Forge Bests Valour In Canadian Championship Quarter-Final

Forge FC will be advancing on to the Canadian Championship semi-final after dispatching Valour FC 2-1 at home.

The reigning Canadian Premier League champions had a bye to the semi-finals, and still await a much belated 2020 Canadian Championship Final against Toronto FC. Valour beat Atletico 3-2 in the preliminary round to reach this stage of the competition.

Related: Canadian Championship Quarter-Finals Preview

The Hamilton-based side struck twice in a first half that saw Valour goalkeeper Matt Silva peppered with shots, with David Choiniere breaking the ice for Forge after being allowed to dwell on the ball in the box between three defenders:

Fairly new Forge arrival Woobens Pacius – who has scored four league goals in seven appearances since arriving in August – doubled the lead with a controversial goal five minutes later, firing home his own rebound after the ball struck his arm to score what would ultimately be the match-winning goal:

Gale would lament his side remaining fairly ‘passive’ for the first half, with a stronger second-half seeing the Winnipeg-based pull one back after Austin Ricci caught goalkeeper Triston Henry in possession, though the forward injured himself in the process of his third all-time Canadian Championship goal:

Valour FC failed to generate much by way of chances for the remainder of the game, however, with Forge continuing to force Matt Silva into a man-of-the-match performance (with a return debut for Emery Welshman, too).

Just prior to the final whistle, Valour’s Rafael Galhardo would find himself red-carded, with Forge FC securing a 2-1 home victory moments later.

The Hamilton-based side will now need to wait until next Wednesday to see who its next opponent will be, with CF Montreal travelling out east to face the Halifax Wanderers.

Header Image Credit: Canadian Premier League