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Inter Toronto 1-3 Forge: Hammers Continue 905 Domination
By The second 905 Derby of 2026 goes the way of the Hamiltonians once again.
Forge got the better of local rivals Inter Toronto 3-1 at York Lions Stadium on Sunday to stretch their lead at the top of the Canadian Premier League to seven points.
In truth, Inter’s run of form had not been promising going into the clash: tThey were winless in their last six heading into Sunday afternoon, though they ended a four-game losing streak last time out with a draw against Atletico Ottawa. As such, coach Mauro Eustaquio opted for just one change, which was a forced one in goal since Diego Urtiaga’s loan spell had ended. Ivan Pavela started in goal instead.
The Hammers had a bit of time off from their last game, which came in a 2-1 defeat of CS Saint-Laurent in the Canadian Championship two weeks prior. Since then, they had a game postponed against Pacific. There was just one change in the lineup for Bobby Smyrniotis’ men from their most recent clash, with Aghilas Sadek starting in place of Brian Wright.
It took the visitors until the 11th minute to get a first meaningful attempt on goal through Antoine Batisse. The defender’s effort was straightforward for Pavela, who got down and denied the Frenchman.
Nearly 10 minutes later, Forge had another decent chance – this time from a giveaway. Tristan Borges laid the ball off to Sadek, who went for goal first-time. Unfortunately for the youngster, he could not direct his shot on target as it whistled wide.
The chances were primarily going in one direction for the opening 45 minutes, with Forge outshooting Toronto 10-4. Marko Jevremovic tested Pavela himself with a powerful effort midway through the half, but the latter was equal to it.
Just moments later, the Serb thought he had put his team ahead after he controlled Hoce Massunda’s cross to slot it in the bottom corner. However, the fourth official reviewed the play at the monitor and adjudged Massunda to have been offside in the buildup. That ended up being a welcomed relief for the club once known as the Nine Stripes.
That turned out to be a temporary setback for the league leaders, as 10 minutes later, they went in front. Borges’ free kick into the box found Nana Ampomah, who powered it beyond Pavela to put the Hammers ahead.
For all of their opportunities, it seemed like Forge was in control of the contest and was set to go into the break ahead. That was when Inter Toronto struck. Former Hammer Beni Badibanga played a wonderful cross to Tomasz Skublak, who finished from close range to tie the game.
The second half saw the away team continue to fire shot after shot at their opponents’ net. Borges tried his luck from distance, but found the gloves of Pavela.
Ten minutes after the break, the Hamiltonians went back in front. Ampomah was again involved, as he did well to split one defender, combine with Sadek, sit a defender down, and put his shot into the bottom corner.
Skublak nearly scored another instant equalizer for Inter Toronto, but the former HFX Wanderer dragged his attempt just wide of Dmitry Bertaud’s net.
The best chance of the second half for the Torontonians came in the 64th minute. Juan Cordova got forward and found Julian Altobelli in the box. The attacker went for goal right away, but hit it straight at Bertaud, who still had to stay focused to keep his side ahead.
With 20 minutes to go, Forge seemed to have found their momentum again. They nearly made it 3-1 after Batisse was left wide open on a corner. His header was tipped onto the bar by Pavela, but it stayed out.
Forge did add a third in the final moments, as Jevremovic’s pass to Noah Jensen was spot on. The midfielder played one more pass to fellow substitute Ismael Oketokoun, who shot past Pavela to round out the scoring.
With the win – their sixth league success in a row – the Hammers go seven points clear of Cavalry, who lost 1-0 to Vancouver FC on Friday. Forge is now unbeaten in their last 13 against Inter Toronto (9-4-0), winning their last nine. Next for them is a trip to the east coast to face HFX Wanderers next Sunday.
As for Toronto, they drop to seventh place in the standings, though they have played the joint-fewest matches so far. The Nine Stripes will not have it easy in their next game either as they head to Spruce Meadows to take on Cavalry on Sartuday.
Header Image Photo Credit: John Jacques