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Photo Credit: John Jacques
Champions Cup Preview: Forge FC vs Tigres UANL
By It’s just about kickoff time for Forge FC.
The Canadian Premier League heavyweight is set to host Liga MX giant Tigres UANL in Concacaf Champions Cup action tomorrow. The frigid stage is set with leg one taking place in Hamilton, Ontario for what may become one of North America’s all-time coldest football matches.
Still, you won’t catch Bobby Smyrniotis sleeping on his opposition: cold as the ground may be, he knows his opposition is coming in with red-hot focus.
“First and foremost, when you look at it, they’re probably the best team in the last ten years in Liga MX. You look at their success, but here’s the thing about global football: no team is undefeated,” says the Forge FC head coach and sporting director.
Here’s three big factors for the chilly Champions Cup clash between the CPL and Liga MX heavyweights:
Strike Before They Settle
Much is being made of the cold weather set to encase Hamilton Stadium on Tuesday night, and rightly so. With temperatures set to drop to -17 before windchill, it won’t be comfortable for either side – but it’s certainly something the Canadian hosts will be used to more so than their Liga MX visitors.
“We have to take advantage of that,” urges Smyniotis, who recalls a hot start against Monterey last year that saw three good changes go begging. Had the hammers been more clinical, a different tone could have directed the match in their favour, and so he’s chalking that up to a lesson learned.
While the weather is an obvious pressure point for the game, the Forge boss believes the gap to exploit it over his opposition is small: he believes adapting to the matchday climate is something the Liga MX side will get a handle on within the first twenty minutes, so he’d like to see Forge come out blazing right from kickoff before the visitors have a chance to acclimatize.
Cleated Rivalry
Forge has faced Liga MX opposition in its last three continental tilts, suffering losses to Cruz Azul, Chivas Guadalajara, and CF Monterrey. Tigres UANL won the competition in its Champions League title era back in 2020 and has reached three other finals in the tournament.
Suffice to say, the two sides are in for a fiery affair with Forge having a proverbial chip on its shoulder and Tigres coming into the cold with the weight of expectation upon them. Smyrniotis was highly complimentary of his opposition, noting that they’ve flown in to Hamilton with midseason form and a lot of experience at their back. The hosts can’t afford to make mistakes, especially with the home leg setting an early tone for the two-legged clash.
“I’ve said it before in these matches, we have to be at our tactical best. We’re not going to outrun an opponent. They’re technically very gifted all over the pitch. They’re in midseason form,” says the Forge boss.
Defender Dan Nimick was similarly excited to play against such high-profile opposition, with the sturdy centre-back expected to help defend against the likes of Andre-Pierre Gignac and Marcelo Flores.
“It’s two giants, back-to-back years,” says the defender “I feel very lucky to play against both teams.”
“I think it’s just remembering that you can put a great performance together and they can still do great things, the other team, and it’s just trying to limit that as much as possible and lean on our individual brilliance as well.”
Forge’s New Form
The offseason has seen a lot of big names leave Hamilton Stadium, with club original David Choiniere departing alongside the likes of Beni Badibanga, Alessandro Hojabrpour, and Malik Owolabi-Belewu. At the prematch conference, Symrniotis confirmed that goalkeeper Jassem Koleilat had also left, with the club bringing Dimitry Bertaud between the sticks to replace him.
The head coach was asked about Alexander Achinioti-Jonsson, but did not address the exit of the club’s all-time appearance leader following the expiry of his contract in January.
In the meantime, there’s been a lot of bench-filling from the hammers: there are five players signed to short-term replacement contracts for the match, with the club also bringing Daniel Krutzen out of retirement and finally signing Kevaughn Tarvernier, a teenage talent who has scored for Forge against a Liga MX team in this tournament before.
It was also confirmed that Nana Ampomah will not be available for the clash, though the rest of the team had a clean bill of health.
While Forge FC is the de facto flagbearer when it comes to representing the Canadian Premier League in continental action, there’s no debate that the club’s Liga MX opposition enter the arena as heavy favourites. Forge has always been a big game club, however, so the cold atmosphere will set the stage for an intriguing night at Hamilton Stadium.
While Forge has played the likes of Orlando City and Playa Del Carmen in preseason, there’s no question that club will be fighting against the odds versus a Liga MX side in midseason form.
“We come from different areas and you always have to those external circumstances into consideration. It’s usually about the game plan for us, but it has to be even more about that – we know that the finer details make the difference,” adds Smyrniotis.
Fans can tune into Tuesday night’s continental clash through OneSoccer at 7:00PM EST. The second leg will take place next week on February 10 at the much-warmer Estadio Universitario.
Header Image Photo Credit: John Jacques
