Final Score: Forge FC 2-0 Halifax Wanderers FC
Goalscorers: Hojabrpour 45+2′, Hamilton 63′
Game of the 2024 season: 71
CPL match: 555
Match in a minute or less
For the first time since week three, Forge FC are at the top of the Canadian Premier League table after a 2-0 victory over ten-man Halifax Wanderers. It also came from their first back-to-back victories in league action since that third week of the season back in April as well.
Halifax’s Jérémy Gagnon-Laparé was sent off in the 32nd minute, which led to a largely comfortable Forge victory thereafter. A pair of Forge players scored their first goal of the CPL season, Alessandro Hojabrpour just before half-time and Jordan Hamilton in the second half.
With the win, Forge add their eighth home victory of the season, the most of any team in the Canadian Premier League. Halifax, meanwhile, remain at the bottom of the table, now 15 points below top of the table Forge and still seven points outside the playoff picture.
Three Observations
Forge FC go top of the table after ‘controlled’ victory over ten-man Halifax Wanderers
Forge head coach Bobby Smyrniotis has said it often in his time with the club — having an opponent that goes down to ten men doesn’t always make things easier.
Instead, the opponent locks in, closes up shop, and plays defensively — making them tougher to break down. On Wednesday night, however, his side diligently picked apart the ten-man Wanderers en route to a 2-0 victory that put them top of the Canadian Premier League table.
“Control, that’s the biggest thing when you’re playing up a man, you’re playing against a team whose concentration levels are high, you’ve got to make sure to match that,” said Forge FC head coach Bobby Smyrniotis. “You’ve got to play really controlled football, get into zones of the pitch that allow you to attack, and also keep you away from the counter. Because when a team plays down a man, they keep all their energy for five motions in a game.”
Forge did incredibly well at limiting any sort of attacking threat Halifax had, especially in the second half, limiting them to just two shots, neither of which were on target, and five touches in the opposition box.
They then pushed on and scored a second goal in the 63rd minute, a critical one for Jordan Hamilton. It was the 28-year-old’s first goal this season and comes at an opportune time with Kwasi Poku out of the lineup. Hamilton was dangerous throughout, with five shot attempts, three of which were on goal and four of which were inside the box.
“I thought he was good,” said Smyrniotis. “If you look at it, apart from the goal, he had some good movements, two very good chances in the first half, the one shot from a very good combination play.”
After the match, Forge’s head coach confirmed that Poku sat out because there is transfer interest from him at the moment given his recent performances — with a team-leading eight goals this season. Should he leave, the club would certainly need a player like Hamilton, and Terran Campbell who made his first appearance off the bench since returning from injury, to step up.
But Forge will now get to figure out these selection decisions from the front of the pack.
“The main thing you’re happy about is three points,” said Smyrniotis. “It’s always about putting the points in the bank. If you do that enough, then it’s a positive thing. I’m always a person that doesn’t look a lot at the standings, and you can call me crazy for that, because you can look at it and think about a million things but things change quick in this league.”
That attention now turns to Vancouver on Sunday, and another opportunity to bank points in this incredibly tight CPL title race. Forge move to 31 points, tied on points with York United — who they have the head-to-head tiebreak over –and two ahead of third place Atlético Ottawa, but no longer have a game in hand on their Ontario rivals.
‘He’s the machine in the middle’ — Hojabrpour gets his first goal of the season, remains critical piece of this Forge FC side
Heading into Wednesday’s match against the Halifax Wanderers, Bobby Smyrniotis said that he believed Alessandro Hojabrpour was the best defensive midfielder in the Canadian Premier League.
On Wednesday, Hojabrpour proved why, with a dominant performance against Halifax — including his first goal of this CPL season.
The 24-year-old often plays a more understated role at the base of midfield, but one essential to his side’s success — shielding the backline and allowing the likes of Kyle Bekker, Tristan Borges and the rest of the Forge midfield the freedom to get forward and into dangerous pockets on the pitch while knowing they will be covered defensively.
He is also the critical tempo setter for this Forge side, often making the critical first pass that decides whether the Hamilton club are moving quickly up the pitch or retaining possession and slowing the game down. Hojabrpour has also been outstandingly consistent for this Forge team, playing the second most minutes on the team behind only Alex Achinioti-Jönsson.
“I talk to Ale a lot, I tell him I think you have the quality to go on to a high level,” said Forge FC striker Jordan Hamilton. “He plays every game, he’s an unsung hero of this team. It’s a guy that you don’t really think about when you see Forge FC but he’s the machine in the middle. Without him, a lot of what we do doesn’t happen. So it’s good when he gets a goal and gets a little bit of credit but what a holding midfielder he is.”
That was the case again on Wednesday, especially with the Wanderers going down to ten men in the 33rd minute, Hojabrpour played a critical role in preventing counterattacks defensively, while breaking the lines with 51 of his 57 passes being accurate — and 21 of those played in the final third.
Over the past few matches, however, Hojabrpour has been showing up on the scoresheet as well. On the weekend against Atlético Ottawa, he picked up his first assist of the season on a lovely ball over the top into the path of Elimane Cissé.
On Wednesday, he followed that up by scoring his first goal of the campaign, a lovely long-range effort that fooled Aiden Rushenas — his first CPL regular season goal since September 18, 2022 against Pacific FC.
Perfectly placed 🎯
Alessandro Hojabrpour picks out the bottom left corner to give @ForgeFCHamilton the lead at halftime! 🔨#CanPL I 📺 @onesoccer pic.twitter.com/vgkicJojcr
— Canadian Premier League (@CPLsoccer) August 15, 2024
While he opened his account on the season, Hojabrpour still put in a strong shift defensively. He spent large parts of the match man-marking Halifax danger-man Sean Rea. He ended up winning five of nine duels, and won back possession four times.
Wanderers blanked in Hamilton again, despite strong pro debut from goalkeeper Aiden Rushenas
For the second consecutive match, the Halifax Wanderers came into Hamilton and were held scoreless by Forge FC — suffering just their second loss to the Hammers after having previously gone undefeated in the first five matches since Patrice Gheisar took over as manager.
The match was unquestionably made more difficult for the Halifax side when Jérémy Gagnon-Laparé was sent off in the 32nd minute. The Wanderers came painfully close to getting to halftime keeping the match scoreless, before Hojabrpour struck with one of the last kicks of the second half.
“That is probably with a red card the worst time you could give up a goal,” said Gheisar. “We came out the second half, I felt we had better structure, we kept the game in front of us, and you know, the one time they really got behind us it was a great cross and a great goal.”
A big part of the strong defensive effort was the play of 21-year-old Aiden Rushenas, who made his professional debut but dealt with the pressure of playing against the league’s best attack like a seasoned pro.
After making his professional debut for @HFXWanderersFC tonight, goalkeeper Aiden Rushenas spoke to @charliejclarke ⚓
Postgame reaction is presented by @AllstateCanada 🗣️#CanPL pic.twitter.com/6t7dhoRufJ
— Canadian Premier League (@CPLsoccer) August 15, 2024
Rushenas was in the lineup as a result of a yellow card accumulation suspension for Yann Fillion, but having been with the Wanderers just as long as the veteran starter it was clear he was comfortable and familiar with the players in front of him. He made five saves and three clearances, keeping his side in the match.
“If I look at him, and I’m a fan, there’s no way I’m saying that was his first CPL start,” said Gheisar. “He seemed composed, he seemed in control, and I thought he did a really good job.”
Rushenas was also incredibly unlucky on the second Forge goal, getting a palm on a ball that looked to have barely crossed the line.
But Halifax can’t afford to leave anything to chance anymore, losing yet another game in hand on the rest of the league, they desperately need to start stringing together points as soon as possible.
The Wanderers head to Winnipeg next to face Valour on Saturday, before playing four of their next five at home. They cannot afford to make it three straight losses, for the first time since the opening three matches of the season, on Saturday.
“I 100 per cent believe we will make the playoffs, ” said Wanderers defender Dan Nimick. “I don’t think, I know for a fact we are not a last-place team, despite what the table says right now. So we need a positive response, and I think we’ll get it.”
CanPL.ca Player of the Match
Alessandro Hojabrpour, Forge FC
The Forge central midfielder has been playing some of his best football of the season in recent weeks, and remains central to what this Forge team does on any given night. He scored the match-winner on the night, and was spectacular on both sides of the ball.
What’s next?
Both sides are back in action this weekend, with Forge travelling out to Langley to take on Vancouver FC on Sunday, August 18 (4 p.m. PT/7 p.m. ET). Halifax, meanwhile, face Valour FC on the afternoon of Saturday, August 17 in Winnipeg (4 p.m. AT/2 p.m. AT)
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