RECAP + HIGHLIGHTS: Bekker, Borges lift Forge past CF Montréal for 2nd straight year

Forge FC are headed to the semi-finals of the TELUS Canadian Championship for a third straight year, after eliminating Major League Soccer foes CF Montréal on Wednesday night. Despite a second-half goal from Montréal, Forge's Tristan Borges and Kyle Bekker went on to score late to lift them to a 2-2 result on the night, and a 3-2 triumph on aggregate.

The visiting CPL side found themselves under immense pressure throughout the first half. Montréal pressed forward with an overwhelming advantage in possession, as Forge worked to keep compact in their defensive shape when the hosts moved into their half. Dante Sealy proved troublesome for the Hammers to defend on Montréal's right wing, though he frequently found his runs stymied by Malik Owolabi-Belewu.

As the first half wore on, Forge settled down and found their footing after absorbing the early onslaught. They managed to stretch the game out more and got into the final third on the wings, thanks to good runs on the right especially from Rezart Rama and Nana Ampomah.

By halftime, Montréal had a 71.2 per cent advantage in possession, but the more efficient Forge had outshot them five to three, with 0.22 expected goals to CFM's 0.08. Despite just 11 final third entries for Forge in the first half, they had six touches in the box; by comparison, Montréal entered Forge's third 48 times, getting into the box on 17 occasions.

The MLS side were clearly frustrated with how the game was unfolding; although they had as much of the ball as they wanted (perhaps more), they couldn't create chances in open play. The frustration showed itself in a litany of fouls toward the end of the first half; by the break, the hosts had committed nine fouls, many of them deep in their own half.

Montréal coach Marco Donadel opted for desperate measures at the interval, choosing to take attacker Bryce Duke off the pitch in favour of 19-year-old Ukrainian forward Hennadiy Synchuk.

After just a few minutes of the second half, though, the sides found their momentum abruptly halted. A sudden power outage in Montréal sent Stade Saputo into darkness, suspending the match for almost half an hour — a mini déjà-vu for these clubs, whose quarter-final second leg last season had a delay of several hours midway through the match due to a thunderstorm.

The restart ultimately benefitted the home side, who didn't need long after the restart to find their equalizer. It was Prince Owusu, who haunted Forge in last year's semi-final while he was a Toronto FC player, who scored for Montréal around the 58th minute to level the tie at 1-1.

However, the CPL club managed once again to settle themselves. Forge coach Bobby Smyrniotis made a couple of changes with about 15 minutes to play, adding Tristan Borges and Hoce Massunda in an effort to control the ball better and provide some extra creativity.

Smyrniotis' choice was rewarded within minutes.

As he has been many times before, Borges was Forge's hero just when they needed him on Wednesday night. About five minutes after his introduction, he collected the ball in the right half-space and turned to goal. Without hesitation, he blasted a low strike with his left foot, skipping through traffic and beating Jonathan Sirois at the bottom right corner.

Another five minutes after that, Forge cemented their advantage, as their captain made an emphatic final mark on the game. As the Hammers surged forward yet again, the ball popped loose at the top of the box, where Kyle Bekker stepped up to smash it from considerable distance and in.

Montréal would, naturally, have a handful of attempts in the dying moments of the game, throwing anything they could at the Forge penalty area. Needing two goals in stoppage time just to get to penalties, CFM became increasingly desperate.

The MLS side would not find a televised miracle, though. Forge did what they needed to disrupt and slow down the dying moments, and they held off long enough. Owusu would find the net one more time for Montréal, from a chaotic play in the final seconds of the match, but the hosts would not touch the ball again after that, as Forge knocked them out in the quarter-finals once again.

Last year, it was history for Forge, who had tried so many times but still never beaten an MLS opponent.

This time around, it felt almost like an inevitability. Forge outclassed Montréal in the first leg, and although the MLS side had their moments in this home match, this was Forge's party. Montréal were fairly poor on the day despite how heavy their possession advantage was (70.5 per cent by full time), and setting their late consolation goal aside, they found themselves turned away time and again by the orange defence.

Now, with three CPL teams in the final four, at least one of them is guaranteed to be in the Canadian Championship final. No team from this league has ever won the Voyageurs' Cup; Forge are desperate to be the first.

They're the first CPL side to knock out MLS opposition in 2025, so it'd be hard to bet against them right now.

BOX SCORE

Lineups

CF Montréal: Sirois; Bugaj (Pearce 74'), Craig, Waterman, Petrasso (Graham-Roache 85'); Piette (Campbell 72'), Loturi; Sealy, Duke (Synchuk 46'), Clark (Vilsaint 74'); Owusu

Forge FC: Koleilat; Rama, Nimick, Owolabi-Belewu, Jevremović; Achinioti-Jönsson, Bekker (Paton 84'); Ampomah (Massunda 72'), Babouli (Kane 87'), Choinière (Borges 72'); Wright (Filion 87')

Goals

58' — Prince Owusu (CF Montréal)
79' — Tristan Borges (Forge FC)
83' — Kyle Bekker (Forge FC)
90+5' -- Prince Owusu (CF Montréal) 

Discipline

36' — Yellow: Prince Owusu (CF Montréal)
45' — Yellow: Marko Jevremović (Forge FC)
73' — Yellow: Tristan Borges (Forge FC)
83' — Yellow: Kyle Bekker (Forge FC)

CanPL.ca Player of the Match

Malik Owolabi-Belewu, Forge FC

The defender was outstanding in this match, embracing the challenge of shutting down MLS attackers. Owolabi-Belewu won four out of six duels and made five clearances, generally proving to be an immovable object in Forge's backline.

What’s next?

Forge FC now move on to a second consecutive Canadian Championship semi-final. They'll learn their opponent later on Wednesday night.

Watch all 2025 TELUS Canadian Championship and CPL matches live on OneSoccer. In addition to its website and app, OneSoccer is now available on TELUS channel 980 and on Fubo TV. Call your local cable provider to ask for OneSoccer today.