Steve Milton: You can say it: Forge is a dynasty
OTTAWA - Three times - right after the final whistle, right before the trophy presentation, and again when they'd been recrowned - the players kept being drawn magnetically back to the farthest corner of the stands. Where the most rabid orange-clad fans stood, sang, cheered and, once again, celebrated another championship.
Their kind of people. Forge FC people. The original Barton Street Battalion, behind the team since long before they had a name or a game, but also scores of other dedicated supporters of Hamilton's men's professional soccer team which has left no doubt of this: they are a dynasty.
Riding a perfect game plan and using the side alleys of the pitch like it was their own private airport strip, Forge FC broke the majority of the 14,992 hearts at TD Place Stadium Sunday night. They aggressively took control early and defeated first-place Atletico Ottawa 2-0 to capture their third Canadian Premier League title in the four years the rising league has been in existence. And the other year - last December, the only time they've had a chance to win the North Star Shield at home - they were in the final too but lost 1-0 to Pacific FC.
It's amazing, amazing, and even though it's the third time, it feels like the first time," said midfielder Alexander Achinioti-Jonsson, who was rightfully named the CPL's Defender of the Year Friday night and who was one of nine Forge players who were with the team when it opened play in 2019.
Right now I want to say that this is the best one, but it's really hard to say. We've had a bit of a different year than before. We've gone up and down a lot. But these playoffs we showed who's the best team in the league."
Ottawa was the best team, narrowly, during the regular season, going from worst last year to first this year and winning the right to host the one-game CPL final after surviving a two-game semifinal with Pacific, while the Forge was beating archrival Cavalry FC 3-1 on aggregate.
The championship not only capped Hamilton Weekend in Ottawa after the Ticats' victory over the Redblacks to end the CFL regular-season schedule Saturday night, it continued an incredible string in which The Hammers have not allowed a single goal to Atletico on Ottawa's home field.
I didn't know that, but let's keep it that way for at least another year," said Achinioti-Jonsson who was among those responsible for completely neutralizing Ottawa star Ollie Bassett, who was named CPL Player of the Year, and punishing forward Ballou Tabla.
Alessandro Hojabrpour, who scored the CPL title-winning goal last year when he was with Pacific, did it again Sunday, but this time for the Forge instead of against them. He ran onto a perfect Tristan Borges delivery from a set piece just outside the box and headed it past Nathan Ingham in the 28th minute.
Three minutes after Hamilton goalie Triston Henry had made a dynamic diving save on Sergio Camus, David Choiniere, who's also been with the club since the beginning, continued his outstanding recent run with two beautiful dekes and a precise shot for the insurance goal in the 78th minute. He was the beneficiary of a deceptive feed from Garven Metusala.
He faked everybody and laid it out to me and I don't know what I did to be honest," said Choiniere, whom his Forge teammates repeatedly describe as a big-game, big player.
As of Sunday night, plans were still being finalized for a special gathering in Hamilton for Forge to publicly present its third trophy to its expanding fan base.
You look at the supporters in the corner of the stands, you see all the orange sprinkled around this crowd, it's absolutely brilliant," said head coach Bobby Smyrniotis. What makes this one special is that this year we've half-rebuilt this team. As we built it we didn't know we were going to have to use so many of the new players with so many key players going down with injuries."
One of those was skilled defender Daniel Krutzen who was playing only his fourth game of the season after knee surgery, then a concussion. He was physically exhausted but emotionally elevated after going a full 90 minutes, as he did last week against Calgary.
You make so many memories together for four years, and winning three of four it creates an amazing bond," Krutzen said. Those guys are like brothers to me and to finish off the year with another trophy, it's incredible.
The Hammers were without captain and spiritual leader Kyle Bekker whose suspension for a red card in the second game of the semifinal victory over Cavalry FC was upheld late in the week. Noah Jensen moved into his position and then Metusala subbed in for the final 29 minutes.
While the Ottawa crowd would clearly have preferred a different result, this game was a victory for the CPL overall, reaching nearly 15,000 for the championship. People inside the Canadian game believe the successful final and the hype around November's World Cup will send the CPL into 2023 with a massive marketing tailwind.
It was an amazing crowd," Krutzen said, looking around TD Place. I thought only one side of the stadium would be filled but to see the other side so well filled out, who doesn't want to be part of something like this? It's great for the league and it's only up from here."
Steve Milton is a Hamilton-based sports columnist at The Spectator. Reach him via email: smilton@thespec.com