‘The Pressure Is On Forge’ – FC Supra Eyes Canadian Championship History

Fans will be filtering in to Stade Boreale tonight to watch FC Supra du Quebec face a familiar opponent in Forge FC, a team they just faced twice in the last 13 days. Things will feel undoubtedly different this evening: an electric buzz in the air, the collective feeling of a special moment, the sense of FC Supra standing on the precipice of history, agonizingly close but not quite there yet.

Tonight, it’s cup football.

TSN and RDS have taken notice of the moment, picking up the match in addition to usual streaming stalwart OneSoccer.

FC Supra du Quebec has made it to the semi-final stage of the national Canadian Championship tournament during the club’s first-ever season, knocking out Ontario-based sides Woodbridge Strikers and Atletico Ottawa to now face a third in Forge FC, a modern-day CanChamp contender. The Hamiltonians are known for their deep tournament runs and a propensity to dispatch even MLS competition.

Historically, Forge will enter as heavy favourites, but the home fans will be thinking just one thing: Supra beat them the last time out, albeit in league play.

What’s more, this competition hits particularly close to the heart of Supra head coach Nick Razzaghi, who first made waves with semi-pro underdog CS Saint-Laurent punching above its weight in the competition. Now helming a fully professional side boasting a few faces from that Saint-Laurent team, he knows he is once again entering the fray as somewhat of an underdog, though you don’t get the sense that bothers him in the slightest.

“To have the opportunity to play this match – let’s be honest, the pressure is on Forge,” says the gaffer. “They’ve been chasing this tournament for years. I’m convinced their players are always playing for the opportunity to do this. All the pressure in the world is on them. We’re the newcomers, the new kids. On vient de la, we have nothing to lose. We’re going to give everything we have.”

In short, Razzaghi says that his Supra side has nothing to lose and everything to gain, but Forge has everything to lose.

“We’re not going to start overthinking the two-legged format and all of that because, first, there are two weeks between the matches and, second, it’s a soccer match. You can’t try to play the occasion,” adds Razzaghi, who says you just have to go onto the field with a clear game plan.

The club enters the match with its striker duo in good form: Loic Kwemi is leading the golden boot race in league play, having also scored in the club’s last Canadian Championship match against Ottawa. Ibrahim Conde scored in both legs against the nation’s capital, while he and Kwemi also registered an assist apiece in the quarter-finals.

So, will Supra be shaping up any differently for their third foray against Forge within a two-week span? Razzaghi isn’t going to show his cards. After all, this is leg one of two – by mid-September, Supra will have faced Forge four times within a thirty-day period.

“The thing that is different is that the intensity will be there. In a league season that isn’t always the case, but in a cup match it’s guaranteed. And in a cup match, you can always expect one or two surprises from the opponent. But aside from that, we’re going to go out there to play soccer and fight.”

Razzaghi reflected on the tournament’s early bracket, which saw FC Supra du Quebec grouped alongside Atletico Ottawa, Toronto FC, and Woodbridge. He surmised that most people would have picked Supra third among those four to reach this stage. Instead, Ottawa knocked out TFC, while Supra dispatched Woodbridge before edging past Ottawa to reach the semi-finals.

“Supra exists thanks to this competition in big parts,” says Razzaghi. “My coaching career at this level exists through part of that as well. For all of us, being here is a great opportunity.”

Tonight’s match was initially sold out until a little local pushing saw the club open up additional seats. It’ll be a bumper crowd in La Belle Province and a big moment for the young team.

“It’s a historic moment in the history of the league,” adds Razzaghi, “to have an expansion team like us here representing Quebec soccer, with all of us coming from the same places as you. Come to the match because we’re like you. We’ve followed the same path as everyone here. We represent what you represent. Ultimately, it’s a cup match against historically the best team in the league, here in Laval. It’s going to be a great moment.”

FC Supra du Quebec and Forge will kick off the first leg of the Canadian Championship semi-final today at 6:00PM EST. If Supra should do well enough to advance after both legs, there’s the potential for a final against CF Montreal, should the MLS side beat the ‘Caps.

Truly, nothing would be so beautifully Quebecois as FC Supra knocking out a series of Ontario clubs to get there.

Header Image Photo Credit: Raphael Williams-Claudio

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