Forge FC are headed to the quarterfinals of the TELUS Canadian Championship once again, after they handed a thorough 4-0 defeat to the Halifax Wanderers at Hamilton Stadium on Saturday.
The home side were the dominant force from minute one through to the end, picking up where they left off after beating the Wanderers 3-1 in Canadian Premier League play a week ago.
A brief feeling-out period at the start of the game saw Forge taking more and more adventurous strolls into the Halifax half, and around 20 minutes in they earned the first real chance of the game.
A scramble in the box led to a ball that caromed off the elbow of Finn Linder, prompting referee Yusri Rudolf to award a penalty. However, Wanderers keeper Marco Carducci stood tall in front of the spot kick, denying Brian Wright with a dive to his right.
Carducci's heroics wouldn't spare the visitors for long; shortly before halftime, Forge won another set-piece a few feet outside of the penalty area. This time, Tristan Borges sent a perfect left-footed strike over traffic and into the net at the far post to give Forge a deserved lead.
Antoine Batisse added another for Forge seconds before halftime, as Dan Nimick's flick-on of a Borges corner kick delivery landed in the path of the unmarked defender. Batisse smashed home his second goal in as many weeks to send the Hammers into the dressing room up 2-0.
The second half continued much as the first had ended; Borges scored another just six minutes after the break, and then created a fourth goal shortly after as his effort hit the crossbar and landed in Wright's path for an emphatic finish.
The match came to a momentary halt around the 70th minute, as lightning in the area caused the match to enter a weather delay, but once they did return to the pitch the Hammers saw out a comfortable triumph.
With the victory, Forge now move on in the Canadian Championship, and will take on either Inter Toronto or CS Saint-Laurent in the quarterfinals in July.
The Wanderers, who were knocked out of the cup by Forge last time as well, have now gone four straight years without winning a CanChamp match, and will aim to restore their confidence in CPL action next week.
BOX SCORE
Lineups
Forge FC: Bertaud; Rama, Nimick, Batisse (Krutzen 70’), Jevremović; Jensen (Sadek 70’), Aromatario, Paton (Bekker 70’); Borges (Filion 69'), Wright (Oketokoun 69'), Massunda
Halifax Wanderers: Carducci; Linder, Sow (Ahmed 82’), Alphonse; Godinho, Zitman (Troisi 70’), Callegari, Telfer (Akinwale 55'); Johnston (Arilla 55'), Kachwele, Bahamboula (Olguin 70’)
Goals
44' — Tristan Borges (Forge FC)
45+2' — Antoine Batisse (Forge FC)
51' — Tristan Borges (Forge FC)
54' — Brian Wright (Forge FC)
Discipline
24' — Yellow: Dan Nimick (Forge FC)
47' — Yellow: Ryan Telfer (Halifax Wanderers)
CPLSoccer.com Player of the Match
Tristan Borges, Forge FC
Wearing the armband for Hamilton on Saturday, Borges was involved in absolutely everything for Forge. He scored two of his own, and also played a part in the two other goals, with a set-piece delivery for the first and initial ball in for the fourth.