Final Score: Santos de Guápiles 3-1 Forge FC
Goalscorers: East 12′, Meneses 17′, López 52′; Bekker 6′
2021 Concacaf League
Quarterfinals (Leg 1)

Match in a minute or less

Forge FC’s first foray into Costa Rica did not go quite to plan on Wednesday, as they fell 3-1 to Santos de Guápiles in the first leg of their Concacaf League quarterfinal tie. Although Forge stunned the hosts with a well-worked goal in the sixth minute courtesy of Kyle Bekker, they fell behind quickly after a pair of goals before the 20-minute mark from Javon East and Christopher Meneses.

The second half saw Santos add another to their lead, as Brayan López scored another from right in front of goal. Though Forge made a handful of attacking substitutions and really started to press in the final 20 minutes, they were unable to find a second away goal and as such they’ll need to score at least twice in the return leg at Tim Hortons Field.

RELATED READING: RECAP: Forge score early but fall behind in Concacaf League QF opener

Three Observations

Hectic stretch halts momentum, leave Forge stunned

As usual, Forge came out of the gates full of intensity as they pressed high and tried to feel out the Santos defence. The energy paid off even more quickly than usual, with Bekker finishing off a tremendously well-worked goal just under six minutes in.

Even after scoring, Forge continued to probe, as they sought to capitalize on what looked like an early advantage before fatigue set in. In a flash, though, Santos broke upfield and left Forge no choice but to foul. The set-piece near the top of the box was a well-executed routine that managed to confuse the Forge setup and found the head of Javon East, and suddenly the wind seemed to come out of Forge’s sails.

Five minutes later, Santos were up 2-1 thanks to a fortunate deflection off Dominic Samuel, and the Canadians looked stunned. They’d started the game so well, done most things right, but suddenly they were behind.

There’s no denying Forge were reeling a little after that quick turnaround. They were less sure of themselves going forward, leaving a few more players back to protect against further counter-attacks, which took some of the bite out of their attack. The Hammers might not have expected to score so early, but they absolutely did not expect to concede two so quickly after that — very rarely do teams score on Forge in such rapid succession.

“We wanted to impose ourselves in the game and create those chances, and we rewarded ourselves with a quick goal which was exactly what we wanted,” Bekker said postmatch. “But then there was a little bit of complacency and a slight bit of miscommunication on the defensive, and we allowed them to come back into it.”

So, the remainder of the first half saw Forge looking to collect themselves and determine how best to get back into the game, and they were caught flat-footed a few more times by Santos; by the end of it, Forge might have been happy to get to halftime down just one considering the chances they had to defend in the preceding 10 minutes.

The third goal came quickly after halftime, as Santos took advantage of another disjointed moment from Forge — although Brayan López scored after pushing down Jonathan Grant in the box for what could easily have been a foul (a moment that did not go unnoticed by Forge coach Bobby Smyrniotis, who mentioned it as a turning point postgame).

“It’s a little bit disappointing the way that third goal went in, because at 2-1 we’re in a better situation,” he said. “But one thing we know is we score goals at home.”

Forge struggle with lightning-fast Santos transition

Wednesday’s game presented Forge with a little bit of their own medicine in a sense, as they encountered something they rarely have in their three years of football: a team that can move the ball in transition faster than they can.

A key facet of Forge’s game, at least at the CPL level, has often been their ability to win the ball and move forward before the opposing defence has time to get organized. This time, Santos were able to do exactly that to Forge repeatedly.

Forge had excellent moments in transition too, of course, with fullbacks Kwame Awuah and Jonathan Grant often spurring the forward advance, but for one of the only times in the club’s history, it was the opposition rather than Forge who looked most dangerous getting up the pitch quickly. Whenever Santos won the ball within 15 yards or so of the halfway line, they were moving into the attacking third with numbers as though fired from a cannon.

Even though Forge scored first, Santos never seemed shaken from their initial game plan — which might well have accounted for an energetic start from the visitors. Every time one of their central players started an attack, at least three or four of his teammates would be at full sprint to get up the pitch with him and create an overlap against Forge defenders trying desperately to get back.

At the other end, Santos were quite good at defending the counter-attack as well. When Forge got the ball in transition, the home side tracked back and organized themselves quickly to force their opponents to slow down and move to the outside channels, where they were unable to break through.

Late-game push comes close, but no luck for Forge

Forge coach Bobby Smyrniotis certainly tried to adjust his side and find another goal in the late stages, when he introduced an extensive cast of attacking substitutes: Emery Welshman, Woobens Pacius, Chris Nanco, and Paolo Sabak. Notably, he did leave Tristan Borges on the bench, but the four who came in did give the team a boost of energy in the last 20 minutes as they swapped to a back three and a more attacking formation.

Five of Forge’s seven shots in the match came after the third goal, and they really did come close on a few occasions. Omar Browne danced along the end line by himself at one point and nearly managed to cut it back for a fantastic goal, and not long after that Bekker put one just inches over the bar from distance.

Smyrniotis pointed out postmatch that his side could have had a penalty kick late in the second half when one of the Santos defenders seemed to collapse on the ball and make contact with his hands, but they didn’t get the call. Still, he conceded that his side is usually more clinical with its finishing, and some struggles in that department hurt them on Wednesday.

“There’s some moments where maybe we can be a little bit tighter in the finishes in that final moment, but we also have a defender of theirs diving on the ball with two hands in the second half and there’s no call,” he said.

“One of the defenders playing as a goalkeeper in the box, I think that’s a penalty every day of the week, every hour of the week, but that’s what we have to go with. We have the result, and now we know exactly what’s needed in the return leg.”

With the away goal in hand, a 2-0 win for Forge at Tim Hortons Field would still see them through to the semifinal. For his part, the captain Bekker still feels pretty confident in his team’s chances. It would hardly be the first time Forge have won 2-0, so asked if he feels they can pull it off, he nodded:

“Yeah. We’re going to have to, right?”

CanPL.ca Player of the Match

Javon East, Santos de Guápiles

The Jamaican international was an incredible handful for Forge’s centre-backs all night, timing his run perfectly to score the first goal and putting pressure on Samuel in the lead-up to the second. East was a difficult man to keep track of in the box, demonstrating his attacking quality honed at the international level.

What’s next?

Forge will host Santos in the return leg of this quarterfinal tie on Tuesday, November 2. Before then, though, their attention will be diverted by three other matches, including next Wednesday’s Canadian Championship clash with CF Montreal. However, up next for Forge will be a trip to Nova Scotia, where they’ll play HFX Wanderers FC in Canadian Premier League action this Saturday, October 23 (2 pm ET/3 pm AT).

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