Forge FC got back to winning ways on Sunday afternoon against Valour FC, as the Hamilton side jumped out to an early lead then held off a late push from the visitors to see out a 2-1 win at Tim Hortons Field.

For this Sunday matinee, both managers kept their teams largely the same from how they lined up the prior week. Forge boss Bobby Smyrniotis made two changes to the side that drew 2-2 in Halifax, with Chris Kalongo returning in goal and Dominic Samuel replacing Malcolm Duncan at right-back. Valour coach Phillip Dos Santos, meanwhile, opted to make just one change to his team after last week’s 3-2 loss to Pacific, with Jordan Faria replacing Abdul Binate on the right wing.

It didn’t take long for Forge to get off to the races. They had full control of the ball from kickoff, getting forward quickly and aggressively to establish territory.

After a couple of semi-dangerous chances, they found a breakthrough just 12 minutes in as Kwasi Poku stuck behind the Valour backline as it stepped forward, and Kyle Bekker spotted him in the space. The captain fed a clever through ball in behind to Poku, who at first glance looked offside but may have been played on by Roberto Alarcón. Poku turned quickly and finished with a low, driven effort for his second goal in as many games, putting Forge up 1-0.

Poku would double the lead almost 20 minutes later, as Béni Badibanga put the Valour defence under pressure and the ball came loose toward the box, where Poku jumped on it and chipped it over the keeper Jonathan Viscosi. The shot floated to the crossbar, hitting it before dropping down toward the goal line, where it would surely have trickled over the line even if Tass Mourdoukoutas hadn’t knocked it in.

Valour seemed to have pulled one back just seconds before halftime, as a free kick from Alarcón found the head of Shaan Hundal, but the forward was offside and the goal didn’t stand.

After Dos Santos made one change at halftime — bringing Dante Campbell into midfield in place of Noah Verhoeven — both sides had a golden chance within a couple minutes of the break. Badibanga took a well-placed shot from the top of the box that Viscosi dived to push away excellently, and moments later Themi Antonoglou hit the crossbar for the visitors.

With 20 minutes to play though, Valour did finally find a way back into the game. Antonoglou showed off his pace to get around Alex Achinioti-Jönsson and receive a through ball, firing a shot at Kalongo who parried it to his left — where Valour’s Abdul Binate was available to smash it into an empty net and cut the lead in half.

Raphael Ohin came inches from scoring an outrageous equalizer shortly after, as he shot a rocket from around 35 yards out that blazed through Kalongo’s arms, but thundered off the crossbar.

Forge should’ve put the game away as Badibanga squared a pass perfectly for Nana Ampomah with an open goal, but the recent newcomer couldn’t get his touch right and blasted it over the bar.

It didn’t end up mattering though, as Forge held off the last few waves of Valour pressure and managed to see out the 2-1 victory at home, moving up into second place and ensuring they won’t end the weekend lower than third.

BOX SCORE

Lineups

Forge FC: Kalongo; Samuel (Duncan 79′), Achinioti-Jönsson, Metusala, Parra (Owolabi-Belewu 68′); Bekker, Hojabrpour; Choinière (Ampomah 68′), Borges (Koné 90+3′), Badibaga (Hamilton 90+3′); Poku

Valour FC: Viscosi; Alarcón (Facchineri 63′), Chantzopoulos (Hanson 90+3′), Mourdoukoutas, Antonoglou; Ohin, Verhoeven (Campbell 46′); Faria, Ressurreição, Hundal (Binate 63′); Swibel

Goals

12′ — Kwasi Poku (Forge FC)
31′ — Kwasi Poku (Forge FC)
71′ — Abdul Binate (Valour FC)

Discipline

64′ — Yellow: Dante Campbell (Valour FC)
73′ — Yellow: Jordan Swibel (Valour FC)
77′ — Yellow: Themi Antonoglou (Valour FC)
88′ — Yellow: Tristan Borges (Forge FC)
90+2′ — Yellow: Gianfranco Facchineri (Valour FC)