Canadian Premier League — Inaugural Match
Forge FC vs. York9 FC
April 27, 2019 — Tim Hortons Field (1 p.m. ET)
Watch Live: CBC, OneSoccer.ca (Pre-show begins at Noon ET)
The Canadian Premier League kicks off its inaugural season with an additional first: The introduction of the 905 Derby.
With close to 1,000 fans from York Region in tow, York9 bench boss Jimmy Brennan leads his green-clad squad into what’s sure to be the most electric CPL environment this season as Hamilton looks to set a stadium attendance record.
Led by Emery Welshman, Kyle Bekker and Chris Nanco, Forge FC enters Week 1 with a squad that’s expected to compete for a CPL Championship inside one of Canada’s premier venues.
What’s more, Forge FC didn’t lose during an impressive pre-season run that demonstrated Bobby Smyrniotis’ side is firing on all cylinders entering the league opener.
Meanwhile, Y9’s Ryan Telfer, Manny Aparicio and Luca Gasparotto look to play spoiler as the Nine Stripes open their season with a complicated four-game road trip that also includes stops in Calgary, Blainville (Que.) and Vancouver Island.
The two sides meet again on May 25 when York9 FC hosts its first league fixture at York Lions Stadium.
KEYS TO THE MATCH
- Navigating the chaos: The crowd. The occasion. A national TV audience. Both clubs need to ensure they don’t get caught up in the occasion. If Forge FC throws numbers forward it will be susceptible to the speed York9 FC offers on the counter-attack. Likewise, Y9’s defence will need to keep things tight as the hosts looks to put their stamp on things through the early stages.
- Controlling the tempo: Forge FC’s Elimane Oumar Cisse might be the most underrated signing in the league. York9 FC must find a way to disrupt the Senegalese midfielder before he can play forward.
- Between the pipes: Whoever starts in net for the Nine Stripes — Matt Silva or Nathan Ingham — will need to come up big on multiple occasions. A few timely saves could alter the complexion of this fixture.
PROJECTED LINEUPS
Forge FC (4-3-3): Quillan Roberts; Jonathan Grant, Dominic Samuel, Bertrand Owundi Eko, Kwame Awuah; Elimane Oumar Cisse, Tristan Borges, Kyle Bekker; Chris Nanco, Anthony Novak, Emery Welshman
York9 FC (3-5-2): Matt Silva; Daniel Gogarty, Luca Gasparotto, Roger Thompson; Ryan Telfer, Joe Di Chiara; Cyrus Rollocks, Manny Aparicio, Kyle Porter; Wataru Murofushi, Simon Adjei
PRE-MATCH READING
- ‘Crowd_Noise.mp3’?: Smyrniotis preparing with unusual approach
Forge FC head coach Bobby Smyrniotis had automated crowd noise pumped through the speakers at Forge FC training, getting his players used to working and communicating through the noise
- York9’s Brennan keeping tactical secrets close to his vest ahead of 1st match
“We’ve got our tactics, we know how we’re going to play… But I definitely can’t go into too many details. I’d be silly to tell you how we’re going to play.” – York9 head coach Jimmy Brennan
- Striving for ‘perfection’: Forge’s Bekker, Welshman, Roberts eyeing CPL title
“We want it to go smoothly and set the tone for the rest of the season by playing positive, we want to be exciting, dynamic and aggressive.” – Forge FC midfielder Kyle Bekker.
- York9 FC’s role in inaugural match? ‘Go in there, disrupt everything’
“To go to an opposing team’s home ground, being as it is an historic occasion, you want to go there and upset everyone, all the fans there in Hamilton – sad to say, but that’s our mindset.” – York9 midfielder Ryan Telfer.
- Barton St. Battalion bringing tifos, drums, and noise to inaugural tilt
“It’s not just the ‘tifo’ that we’re bringing; we’ll have drums, a megaphone and all 627 of us crammed in the section will be singing loud and proud donning the Battalion’s scarfs and waving our flags.” – Barton St. Battalion’s Allan Gorman.
- Y9 supporters Generation IX call out Hamilton: ‘Let’s see who can really bring it’
“We’re confident that we can cancel the home crowd and out-sing them for large stretches. Quality is always better than quantity.” – Generation IX’s Daniel Salinovic.
HEAD-TO-HEAD
First meeting between the clubs
STATS LEADERS
NA
INJURIES
TBD
INTERNATIONAL DUTY
None
SUSPENSIONS
None
ACCUMULATION
None
REFEREES
Referee: David Gantar
Assistant Referee: Philippe Brière
Assistant Referee: Peter Pendli
4th Official: Yusri Rudolf