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Photo Credit: Jojo Yanjiao Qian
Forge 3-0 Ottawa: Bourgeois Double Sinks Champs
By Just as they did in the opening game of the season, Forge got the better of Atletico Ottawa at home.
The Hammers managed three second half goals at Hamilton Stadium to prevail 3-0 over Ottleti and close in on the playoffs.
A week on from their 1-1 draw in the 905 Derby versus Inter Toronto, Forge made three changes to their side. An interesting one, which was prevalent in the contest, saw Maxime Bourgeois start on the wing rather than his usual fullback position.
See Also: Manjekar James Returns To Forge
For Ottawa, it was a very different-looking side from last weekend’s goalless draw against Pacific. A total of six changes were made to the starting 11, including a completely different backline, where none of the players who started last week cracked the initial 11.
It was a match of two halves on Saturday evening, with the sides trading opportunities throughout the first half. The best opportunity came at the half hour point when Bourgeois was played in by Rezart Rama. The youngster’s effort beat former Forge keeper Christopher Kalongo, but Rony Mbomio got back in time and cleared the ball off the line.
A few minutes later, Ottleti had their best chance as well. From a corner, Nicolas Fleuriau Chateau’s header hit the post and stayed out. Dmitry Bertaud was a statue as the striker’s attempt somehow stayed out.
The stoppage time period in the first half saw both teams almost break the deadlock. Some lovely play from Ottawa saw Gabriel Antinoro find Ballou Tabla. The shot from the winger was denied by Bertaud, who gathered at the second time of asking.
Forge went the other way and almost went in front themselves. Aghilas Sadek’s shot from distance was pushed aside by Kalongo, but into the path of Rama, who immediately followed up. The keeper got up in time to make the second stop and deny his former employers.
An hour into the match, the hosts took the lead. Some good work from Hoce Massunda saw him beat his man before finding a wide open Kyle Bekker in the box. The Forge captain’s header beat Kalongo and found the bottom corner to put them ahead.
From there, the Hamiltonians looked the more confident of the sides, and almost found a second. Ismael Oketokoun created enough space to have a shot on goal, but he only managed to find the side netting. The Spaniard was back at it again moments later, beating two opponents before putting his attempt wide of the mark.
The lead was doubled with less than 15 minutes to go. Off a throw-in, Oketokoun turned his man before playing it across to Bourgeois. Taking a touch to control, the 24-year-old netted from close range.
The duo combined for the third goal in stoppage time to put the match beyond doubt. Once again, it was the Spanish teenager who created the chance, beating an opponent and getting to the byline before squaring it to an open Bourgeois. It was a simple tap-in to round out the scoring.
With the win, Forge moved to one point of Cavalry ahead of the latter’s trip to the west coast to face Pacific. The Hammers can clinch a playoff berth on Sunday if Inter Toronto fails to beat Vancouver FC at home. Speaking of the Cavs, that will be Forge’s next league opponent after their Canadian Championship semifinal decider in midweek.
For Ottawa, they stay in third place, and could go 15 points behind Cavalry on Sunday should the latter prevail. With HFX Wanderers’ win earlier on Saturday over Supra, the gap between Ottleti and the east coast side is now 11 points. Ottawa’s next game will be back at home to Supra next Saturday.
