Forge FC Victorious in First Leg, Lose Borges for Second Leg

Photo courtesy of CBC.ca

 

By Giancarlo Aulino - BarnBurner.ca

 

TORONTO. - Forge FC took advantage of home field by defeating Cavalry 1-0, to take the first-leg of the CPL Finals and add pressure on their opponent heading into the second-leg at Spruce Meadows in Calgary.

 

The top two teams in the inaugural CPL season played in their first of two matches to not only determine who will be the first to hoist The North Star Shield trophy, but also who will be the first to etch their names in Canadian soccer history by becoming the first ever CPL champions.

 

Forge FC were the much better team throughout the game; they had more success with their passes, getting shots on goal, and possession, which allowed them to dictate the tempo of the game and force Cavalry into playing their style of play.

 

A red card was shown Cavalry defender Joel Waterman in the 37th minute following a handball in the box, which will also rule him out for the second leg.

 

As a result of the handball and red card, Forge were awarded a penalty kick. Tristan Borges, who lead the CPL with 13 goals this season, stepped up to take the penalty for his team, but was unable to capitalize as he was stopped by Marco Carducci, to keep the game scoreless.

 

Borges made up for the unsuccessful penalty after Nanco put his skills on display and maneuvered himself around two Cavalry players and passed the ball off to Borges, who struck a nicely placed shot past Carducci, to give his team the lead heading into halftime.

 

Cavalry needed to adjust their tactics accordingly because they were already a man down and the score line potentially getting out of hand in the second half could drastically diminish their chances of winning The North Star Shield in the second leg.

 

Unfortunately for the home side, a red card was shown to Tristan Borges in the 69th minute following a slide tackle that the referee felt was reckless. This is significant because Borges’ goal scoring ability has played a crucial role in Forge FC’s success and missing him for the second leg of the finals could give Cavalry a slight advantage.

 

It’ll be interesting to see how the second leg plays out next Saturday in Calgary but one thing that is for certain is that it should be an entertaining affair. The aggregate score is 1-0 for Forge, so Cavalry are still very much alive.