Final Score: Toronto FC 1-0 Forge FC (2-2 agg., Toronto FC advance on away goals)
Goalscorers: Insigne 50′
2024 TELUS Canadian Championship — Semifinal (Leg 2)

Match in a minute or less

Toronto FC were able to overturn their aggregate deficit during a strong second leg performance against Forge FC in the 2024 TELUS Canadian Championship semifinals on Tuesday, getting the 1-0 result they needed to advance on away goals.

Lorenzo Insigne scored the match, and series, winner in the 50th minute on a lovely volley after getting onto the end of a sensational cross from Federico Bernardeschi.

TFC now advance to their eleventh Canadian Championship final, looking to add a ninth Voyageurs Cup trophy to their cabinet. Having not won a tournament-style Canadian Championship since 2018 (they beat Forge on penalties in a pandemic-delayed 2020 final), they will be keen to now regain that crown, whether that is against the Vancouver Whitecaps or Pacific FC in the final out west.

Three Observations

Eight-time winners Toronto FC advance to Canadian Championship final on away goals

After a humbling loss in the first leg to Forge FC, a 2-1 result at Tim Hortons Field that could have been even worse, Toronto FC came into Tuesday’s second leg at BMO Field knowing they needed significantly more fight in order to advance.

They showed that effort from the opening whistle, taking the game to Forge and firing their first of what would be 19 shot attempts in just the second minute. There was a clear sense from the start that this would not be like the first leg, where Forge caught Toronto FC perhaps unaware and scored twice in the opening 14 minutes.

“I said [to my players] I don’t need to motivate you tonight, there is a Cup final on the line, you just need to decide if you want this or not,” said Toronto FC head coach John Herdman.

Knowing that they needed a goal in order to advance, however, as the chances piled up, and went begging, Toronto FC could have easily wavered in confidence — especially after they went into the half with the score at 0-0. Instead, they doubled down finishing with 2.29 expected goals, seven shots on target and 38 touches in the Forge box.

“Mentally tonight was going to be the biggest challenge for the team, if it didn’t come early we needed to be patient,” said Herdman.

Early in the second half, Toronto found the decisive moment they needed as their two biggest stars, Lorenzo Insigne and Federico Bernardeschi, combined on a special moment of quality that proved the critical moment in a tie with some truly special ones.

Their reward for this resolve is yet another national final appearance, and an opportunity for a club that has been starved of silverware since the major signings of Lorenzo Insigne and Federico Bernardeschi to achieve that in September out west. Toronto FC will now be looking to lift a ninth Voyageurs Cup — but will certainly be relieved to at least have been able to reach the final after a significant scare from a determined Forge FC side over two legs.

Federico Bernardeschi’s masterclass undoes Forge as Toronto FC able to find joy out wide

While Forge FC were able to do a tremendous job of defending the centre of the park on Tuesday night, Toronto FC bypassed that solid structure by prioritizing their width — particularly through talisman Federico Bernardeschi.

Forge FC head coach Bobby Smyrniotis had remarked after the first game that 80 per cent of what Toronto do comes through the Italian, and that was certainly the case during a masterclass from the Italian international in the second leg.

There was a warning shot fired in the 31st minute, when Bernardeschi cut into the box down the right and sent a dangerous ball across goal that Prince Owusu somewhat inexplicably volleyed over top of the net from about a yard out.

Switching wings throughout the match as he found pockets of space, the Italian continuously created threatening sequences for the hosts with clever dribbles and changes of pace. In particular, when Daniel Parra moved forward or centrally in attack, Bernardeschi was able to exploit the vacated space.

“He caused problems all over the pitch,” said Toronto FC central defender Henry Wingo. “Whether he’s starting on the right and finishing on the left, picking the ball up on the left finishing on the right, it helps create those overloads. He’s such a powerful player, so I think you could see that Forge were struggling with his pace.”

The Italian finished with a stunning 12 crosses into the box, and four chances created as he continuously found pockets of space in which to hurt Forge FC. In the 50th minute, one of those many dangerous attacking forays resulted in the tie’s decisive goal. A loose ball in the Forge box was poked out to Derrick Etienne Jr., who found Bernardeschi out wide. The Italian took one touch, and then sent a stunning left-footed chipped cross to the back post where his compatriot Lorenzo Insigne was waiting to volley home a lovely goal.

GOAL 🦉#TFCLIVE get their aggregate equalizer!

Lorenzo Insigne brings this 2024 TELUS #CanChamp semi-final back to 2-2 vs. @ForgeFCHamilton, picking out Federico Bernardeschi's pass and finishing well 😎

🔴 TUNE IN on OneSoccer pic.twitter.com/uozg20Anhv

— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) August 28, 2024

When a crossing opportunity did not present itself, Bernardeschi was able to cut inside and create a number of chances for himself. That included hitting the post midway through the second half with a near-perfect low strike. He was incredibly unlucky not to score a goal himself, finishing with seven shot attempts, three of which were on target, and ten touches in the box.

“The guy will put a shift in, he’ll win us football matches, watching him and Lorenzo combine, that’s what the fans want to see, so it’s nice to see it tonight,” said Herdman.

Forge FC unable to recreate first-leg magic, but can finish Can Champ run with their heads held high

Forge FC came into BMO Field on Tuesday night looking to finish the job after a tremendous first half in Hamilton back on July 10 had given them a 2-1 aggregate lead. From a scoreline perspective, they came painfully close and will leave Toronto frustrated at missing an excellent opportunity to reach a Canadian Championship final.

Knowing they were going to have to suffer defensively at moments against an aggressive Toronto FC side who were out for blood, Forge did a really good job on the night of limiting opportunities in the central areas, with Alessandro Hojabrpour dropping between the central defenders to take away any space Toronto had to operate through the central channels. On the right, meanwhile, Malcolm Duncan did an outstanding job playing against Italian international Lorenzo Insigne. He finished with four interceptions, continuously taking away time and space from the Toronto FC attacker.

“The first half was good, as kind of we planned it. We knew they obviously were very aggressive in the way they wanted to go about things, and we’re able to block a lot of that of that off,” said Forge FC head coach Bobby Smyrniotis.

But as the match wore on, however, Forge FC were unable to really break out of that defensive shell for any sustained amount of time. In particular, they failed to execute in their transitional opportunities going the other way on the night. They finished with just a single shot on goal, and 0.13 expected goals — making just three touches in the Toronto FC box.

“We’ve created some moments, probably, where we need to be sharper in the final third,” said Smyrniotis. “Characteristically, we’re usually better in those situations…but I think the team kind of ran out of steam towards the end.”

That exhaustion was clear at every level, from players and coach as Smyrniotis’ voice was clearly strained after the match as he spoke to the media from the emotion of the game that just happened.

As their Canadian Championship run reached its conclusion, however, it was an incredibly impressive run for Forge. They beat MLS sides for the first time in club history not just once but twice, having advanced past CF Montréal in the quarterfinals. They showed they could absolutely compete with the best teams in this country, and had a few key moments over the two legs against Toronto FC gone different easily found themselves preparing for a trip out west for September’s final.

Despite tying Toronto FC 2-2 on aggregate, it was a late Prince Owusu away goal in the first leg that was their undoing.

“If we were playing in UEFA, we’d be in penalty shots right now, but we’re not, this is where we’re left,” said Smyrniotis.

While Forge miss out on this elusive piece of silverware, the goal now is to shift gears back to their league season. Currently sitting top of the Canadian Premier League table by two points with eight games remaining, they still have an excellent chance to lift the CPL Shield. Doing so would still see them reach the Concacaf Champions Cup for the third time in four years, an opportunity they missed out on by not winning the 2024 Canadian Championship.

CanPL.ca Player of the Match

Federico Bernardeschi, Toronto FC 

The Toronto FC Designated Player was seemingly everywhere on Tuesday night, creating the game, and series’ decisive goal as well as several chances for himself and other Toronto FC players. With seven shot attempts, and four chances created, he was perhaps unlucky to not have more than an assist to show for it — but he still did enough to see his side advance.

Box Score

Lineups

Toronto FC: Johnson; Wingo, Gomis (Long 61′), Petretta; Bernardeschi, Thompson (Longstaff 85′), Osorio, Laryea; Etienne Jr., Insigne (Flores 61′), Owusu (Franklin 73′)

Forge FC: Koleilat; Duncan, Achinioti-Jönsson, Metusala, Parra; Hojabrpour, Bekker (Samuel 80′); Choinière (Campbell 73′), Borges (Ampomah 64′), Badibanga; Hamilton (Owolabi-Belewu 73′)

Goals

50′ — Lorenzo Insigne (Toronto FC) 

Discipline

38′ — Yellow: Lorenzo Insigne (Toronto FC)
66′ — Yellow: David Choinière (Forge FC)
67′ — Yellow: Derrick Etienne Jr. (Toronto FC)
68′ — Yellow: Henry Wingo (Toronto FC)
85′ — Yellow: Kobe Franklin (Toronto FC)
90′– Yellow: Alexander Achinioti-Jönsson (Forge FC) 

What’s next?

Toronto FC advance to the final, which will be played at either Starlight Stadium or BC Place on September 24 or 25, depending upon the result of Tuesday’s other semifinal on the west coast between the Vancouver Whitecaps and Pacific FC.

Forge are back in action in the Canadian Premier League on Friday, August 30 as they host Pacific FC (7:00 p.m. ET). The Hamilton side currently sit top of the table.

Watch all TELUS Canadian Championship matches live on OneSoccer. In addition to its website and app, OneSoccer is now available on TELUS channel 980 and on Fubo TV. Call your local cable provider to ask for OneSoccer today.