Forge FC delivered some Canada Day fireworks in Hamilton on Wednesday, as they came from two goals down to beat Vancouver FC 3-2 and remain secure atop the league table.
Although Forge trailed 2-0 as late as the 60-minute mark, a trio of goals within the next 15 minutes had them in front, stunning the visitors who looked destined for a massive win.
It was a heartbreaking loss for Vancouver FC, who scored twice in the first half by capitalizing on a pair of Forge mistakes.
The visiting Eagles raced out in front early, when an errant pass across midfield from Forge's Nana Ampomah came to Vancouver's Thierno Bah. The young winger decisively fired it forward to Terran Campbell between the Forge centre-backs, and Campbell surged forward, scoring from a few yards inside the penalty area.
Shocked by the early mistake, Forge went back to work quickly in an effort to get back into the game. They controlled possession and tried to get into dangerous areas, but generated just two shots in the first half.
Instead, Vancouver doubled their lead just before halftime, as Bah once again punished a sloppy giveaway. He took it himself this time, picking up an attempted pass backward to head in on goal alone and finish deftly past Dimitry Bertaud.
Smyrniotis turned to his bench at the break, aiming to shore things up in midfield. He brought defender Daniel Krutzen into the game to replace Mo Babouli, allowing Antoine Batisse to play further forward as a holding midfielder.
It took until the hour mark, but Forge did find a foothold in the game thanks to Tristan Borges. The Hammers engineered a superb team goal, as a cross came in from the right wing and Brian Wright out-muscled his defender to tap the ball backwards to space where Borges was free to smash it into the net.
Less than three minutes later, Forge's equalizer arrived. Krutzen, in a swathe of space about 35 yards from goal, flicked a shot toward the right post. His effort snuck into the bottom corner of the net, eluding keeper Callum Irving to make it 2-2.
The hurricane of Forge attacks continued, and about 10 minutes after the equalizer, they found themselves in front. This time, it was a loose ball that dropped to Batisse near the penalty area; his shot met a fortuitous deflection on the way through and beat Irving at the right goalpost once again.
So, what was set to be a remarkable away win for Vancouver FC instead became an afternoon to forget, as their early positive moments were overshadowed by critical mistakes later.
Their coach Martin Nash was understandably frustrated after the match, admitting that he thought his side had let the heat get to them, with temperatures that felt like the mid-40s Celsius at pitch level.
"I thought our mentality wasn't strong enough," he said. "You see [Forge's] mentality, and that's why they've been top of the league so many years. We need to find that desired mentality in our group."
Forge, with their ninth win of the season, kept a firm grip on the CPL Shield race, now five points clear of Cavalry FC (with one more match played).
It was a remarkable reversal of fortunes for the Hamilton club, and credit is due to Bobby Smyrniotis who changed the game significantly with his subs. Not only did his halftime change pay off, with Krutzen and Batisse both scoring, but so did his 58th-minute choice to bring in Brian Wright and Ismael Oketokoun. Wright helped create Borges' goal, while Oketokoun's running kept VFC pinned back.
Even Noah Jensen and Maxime Bourgeois, who came into midfield four minutes before the winning goal, played a major part in Forge seeing out the victory.
However, Smyrniotis said that he shouldered the blame at halftime for a different tactical setup that didn't work for his team.
"As a coach you have to look at and reflect on trying to do something a little different in the first half," he said. "Although on the ball it was probably going to help us quite a bit, I knew we could be susceptible to losing the ball. Unfortunately, the thing that you hope doesn't happen, happened; you can't lose the ball in the central axis like that."
He went on to add that "strictly, the problem in the first half was myself," absolving his players of the blame; it was a
Smyrniotis certainly redeemed himself by fixing the problem quickly and finding a way to set his team up for the comeback.
Box Score
Starting XIs
Forge FC: Bertaud; Rama, Nimick, Batisse, Paton; Borges (Bourgeois 71'), Bekker (Jensen 71'), Babouli (Krutzen 46'); Ampomah (Oketokoun 58'), Filion (Wright 58'), Massunda
Vancouver FC: Irving; Gee, Campagna, Proctor; Doner, Fotsing (Powell 80'), Pecile (Toomey 80'), Crawford (Ouattara 73'); Bah, Campbell (Mousset 65'), Amissi (Mezquida 73')
Goals
7' — Terran Campbell (Vancouver FC)
45+2' — Thierno Bah (Vancouver FC)
61' — Tristan Borges (Forge FC)
64' — Daniel Krutzen (Forge FC)
75' — Antoine Batisse (Forge FC)
Discipline
84' - Yellow: Matteo Schiavoni (Pacific FC)
89' - Yellow: Eric Lajeunesse (Pacific FC)
CPLSoccer.com Player of the Match
Antoine Batisse, Forge FC
The Hamilton defender scored the go-ahead goal and assisted the equalizer, while also helping steady Forge in possession amid shaky moments. He moved into midfield in the second half and helped them take better control of the game
What's Next?
Vancouver head back home this weekend, as they host Inter Toronto in Langley on Saturday, July 4 (7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT). Forge, meanwhile, head down the 401 to take on FC Supra du Québec on Sunday, July 5 in Laval (1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT).
For the full broadcast schedule: cplsoccer.com/watch.
