RECAP + HIGHLIGHTS: Forge FC vs. Vancouver Whitecaps | August 13, 2025
Two of Canada's most in-form teams went blow for blow on Wednesday night in Hamilton, as Forge FC and the Vancouver Whitecaps fought to a spirited 2-2 draw in Leg 1 of their TELUS Canadian Championship semi-final.
We'll need to wait until Leg 2 in Vancouver next month to settle this tie and see which side hosts the final, but fans in attendance at this opener were treated to a fascinating duel between two sides desperate to lift the Voyageurs' Cup.
Forge, knowing the importance of a first-leg result at home, came out of the blocks aggressive, looking to win 50-50 duels — particularly high up the pitch. They stepped forward to challenge every slightly heavy touch in search of a turnover, and the early pressure paid off.
Marko Jevremović and David Choinière chased down a ball in the Whitecaps' third, winning a couple of aerial duels to win a throw-in for Forge. Jevremović's powerful throw went over traffic into the box, where Vancouver defender Bjorn Utvik attempted to clear but instead headed it straight to an unmarked Nana Ampomah at the back post. The Forge winger finished low with his first touch, giving the Hammers a lead less than 10 minutes into the game.
It was never going to be easy for Forge, though. Just eight minutes later, Jevremović fouled Sebastian Berhalter about 10 yards from the edge of the box, setting up a free kick for the dangerous Whitecaps. Berhalter himself delivered the ball, which Forge cleared only as far as Berhalter's head. This time, the ball sailed over a high-stepping Forge defence to Utvik, who lofted a cross to fellow centre-back Tristan Blackmon for a headed equalizer.
Not long after that, the Whitecaps again found their way behind Forge's centre-backs — this time from open play. After a couple phases of movement around Forge's area they fed Jayden Nelson out wide, as he'd found some onside space on the right behind Choinière. Nelson curled an inch-perfect ball around to the goalmouth, where 'Caps striker Brian White had snuck between Forge's two centre-backs to get a foot on it and score.
The roller-coaster continued its journey from there. Minutes after the visitors took the lead, they handed an equalizer to their foes, who were rewarded again for challenging a heavy touch. This time, Ampomah pounced on Utvik in the Whitecaps' box and picked the ball away cleanly, putting the Forge winger in behind. He unselfishly fed it across goal to Brian Wright, who knocked the ball past Isaac Boehmer to bring the Hamilton side level.
Photo: Jojo Yanjiao Qian/Forge FC
After a much-needed halftime break, the two sides settled down somewhat with the ball, both trying to slow the tempo and establish some build-up play. Although a lot of the heavy touches and misplaced passes started to disappear, the game's flow still remained a little disjointed as both sides became more physical.
A tackle early in the half gave Vancouver forward White a knock, meaning he needed to be replaced with over half an hour to play. Not long after that, Wright found his way into the box for Forge, but Blackmon prevented his advance with a tackle that drew shouts for a penalty from the hosts, to no avail.
After such a back-and-forth opening 45 minutes, it was clear both sides felt it necessary to calm down the pace of play; Vancouver midfielder Ralph Priso pointed out that the two teams got more compact in the second half, which gave each more extended spells of possession.
"We were a little too open in the first half; we closed it a bit more down in the second and there weren't that many chances," Whitecaps coach Jesper Sørensen assessed postmatch.
Priso added: "The first half was a little bit hectic; we didn't do a good enough job just putting our foot on the ball and controlling the game. ... Both teams were a little bit more compact and smart in terms of trying to get pressure."
The second half, as Forge head coach Bobby Smyrniotis put it after the game, was "two teams staring at each other." Indeed, the two sides seemed to cancel each other out more as the pace of play slowed.
The Whitecaps continued probing through the centre of the pitch, trying to break through Forge's press and get the ball out to Nelson on the left wing. Forge, meanwhile, sought to bypass the Whitecaps with long balls over the top, particularly after bringing Hoce Massunda and Mo Babouli on to replace the wingers for the final 20 minutes.
Vancouver's quick ball movement proved dangerous to Forge, as Berhalter in particular managed to pull the hosts apart with incisive passes between lines to disrupt their organization. However, the Hammers proved up for the challenge as their tireless workrate got defenders in front of every attempt just in time.
As Smyrniotis has said before, playing an MLS opponent as a CPL side always requires considerable extra focus and effort, particularly against a team of the Whitecaps' calibre, and in a semi-final. The Whitecaps certainly did punish Forge for a couple of minor mistakes in the first half, but the hosts seemed to solidify after that and proved well capable of absorbing pressure and bending without breaking.
The draw isn't exactly the result Forge would've wanted at home; certainly, a level score going into the second leg in Vancouver (where they'll have considerable reinforcements, like Thomas Müller and potentially even Ali Ahmed and Ryan Gauld) is a tough mountain to climb. However, the CPL side are now unbeaten in 22 consecutive matches in all competitions, and have demonstrated they can go toe-to-toe with any team in Canada.
"When the final whistle blows, I don't think you see a happy Forge player on the pitch," Smyrniotis offered postmatch. "Some people would be happy with a 2-2 draw against an MLS opponent. That's not who we are."
Smyrniotis reminded the media that, with know away goals rule in this year's tournament, it'll be a one-off match in the second leg. Like they did last year against CF Montréal, they'll walk into the away game with the score even and know what result they need.
That second leg next month will be an unmissable test of two of the top sides in the country.
Photo: Michael Chisholm/Canadian Premier League
BOX SCORE
Lineups
Forge FC: Koleilat; Rama, Nimick, Achinioti-Jönsson, Jevremović; Bekker, Hojabrpour, Borges (Jensen 75'); Ampomah (Massunda 69'), Wright (Filion 75'), Choinière (Babouli 69')
Vancouver Whitecaps: Boehmer; Ocampo (Laborda 59'), Blackmon, Utvik, Johnson; Berhalter, Priso, Ngando (Badwal 59'); Ríos, White (Sabbi 52'), Nelson (Cabrera 85')
Goals
10' — Nana Ampomah (Forge FC)
18' — Tristan Blackmon (Vancouver Whitecaps)
29' — Brian White (Vancouver Whitecaps)
34' — Brian Wright (Forge FC)
Discipline
31' — Yellow: David Choinière (Forge FC)
75' — Yellow: Tristan Blackmon (Vancouver Whitecaps)
83' — Yellow: Noah Jensen (Forge FC)
CanPL.ca Player of the Match
Nana Ampomah, Forge FC
Ampomah showed good initiative and vision, scoring the first goal and assisting the second for Forge. Overall, he created two chances and won possession four times as a winger — including twice in the final third.
What’s next?
The second leg of this semi-final will be played on Tuesday, Sept. 16 at Vancouver's BC Place (10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT).
Until then, both sides return to their league campaigns. Forge's next Canadian Premier League match is this Sunday against Atlético Ottawa (4 p.m. ET/1 p.m. PT), while the Whitecaps' next MLS action is later that afternoon against Houston Dynamo (9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT).
Watch all 2025 TELUS Canadian Championship, Concacaf Champions Cup 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.
