Forge FC put themselves back in the win column — and within touching distance of first place — on Saturday afternoon, as they downed HFX Wanderers FC 4-1 at Tim Hortons Field.

Coming off an emotional night in the Canadian Championship on Wednesday, Forge nonetheless entered with a strong starting XI, although they made five changes from the lineup they deployed against CF Montreal. Woobens Pacius, Joshua Navarro, and David Choinière led the line in attack, as Garven Metusala came in at centre-back to replace the suspended Dominic Samuel. HFX, meanwhile, made five changes as well from their midweek loss to Valour, as Mamadi Camara joined the attack alongside Alessandro Riggi and Morey Doner.

Forge opened proceedings very quickly, cutting through the HFX defence in just the third minute as Paolo Sabak found Navarro with a short cross and the Costa Rican opened the scoring with a strong finish for his first CPL goal. Navarro added another to his account just over 10 minutes later, as he found himself unmarked near the penalty spot to score after Tristan Borges’ initial shot was saved and came to Navarro’s feet.

The match got even uglier for HFX through the second half, with Forge taking a handful of other dangerous scoring chances. They made it 3-0 in the 25th minute, with Borges’ excellent through ball in midfield finding Choinière, who unleashed a rocket from just inside the box to beat goalkeeper Kieran Baskett with a superb strike.

Seeking to stop the bleeding and get his side back in the game to some degree, HFX coach Stephen Hart made a triple substitution at halftime, bringing on Akeem Garcia, Alex Marshall, and Samuel Salter. The change paid off quickly, as some good hold-up play by Garcia ended up getting the ball to Marshall at the top of the box, and the Jamaican attacker found the net with a beautiful long-distance shot to bring his side within two.

The Wanderers continued to fight through the remainder of the second half, looking much better after moving to a new five-man backline — helped as well by the addition of Joao Morelli for the final 20 minutes — but Forge still managed to break through a few times. Navarro came achingly close to completing his hat-trick around the 80th minute, but he couldn’t finish his opportunity.

Navarro ultimately came out of the match near the end of the 90 minutes, with Sebastian Castello coming in to replace him for the final moments. The 18-year-old entered the pitch and made an immediate run into the box, where he scored his first professional goal (and Forge’s 100th in the CPL) with his first touch of the game to make it 4-1.

So, Forge moved up to 44 points on the season, tied for second place with Cavalry FC ahead of the Cavs’ kickoff on Saturday afternoon. HFX, meanwhile, will have their eyes on Valour and York on Saturday as they cling to the fourth and final playoff spot.

Goals

3′ — Joshua Navarro (Forge FC)
15′ — Joshua Navarro (Forge FC)
25′ — David Choinière (Forge FC)
54′ — Alex Marshall (HFX Wanderers FC)
88′ — Sebastian Castello (Forge FC)

Discipline

63′ — Yellow: Akeem Garcia (HFX Wanderers FC)
90′ — Yellow: Klaidi Cela (Forge FC)