oketokoun (Babouli 74')
Cavalry FC: Ingham; Pearlman (Herdman 85'), Klomp, Didić, Kamdem; H.Paton (Baldisimo 85'), Kobza; Edwards (Elva 69'), Camargo (Musse 85'), Ntignee; Warschewski
Goals
N/A
Discipline
9' — Yellow: Dan Nimick (Forge FC)
15' -- Yellow: Amer Didić (Cavalry FC)
34' -- Yellow: Rezart Rama (Forge FC)
56' -- Yellow+Red: Rezart Rama (Forge FC)
90+3' -- Yellow: Eryk Kobza (Cavalry FC)
CPLSoccer.com Player of the Match
Nathan Ingham, Cavalry FC
The Cavalry goalkeeper made six saves, several of them key stops to keep his side from conceding on Saturday. It was his first clean sheet with his new club.
What’s next?
It's back to the West Coast for Forge next week as they take on Pacific FC at Royal Athletic Park in Victoria (6 p.m. ET)
Cavalry FC are back at home next weekend, as they welcome Inter Toronto to ATCO Field on Saturday, April 25 (5 p.m. ET/ 3 p.m. MT).
For broadcast details of the 2026 CPL season, go to cplsoccer.com/watch.