Final Score: Pacific FC 0-1 Forge FC
Goalscorers: Pacius 17′
Game of the 2023 season: 12
CPL match: 379

Match in a minute or less

Forge FC are in the win column for the first time in this CPL season, beating Pacific FC 1-0 at Starlight Stadium on Sunday night to move into second place at this early stage of the season. Woobens Pacius put the visitors on the board just 17 minutes into the contest, climbing above his marker in the box to head in a cross for a goal that keeper Emil Gazdov may want back.

Although the Tridents pressed hard in the late second half, they were unable to find a way through as Forge held on to take all three points.

Three Observations

Forge weather storm comfortably with well-organized defensive structure

There are multiple ways to dominate a football match, and Forge are adept at many of them. On this particular occasion, in the second half especially, Forge dominated defensively. They were content to give up possession — 60.5 per cent of it, in fact — but for the most part they did not seem threatened by Pacific’s waves of attack.

In the last 45 minutes, Pacific took 10 shots (Forge had none), but still produced an expected goals sum of just 0.79 with most of their attack kept to the perimeter. The Tridents’ highest-xG chance didn’t come until the 94th minute, when Adonijah Reid’s back-post volley off a corner hit Jordan Hamilton in front for an xG value of 0.312 (over a third of Pacific’s xG in the second half).

Forge’s backline was incredibly well-drilled, with centre-backs Manjrekar James and Alex Achinioti-Jönsson setting the standard while fullbacks Rezart Rama and Ashtone Morgan were extremely disciplined in returning to their spots in the corners while also getting forward.

“We bend, we don’t break,” Morgan told media postmatch. “Champions find a way to win games, and we showed we’re comfortable sometimes not to have the ball. We’re usually used to having the ball, but it’s a great defensive performance from the first 11 and the guys that came in; clean sheets win games.”

Indeed, Forge did not in any moment look panicked despite being pinned in their own end for much of the second half. They won possession 47 times and they made 27 clearances, giving Pacific very little margin for error with their touches and allowing very few second opportunities.

Pacific lacking clinical finishing, but Aparicio sub changes game

Through three CPL matches so far — all of them at Starlight Stadium — Pacific have scored just two goals now. With the attacking production not quite there at the moment, perhaps their 1-1-1 record is still commendable, but James Merriman is certainly frustrated at the dry spell.

For Pacific to have 15 shots and make 149 passes in the final third, with 25 touches in the box, but not find a way to score is certainly a concern, given the amount of attacking talent in this squad. Certainly, Easton Ongaro will be frustrated that he’s not on the scoresheet in CPL play yet — he scored in the Canadian Championship, but has yet to open his account in the league, despite a few excellent chances.

Pacific’s attack was very direct for most of Sunday’s game, with Josh Heard and Ayman Sellouf driving play forward with the ball from wide areas and looking usually to deliver crosses into the box. Forge were pretty content to deal with those though, with most crosses failing to find a Pacific target.

Merriman pointed out postmatch that perhaps his attackers need to simplify things in the final third somewhat and look for a first-time finish rather than moving the ball around interminably to find a more favourable situation.

“Someone needs to score. Somebody needs to be more clinical in that area,” Merriman said. “It’s a mentality as well, to be more aggressive; it doesn’t need to be perfect. We need to recognize opportunities to take our chances, be quicker and more clinical.”

He added: “We’re taking too much time, too many touches, trying to create the perfect situation. We’re in great spaces, we need to take chances, take half chances. That’s where goals come from.”

The brightest part of Pacific’s game was when Manny Aparicio entered around the 60-minute mark. The energetic midfielder made an instant impact, to the extent that Pacific looked almost like a different team; he finished with three shots and 16 passes in the final third despite just half an hour of work. It’s always been clear that Pacific are a much more dangerous side with Aparicio on the pitch, but their play with and without him on Sunday was a night-and-day difference.

Still, ultimately Merriman just needs one of his many talented attackers to put the ball in the net. Once those final balls start falling for Pacific, the floodgates might open.

Bekker keeps Forge midfield ticking in 2023 debut

Forge captain Kyle Bekker at last returned to the squad for the first time in 2023 on Sunday, getting the start in midfield alongside Aboubacar Sissoko and Alessandro Hojabrpour. The skipper wasted absolutely no time in reminding the CPL how impactful he can be, in the way he covered ground and strung passes between the backline and attackers comfortably.

Bekker played just 60 minutes — undoubtedly a planned limit as he works his way back from a minor preseason injury — but there was nothing in his game to suggest he wasn’t playing at 100 per cent. It was a reasonably quiet outing for the captain, but everything he did was incredibly composed as he kept things moving in midfield. Bekker actually played perhaps a more reserved role than he might normally, often dropping behind Hojabrpour and Sissoko to allow them to get further forward. Bekker collected a lot of passes out of the back, particularly from ball-mover Achinioti-Jönsson and then cycled it forward, often to Hojabrpour.

The captain had a 92.3 per cent pass accuracy on the night, his only real missteps being ambitious forward passes in an attempt to break lines. Bekker himself, so good at playing between the lines and facilitating forward momentum, was the key cog in Forge’s midfield trio that seemed to almost rotate between three spots on the pitch freely.

The last half-hour, with Bekker no longer on the pitch, Forge did give up some of their midfield control as Pacific surged forward; Bekker’s presence and composure on the ball allows Forge to command areas of the pitch and play through it more easily. Forge were of course happy to cede some of that control as they settled into a defensive shape, but nonetheless there’s a difference between how well they move the ball with and without Bekker.

Bobby Smyrniotis pointed out postmatch that he’s got a bit of a selection headache on his hands, with Noah Jensen — who had been so good in Bekker’s position the first few games — on the bench for this one. It was Tristan Borges, a more attack-minded player, who relieved Bekker in the second half, another player whom Smyrniotis said deserves to be starting every game. Forge, of course, have another busy stretch of games coming up, with a 905 Derby at York next Friday before a Canadian Championship tie with Atlético Ottawa on Tuesday, followed by Valour FC on the following Saturday.

More than anything, though, Bekker’s triumphant return to the Forge midfield was incredibly positive news for the champions,

CanPL.ca Player of the Match

Manjrekar James, Forge FC

Rightfully getting heaps of praise after this performance, James was indomitable for the Hamilton club on Sunday. With seven clearances, three interceptions, and two won tackles (from two attempts), James was letting nothing past him.

What’s next?

Pacific will hit the road for the first time this year next weekend, when they head to the capital to play Atlético Ottawa on Saturday, May 6 (7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT). Before that, though, Forge will be back in Ontario for a 905 Derby clash with York United at York Lions Stadium on Friday night (7:30 p.m. ET).

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