Canadian Premier League — Match #81 Forge FC vs. Pacific FC September 28, 2019 — Tim Hortons Field (3:30 p.m. ET) Watch Live: OneSoccer.ca

Forge FC can punch their ticket to the Canadian Premier League Finals this weekend at home, as Pacific FC comes to Hamilton trying to hang onto their Fall season hopes.

Forge is currently even with Cavalry FC at the top of the table, and a win would put them on 29 points. By virtue of Cavalry winning the Spring season, Forge can book an appearance in Finals 2019 either by winning the Fall themselves, or by claiming the cumulative table if Cavalry comes out on top in the Fall. If both sides win their matches on Saturday, all other CPL teams will be out of the running.

Forge is unbeaten in 11 league matches at the moment, their only loss of the Fall coming in the first game of their campaign, a 2-1 home defeat to FC Edmonton. They drew their last two outings, however, as they fought from behind twice in a row to split points with HFX Wanderers FC.

RELATED READING: How Forge could clinch a Canadian Premier League Finals spot this Saturday The Tridents visit Hamilton hoping to play spoiler, with their own Fall title hopes hanging in the balance. They're hurting a little right now after falling 4-1 to Cavalry last weekend, but fifth-place Pacific is still in the running — 10 points back of Forge. They held their own against the Hammers earlier this month, as Terran Campbell scored late to secure a draw with the flu-ridden Forge squad.
After two very tough road fixtures, Pacific will be glad to return home for next Wednesday's contest. They'll be back at Westhills Stadium on October 2 to greet HFX Wanderers FC (10:00 p.m. ET, 7:00 p.m. PT, available on OneSoccer). Forge will be on the road that same night, as they visit Alberta for a date with FC Edmonton (9:00 ET, 7:00 PT, available on OneSoccer).

KEYS TO THE MATCH

  • Golden boot shootout: The CPL's top two scorers — Pacific's Terran Campbell (11 goals) and Forge's Tristan Borges (10) — will square off here in a battle between two sides with no problem filling the net. Those two players in particular are in a very close race for the league's first scoring crown, which would be a nice feather in the cap for either of them. Campbell seemed to be pulling away a few weeks ago, but Borges has drawn closer with three goals in his last four games. Pacific's striker regained the lead with a penalty kick last Sunday, but the race is closer than ever now.
  • Play calmer: The defending in Pacific's loss to Cavalry was far too desperate, as the Tridents allowed too many crosses through the six-yard box as the Cavs outpaced them on the wings. When they were able to get touches in their box, they weren't able to clinically cycle the ball to safer areas — take, for example, the comedy of errors leading to José Escalante's first goal, when Ryan McCurdy shot a clearance off his own teammate's face to put it on a platter for Cavalry. Pacific is a fast team in their own right, but they need to find a way to slow things down further up the pitch when they don't have the ball so they aren't forced into desperation defending.
  • Start on time: In their home-and-home against HFX Wanderers, Forge failed to get anything going offensively until very late in both matches (they waited until the 69th minute at home, then until well into stoppage time at Wanderers Grounds). In the draw at Tim Hortons Field especially, Forge was outplayed in the first half as they won less than 40 per cent of their battles and absorbed far too much pressure from HFX. Having had some serious recovery time now since their trip to Halifax, Forge needs to come out firing at home and put a goal on the board early to avoid having to fight from behind again.

PROJECTED LINEUPS

Forge FC: Triston Henry; Dominic Samuel, Daniel Krutzen, David Edgar, Jonathan Grant; Giuliano Frano, Kyle Bekker, Kwame Awuah; Chris Nanco, Anthony Novak, Tristan Borges Pacific FC: Mark Village; Noah Verhoeven, Hendrik Starostzik, Émile Legault, Kadin Chung; David Norman Jr., Alexander Gonzalez, Alessandro Hojabrpour; Victor Blasco, Terran Campbell, Zachary Verhoven
HEAD TO HEAD

May 8 - Forge FC 3-0 Pacific FC July 13 - Pacific FC 2-3 Forge FC September 4 - Pacific FC 1-1 Forge FC

STATS LEADERS

Tristan Borges - 10 goals (Forge FC) Terran Campbell - 11 goals (Pacific FC)

INJURIES

Marcel De Jong (Pacific FC) - Out (Achilles)

INTERNATIONAL DUTY

None

SUSPENSIONS

Ryan McCurdy (Pacific FC)

ACCUMULATION (Players are suspended for one match 14 days after accumulating a 4th Yellow Card)

Bertrand Owundi Eko'o (Forge FC) - 3 Kwame Awuah (Forge FC) - 3 Victor Blasco (Pacific FC) - 4 (will miss Oct. 9th vs. HFX) Émile Legault (Pacific FC) - 3 Alessandro Hojabrpour (Pacific FC) - 3


REFEREES

Referee: Pierre-Luc Lauzière ARs: Andre Pickler & Peter Manastyrsky 4th Official: Fabrizio Stasolla

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