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Photo Credit: Matin Al
Forge 0-1 Vancouver FC: Eagles Stun Hammers In Hamilton
By A very rare occurrence took place at Hamilton Stadium on Friday night.
For the first time in nearly two years, Forge FC lost a home match during the regular season. The Hammers fell 1-0 against Vancouver FC, who took their own winning streak to five in a row.
The league leaders came into the contest off the back of a goalless draw last Sunday at HFX Wanderers. That saw coach Bobby Smyrniotis make three changes to his team ahead of Friday’s clash. The most notable one saw recent signing Levonte Johnson play his first minutes for the club.
As for the in-form Eagles, they soared into Southwestern Ontario following an impressive 3-1 defeat of Atletico Ottawa. Given their excellent run, Martin Nash opted for just one adjustment to the side with Marcello Polisi chosen over Abdoulaye Ouattara.
The first big chance of the game came in the 13th minute, where a long throw led to a Rezart Rama volley from outside of the box. His effort struck the foot of the post, falling to Kyle Bekker. The captain’s follow-up attempt flew over the bar.
Forge was on top for much of the opening 45, and again had an opportunity to take the lead through Johnson. His low shot was turned away by Callum Irving, who received some help from his defence to clear the loose ball.
Vancouver was not very threatening in the first half, and rarely troubled Dmitry Bertaud. However, the Eagles struck shortly before the break. A lovely pass from Elage Bah to Damiano Pecile, who slot it into the bottom corner.
The initial call on the field was offside, but the fourth official immediately took a look on the monitor. A few moments later, he called the referee over, who also reviewed the play before awarding the goal to the away side.
It could have been 2-0 for the Eagles early on in the second half. After another swift attack, Bah played a pass to Lys Mousset right in front of the goal. The striker tried to direct it in, but Bertaud was there to make a last-gasp stop to keep the score at 1-0.
A couple of minutes later, the Hammers had another great opportunity, as Nana Ampomah had a one-on-one with Irving, who made himself big to deny the Ghanaian.
Midway through the second half, substitute Ismael Oketokoun was unfortunate not to draw his team level. First, the Spaniard’s volley smashed off the bar. Remarkably, the ball came right back to him, with his header requiring a spectacular stop from from Irving.
The pressure kept on coming from Forge, who managed to put the ball in the back of the net through Hoce Massunda. Unfortunately for the youngster, he was offside on the initial cross. The referee confirmed with his assistant before staying true to his initial decision.
Despite the 22 efforts in the match, Forge could not find a way past Irving and Vancouver FC, who handed the Hamiltonians their first regular season loss at home since October 2024 – nearly two years ago.
The result means that Forge could lost top spot this weekend should Cavalry defeat Supra away on Saturday. Next for the Hammers will be a trip to Alberta to take on the Cavs in a top-of-the-table clash.
As for Vancouver, winners of five league games on the spin, they solidified third spot with a five-point lead over Atletico Ottawa. They will return home for an important derby match against Pacific.
Header Image Photo Credit: Matin Al
