Forge FC restored their place atop the standings once again on Sunday, as they topped Inter Toronto 4-1 at York Lions Stadium in the first 905 Derby of the 2026 campaign.
It was a match characterized by extremes in quality; both sides produced some moments of brilliance, but Inter Toronto were mainly let down by individual errors in critical moments.
Despite a bright opening 15 minutes for the hosts Toronto, Forge struck first, by winning a free kick about 15 yards outside the box. The Hammers' left-back Marko Jevremović took responsibility for the dead ball, and he launched a perfect strike over the wall and into the top left corner.
Forge doubled their lead shortly after in a bizarre sequence of events; Tristan Borges played a corner straight at the goalmouth, where a legion of orange shirts swarmed Toronto keeper Diego Urtiaga. After a series of unsuccessful attempts to knock it into the net, Hoce Massunda ultimately managed to squeak one over the line. The goal stood despite Toronto's pleas that it be disallowed for a foul.
The home side thus went into the halftime break frustrated, after a half in which they were mostly on level footing in the run of play, but found themselves 2-0 down.
Toronto clawed one back early in the second half, when Julian Altobelli found a sliding Max Ferrari at the back post with a superb cross that Ferrari knocked in.
However, the renewed optimism was short-lived; Forge restored their advantage three minutes later after Anthony Aromatario picked off a poor Toronto pass through the middle of the pitch. He left it for Tristan Borges, who took a weak shot from distance that Urtiaga fumbled, landing it behind him in the net.
Forge's fourth came 20 minutes later, from yet another set-piece — this one a little more standard, as Borges sent it from the corner spot to the front post, where Ben Paton flicked it backwards and into the goal to make it 4-1.
By the end of the match, the statistics sheet looked remarkably lopsided — perhaps surprisingly so, given Toronto's ambitions of challenging Forge this season.
The visitors out-shot Toronto 26 to nine, and won 58 per cent of the duels, in a game where they generally were sharper and more ruthless than their opponents. In fact, Forge's 26 shots were the highest single-match total for any team in the CPL so far this year.
Forge coach Bobby Smyrniotis mentioned postmatch that he had prepared his team for various tactics he saw Toronto use on Sunday; they pressed high at times, and Forge worked to bypass them with direct balls, and when Toronto sat in a low block, the Hammers exploited the massive gaps in the middle.
"Lately they've been a pressing team and trying to get higher up on the pitch," he said. "[But] if you give us that much space, sometimes it's going to be a problem. You drop back and play a low block, it could be a problem."
Meanwhile, Inter Toronto boss Mauro Eustáquio expressed clear irritation with his team's performance after the game. He did mention some frustration with refereeing — particularly a sequence very early, where a through ball to Max Ferrari was whistled down quickly for a potential offside — but ultimately his team, as he put it, "shot themselves in the foot."
"I think it's not acceptable for us to concede two goals off corner kicks," he said. "We knew that Forge has shown this year that they're a team that scores off set-pieces. They're strong, they're physical, and I think we weren't able to meet that physicality."
With the three points, Forge leapfrogged Cavalry FC once again, and sit atop the table with a two-point advantage. Toronto, meanwhile, are seeing the top two begin to get away from them, now eight points behind second-place Cavalry.
Box Score
Starting XIs
Inter Toronto: Urtiaga; López, Sturing (Bassett 72'), Guzmán, Singh, Ferrari; Kibato (Accettola 61'), Córdova (Yeates 61'); Badibanga (Almagro 79'), Skublak, Altobelli (Bitar 79')
Forge FC: Bertaud; Rama (Ampomah 79'), Nimick, Batisse, Jevremović; Aromatario, Borges (Bekker 79'), Paton; Massunda (Bourgeois 68'), Filion (Wright 68'), Babouli (Jensen 68')
Goals
17' — Marko Jevremović (Forge FC)
26' — Hoce Massunda (Forge FC)
47' — Max Ferrari (Inter Toronto)
50' — Tristan Borges (Forge FC)
70' — Ben Paton (Forge FC)
Discipline
32' — Yellow: Juan Córdova (Inter Toronto)
53' — Yellow: Mo Babouli (Forge FC)
CPLSoccer.com Player of the Match
Tristan Borges, Forge FC
Wearing the captain's armband for the Hammers, Borges was outstanding. He scored one goal with six shots, also creating seven chances and assisting on Paton's goal.
What's Next?
Both sides will be at home this coming Wednesday for a pair of Red and White Out matches, to send off Canada ahead of the CPL's break during the World Cup.
Inter Toronto host Cavalry FC (7:30 p.m. ET), while Forge take on the Halifax Wanderers (7 p.m. ET).
