Recap: Forge FC claims 2-0 victory over CS Mont-Royal Outremont

HAMILTON, Ont. – Forge FC defeated CS Mont-Royal Outremont 2-0 on Wednesday evening in the preliminary round of the 2022 Canadian Championship.

Terran Campbell scored the winning goal in the 34th minute, with the Hamilton side now moving on to the quarter-finals of the cup competition.

Second half substitute Woobens Pacius grabbed a late insurance goal to seal the win at Tim Hortons Field in what was Forge FC’s first ever match against PLSQ opposition.

A common theme from the first half was the willingness of Forge to play balls in behind the visitor’s backline, especially to Emery Welshman. The Guyanese international was lively, looking to play off the shoulders of the CS Mont-Royal defenders.

Welshman had a great chance to open the scoring in the 17th minute following a cross from Ashtone Morgan on the far side. After a defender’s deflection took the power off the ball, Welshman’s lofted header would end up missing the target.

CS Mont-Royal were making their Canadian Championship debut on Wednesday, as only AS Blainville had previously represented the PLSQ in Canada’s domestic cup competition. Les Griffons were also playing in their first competitive match of the season. Their first league game will take place on May 15th when they host CS Longueuil.

Following a positive spell from the visitors, Forge came close to finding the game’s first goal in the 25th minute after a low cross from Chris Nanco found Campbell. The striker’s first-time effort from point-blank range travelled just wide.

The home side would eventually find their goal in the 34th minute.

Campbell’s tally came via another cross from Morgan, who was busy marauding down the left flank all evening.

Goalkeeper Gabard Fénélon misjudged the ball, with Campbell beating defender Tarik Agday in the air. The striker’s header was his third career goal in the Canadian Championship.

Forge would create one more chance to close out the half as Welshman sent a ball from the right, across the penalty area, finding Morgan alone in space. The former Toronto FC man fired his shot to Fénélon, who ultimately handled the effort well.

Forge came out of the halftime break with intensity, as Campbell nearly scored his second goal of the night in the 54th minute of action.

Welshman was again decisive with the ball, sending a through pass to Campbell, who fired at Fénélon from a tight angle.

From there, Forge were comfortable seeing out the rest of the match, though they would not find their insurance goal until stoppage time.

Pacius, who turned 21 on Wednesday, scored the second header of the match. The birthday boy got on the end of a lifted ball from David Choinière, making no mistake as he was left open in the six-yard box.

Forge FC will go up against another team from Quebec in the next round, as they’ll travel to face CF Montreal in the quarter-finals. Bobby Smyrniotis’ side will be seeking revenge against the MLS outfit that knocked them out of the cup in 2021. The fixture will take place during the week of May 23rd.