The first TELUS Canadian Championship quarterfinal tie is all square heading into the second leg, as Forge FC and CS Saint-Laurent battled to a 1-1 draw in Leg 1 at Stade Boréale on Wednesday.
Although the Canadian Premier League club took an early lead, their LS Pro opponents battled back in the second half and suffocated Forge's attack to emerge with a draw. So, this tie will have to be settled on Sunday in Hamilton.
Forge came into the CanChamp clash with a strong lineup, although coach Bobby Smyrniotis did make seven changes from the side that beat FC Supra in the same stadium last Sunday. Seventeen-year-old Aghilas Sadek and U SPORTS standout Maxime Bourgeois both made just their second starts for the Hamilton club, as Smyrniotis included all three of his Quebec-born players in the starting 11.
They were the protagonists from kickoff, imposing themselves in possession while trying to find gaps in a well-organized Saint-Laurent side.
Just 15 minutes into the match, Forge found an opening. Kyle Bekker flicked an excellent switch out to Nana Ampomah on the right touchline, and Ampomah cut back toward the top of the box himself. The Ghanaian winger let fly from a considerable distance and a sharp angle, and he hit the side netting just inside the far post to make it 1-0.
Saint-Laurent recovered well after the goal, and in fact were more threatening than the CPL team toward the end of the first half. They out-shot Forge five to three before the break, demanding one excellent save from Dimitry Bertaud — who also had to claim a few dangerous crosses into the box.
So, perhaps it was no surprise that Saint-Laurent came out of the blocks explosively in the second half.
The semi-pro side generated three shots (to Forge's none) in the first 10 minutes after halftime, and at the 55-minute mark, they shocked their opponent with an equalizer.
Saint-Laurent pressed Forge aggressively in the early stages of the half, and won the ball high up the pitch.
Zakaria Bahous — a former Atlético Ottawa and Pacific FC player in the CPL — did most of the work himself, playing a quick give-and-go before driving into the box. Finding a gap through the middle, he aimed for goal from just inside the area and beat Bertaud along the ground to tie the game.
With such a monumental shift in the game's momentum, both managers went to their benches shortly after Bahous's goal. Smyrniotis made a triple substitution, bringing Ben Paton into midfield while inserting two fresh attackers in Hoce Massunda and Ismael Oketokoun. Smyrniotis followed up with two more subs shortly after, emptying his bench to bring on Tristan Borges and Antoine Batisse.
By the 70th minute, Forge still didn't have a second-half shot, nor a touch in the box, as the CPL's first-place side looked uncharacteristically disjointed.
The Hammers picked up their energy in the final 20 minutes and got closer to goal with a few efforts, but they still weren't able to break down Saint-Laurent again.
Instead, the first-leg draw became yet another famous result in this competition for CS Saint-Laurent, who had already knocked out two CPL teams and gone toe-to-toe with Toronto FC in their history.
Smyrniotis wasn't too disheartened by the result, acknowledging Saint-Laurent's quality but pointing out that his Forge team has played a lot of tough football recently.
"To be honest, it was what we expected," he said postmatch. "We've been in these games, we know that Saint-Laurent's going to play with a lot of intensity, a lot of effort with all the excitement these games bring. As the game went on, maybe it shows that it's our third game in a week playing in 30-40 degree plus weather; it takes its toll. But it's what I expected, the intensity from them."
Forge captain Kyle Bekker struck an honest tone postmatch, pointing out that performances like Saint-Laurent's on Wednesday underline the beauty of soccer as a sport of fine margins.
"It's why this game is better than any other sport in the world," he said. "For 90 minutes, you show up, and if you don't respect the opponent, you don't put in a shift, you're not good that day, anything can happen."
Forge will still undoubtedly feel they can get the job done at home in Sunday's second leg, but they'll need to be much better if they're to get to the semifinal.
Box Score
Starting XIs
CS Saint-Laurent: Cantona; Ghamraoui, Nboucha, Goulet, Morsli (Aristilde 58'); Bahous, Mlah (Eid 58'), Toussaint, Khenoussi (Tabi 58'); Chibane (Bey 46'), Chaouki (Catavolo 75')
Forge FC: Bertaud; Bourgeois, Nimick, Krutzen, Jevremović; Sadek (Borges 67'), Aromatario, Bekker (Paton 62'); Ampomah (Batisse 67'), Filion (Oketokoun 62'), Babouli (Massunda 62')
Goals
15' — Nana Ampomah (Forge FC)
56' — Zakaria Bahous (CS Saint-Laurent)
Discipline
41' — Yellow: Dan Nimick (Forge FC)
68' — Yellow: Antoine Batisse (Forge FC)
90+4' — Yellow: Zakaria Bahous (CS Saint-Laurent)
CPLSoccer.com Player of the Match
Zakaria Bahous, CS Saint-Laurent
The former CPLer was the standout for Saint-Laurent, scoring the goal with a tremendous run and finish. He had four shots and nine passes in the final third, also making seven recoveries in an excellent all-around performance.
What's Next?
Leg 2 of this CanChamp quarterfinal tie will go on Sunday, July 12 in Hamilton (4 p.m. ET/1 p.m. PT, on OneSoccer).
