RECAP + HIGHLIGHTS: Forge FC vs. Valour FC | June 22, 2025

Make it 11 games undefeated now to begin the 2025 Canadian Premier League season for Forge, as they defeated Valour 5-0 at Princess Auto Stadium on Sunday.

It was a strange day for both teams, as a thunderstorm forced the original kick-off to be delayed by half an hour, before there was a lengthy delay in the second half of the match. In the end, however, Forge managed to cruise to a comfortable victory, their third in a row and fourth in their last five games in CPL action, one that pushes them to within two points of first-place Atlético Ottawa with a game in hand.

Forge got off to a great start in this game, too, as they found the back of the net after just eight minutes. After a nice ball over the top from Dan Nimick, Brian Wright did well to corral it and settle himself for a shot inside the box, carefully slotting his attempt into the bottom right corner to put his team up 1-0.

Despite conceding early, Valour kept their heads up, however. As a result, they started to mount up the pressure, and nearly turned that into a goal in the 13th minute, but Bruno Figueiredo slashed a shot from the edge of the box just over the net.

Unfortunately, that Valour pressure would be short-lived, as Forge responded with another goal in the 15th minute. After a great run forward from Nimick, he received the ball in a dangerous spot inside the box, and did well to find a wide-open Wright with a low cross for his second goal of the game.

Following that, the game slowed down a bit as Forge looked to protect their lead.

At the same time, they weren't done pushing for more goals, as Hoce Massunda won a penalty after some clever dribbling in the 44th minute, doing well to get into a dangerous area before earning the spot kick following a tackle from Raphael Ohin. From there, Wright stepped up to take the penalty, and he made no mistake with his attempt, slotting the ball into the bottom left corner to give his team a three-goal lead and himself a first-half hat trick.

Forge almost made it 4-0 before half time, too, as Massunda did well to control a nice cross before firing a shot from a tight angle, but Eleias Himaras would easily save his attempt in the Valour goal.

On the other side of the break, Massunda came out with the energy that he finished the half with, as he had a great chance in the 47th minute on a partial breakaway, but his shot was nicely saved by Himaras.

From there, however, the game would come to a halt, as lightning forced the match into a delay that lasted nearly two hours.

After finally having emerged from the break, Valour had a great chance in the 65th minute, as Zachary Fernandez found Kris Twardek at the back post with a fantastic cross, but Twardek's unmarked header flew well over the goal.

Then, soon after, Kian Williams had another good look for Valour, doing well to create the space for a left-footed shot from inside the box, but his attempt would deflect just wide of the goal.

That flurry would prove fruitless, however, as Forge then made it 4-0 in the 69th minute. It all started in midfield, as Wright had a great dummy on a dangerous pass forward, and that freed up Mo Babouli to run towards Valour's net on a 2v1 with Nana Ampomah, with Babouli doing well to set up Ampomah for an easy goal.

Not done there, Forge would then make it 5-0 in the 77th minute, as a dangerous David Choinière cross would be turned in by Valour's Zachary Fernandez, who would be unable to sort out his feet in time to avoid the own goal.

Forge almost made it 6-0 in the 81st minute, as Choinière fired a goalbound shot after some nice dribbling, but his attempt would hit Maxime Filion before trickling into the net, with the goal not counting due to Filion's offside positioning.

Continuing their late push, Forge had two great chances in the 89th minute, as Filion was denied by a nice stop from Himaras after getting on the end of a cross, before Noah Jensen had a follow-up shot cleared off the line by Fernandez.

From there, however, that'd be all this game would have to offer, as Forge officially picked up a big victory in their push to retain the CPL Shield.

BOX SCORE

Lineups

Valour FC: Himaras; Fernandez, Romeo, Egwu, Alarcón (Pop 57'); Ohin, Figueiredo (Mlah 46'); Twardek, Ressurreição (Morgan 57'), Venâncio (Faria 46'); Williams

Forge FC: Koleilat; Rama, Nimick, Owolabi-Belewu, Jevremović (Paton 79'); Achinioti-Jönsson (Jensen 79'), Hojabrpour; Ampomah (Choinière 72'), Babouli, Massunda (Kane 72'); Wright (Filion 76')

Goals

9' — Brian Wright (Forge FC)
15' — Brian Wright (Forge FC)
45' — Brian Wright (Forge FC) (Penalty)
69' — Nana Ampomah (Forge FC)
77' — Zachary Fernandez (Valour FC) (Own Goal)

Discipline

31' — Yellow: Rezart Rama (Forge FC)
35' — Yellow: Bruno Figueiredo (Valour FC)
36' — Yellow: Alexander Achinioti-Jönsson (Forge FC)
63' — Yellow: Nana Ampomah (Forge FC)