2021 CPL regular season — Match #42
Forge FC vs. Atlético Ottawa
August 8, 2021 at 1:00 pm ET
Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton, Ontario
Watch Live: OneSoccer.ca // Tickets available here

STARTING LINEUPS

Forge FC: Baj Maan, Jonathan Grant, Dominic Samuel, Kwame Awuah, David Choiniere, Elimane Cisse, Kyle Bekker (c), Alexander Achinioti-Jonsson, Mo Babouli, Tristan Borges, Garven-Michee Metusala

Atletico Ottawa: Dylan Powley Drew Beckie, Milovan Kapor (c), Viti Martinez, Ryan Telfer, Ben McKendry, Alberto Soto, Miguel Acosta, Malcolm Shaw, Vashon Neufville, Raul Uche 

MATCH PREVIEW

It’s the capital city and the reigning champions at Tim Hortons Field this weekend as Forge FC host Atlético Ottawa for the first time on Sunday afternoon in Hamilton in a day of celebration as Forge unveils their championship banners from 2019 and 2020.

Both sides come into the weekend following narrow defeats as Forge dropped their home opener 1-0 against a 10-man York United team on Wednesday. It was the Hammers who played spoiler in York last Friday evening where Mo Babouli’s 4th minute strike was good enough for a 1-0 victory over the Nine Stripes.

Meanwhile, Atlético has gone four straight matches since their last win with their most recent game a 2-1 loss to HFX Wanderers Monday afternoon in Halifax. Ottawa’s last win came during The Kickoff way back on July 11 when Malcolm Shaw and Antoine Coupland scored in the closing quarter of an hour to take down Cavalry FC 2-0.

These two clubs have faced on just one previous occasion where Forge came out on top 2-0 courtesy of goals from Daniel Krutzen and David Choiniere last August during the Island Games. It’s the element of uncertainty that has excited the Forge players ahead of Sunday according to captain Kyle Bekker: “They’re going to be a little bit of an even newer group than we saw last year in the bubble… we’re kind of going in fresh, it’ll be nice to switch it up, obviously having played York back to back. I think it’s something we’re looking forward to.”

A win for The Hammers (5-0-5, 15 points) would see them jump Cavalry for third in the league table as they currently trail the Cavs by two points. For Ottleti (2-1-6, 7 points), securing all three points would help bridge the current gap between them and the rest of the pack as they sit four behind seventh place Halifax heading into this weekend’s slate of fixtures.

Sunday will mark the first of five meetings between the two Ontario teams who will quickly become familiar with one another down the stretch — Forge will be eager to ring in their banner raising in style with three points while the visitors look to snap a recent cold streak.

Make your match picks prior to kickoff at canpl.ca/predictor for a chance to win prizes, including the grand prize of a trip to the 2021 CPL Final!

 3 THINGS TO WATCH

• Champs searching for consistency: It’s been a hot and cold start to 2021 for Forge in their search for a third straight CPL title. After dropping their first two games during The Kickoff (failing to score in the process), the Hammers strung together a pair of clean sheet victories to get back to .500 and remain even on five wins and five losses through ten matches played — only they and Valour have yet to draw a match this season so far. Injuries have been a big part of the inconsistency of their performances to date, but as the champs welcome more and more recovering players back into the squad, the sample size is starting to get large enough that Smyrniotis and Co. will be searching for positive results on a more regular basis, particularly at Tim Hortons Field.
• Ottawa bravery and self-belief: With Mista suspended and the torrential rain coming down at Wanderers Grounds, Ottawa lost 2-1 to the hosts in their last match in Halifax on Monday. After Ryan Telfer opened the scoring midway through the opening half, Atletico failed to test Christain Oxner again all afternoon — their lone shot attempt in the second 45′ a blocked shot in the dying moments from Malcolm Shaw. It’s difficult to earn results in hostile environments for any away side, but when you attempt just two shots on target, the odds become that much lower. As Mista returns to the sideline this weekend, one of the key adjustments he’s looking to make is instilling a self-belief in a squad still finding their identity in their sophomore season: “We try to help the players be more brave … if we are going to lose, we need to lose while being brave,” Mista told media on Friday. “I’m not angry if they made a mistake, I’m angry if they don’t try.”
• Forge balancing competitions: With a second chance at continental football upcoming, Smyrniotis was quick to dismiss any suggestions that Sunday’s match against Ottawa was being overlooked as his group get set to open their Concacaf League account in El Salvador next Thursday: “We leave on Monday for El Salvador and Concacaf League which is a very important competition for us but Ottawa, this is a strong team, this is a team that does things very well.” With the congestion of league action along with their travels to Central America, the encouraging news for Forge is the group fitness as more players continue to inch closer to being fully available for selection: “We’re slowly getting healthier, today was I think the first day in training since March where we’ve had everybody in training in some capacity… the only long term one right now is Dejan Jakovic with a cast on his wrist, so we’ve just got to take things in stride and make sure we’re getting guys back properly.” While getting a positive result against C.D. FAS will be a major priority for the Hammers, giving their home supporters a win to celebrate remains first on the agenda going into Sunday.

ALL-TIME SERIES

Forge FC wins: 1 || Atlético Ottawa wins: 0 || Draws: 0

Previous match:

August 30, 2020 — Forge FC 2-0 Atlético Ottawa

KEY QUOTES

“They’re a very good unit, both in the way they defend and in the attack, especially looking in the counter-attacking areas of the pitch, they’ve caused some damage to teams.” — Forge FC head coach Bobby Smyrniotis

“We have a lot of respect for Forge, but we are in a moment where we are focusing on ourselves… our mentality for this game is to be better, to improve and to not be the same team we’ve been the last few games.” — Atlético Ottawa head coach Mista