Toronto FC recorded a 2-1 loss against Forge FC in the first leg of the 2024 Canadian Championship semi-final in Hamilton on Wednesday evening.
First Half:
TFC Head Coach John Herdman made five changes from his side that started against Columbus Crew on Saturday evening Sean Johnson, Kevin Long, Matty Longstaff, Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty and Prince Owusu making way for Luka Gavran, Aimé Mabika, Kobe Franklin, Deybi Flores and Lorenzo Insigne.
The Reds carved out the evening’s first big goalscoring opportunity of the wet evening when Lorenzo Insigne’s left-footed shot from Federico Bernardeschi’s cut-back pass following a swift team move went centimetres wide in the fifth minute of play.
Forge FC opened the scoring against the run of play when Béni Badibanga unleashed a 60-yard effort from inside his own half in the 11th minute.
Three minutes later, the hosts doubled their advantage through another moment of magic when David Choinière’s low cross into the box was skilfully finished by Kwasi Poku in the 14th minute.
Unable to apply the finishing touch on several chances in the opening half, the Reds went into the half-time interval trailing by two goals and introduced Matty Longstaff and Prince Owusu at half-time in search of a second-half comeback.
Second Half:
Forge FC began the second half on the front foot with Tristan Borges forcing Luka Gavran into an important kick save before David Choinière’s shot from outside the box canoned off the post in the opening seven minutes of the half.
The Reds nearly found their opener through Prince Owusu’s 55th minute header, only to be denied by goalkeeper Christopher Kalongo. Down the other side, the Hamilton-based club fashioned a pair of attempts in quick succession, with goalkeeper Luka Gavran denying former Red Kyle Bekker in the 64th minute before Kwasi Poku’s header hit the post a minute later.
Hamilton native Luka Gavran was on hand once again to make a spectacular save to his left to deny Béni Badibanga his second of the night in the 77th minute.
The visitors’ pressure finally paid off as TFC scored found their away goal in the 88th minute, when Prince Owusu bundled home from close-range after goalkeeper Christopher Kalongo made an acrobatic save to deny Deandre Kerr’s goal-bound effort off Insigne’s corner kick.
In search of a late leveller, Lorenzo Insigne’s curled effort forced Kalongo into an outstretched save in the final minute of regulation before Deandre Kerr’s header cannoned off the wrong side of the post in stoppage time minutes before the full-time whistle.
With the Reds’ second-half comeback falling short by one, Forge FC carry the 2-1 advantage into the second leg set to be played in seven weeks’ time. Following MLS and Leagues Cup action through the summer, the Reds will host Forge FC in the second leg of the 2024 Canadian Championship semi-final on Tuesday, August 27. Kick-off from BMO Field is set for 7:00 p.m. ET and will be available to watch on OneSoccer across Canada.
Next up, Toronto FC host Philadelphia Union in MLS regular season action at BMO Field on Saturday evening. Kick-off from Toronto is set for 7:30 p.m. ET and will be broadcast globally on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.
LINEUPS
FORGE FC – Christopher Kalongo; Malcolm Duncan (Dominic Samuel 79’), Alexander Achinioti-Jönsson, Garven Metusala, Malik Owolabi-Belewu; Kyle Bekker (C) (Jordan Hamilton 80’), Alessandro Hojabrpour, Tristan Borges (Noah Jensen 72’); Béni Badibanga, David Choinière (Khadim Kane 90+1), Kwasi Poku (Nana Ampomah 80’)
Substitutes Not Used: Jassem Koleilat, Matteo Schiavoni
TORONTO FC – Luka Gavran; Shane O’Neill (Matty Longstaff 46’), Aimé Mabika (Prince Owusu 46’), Nicksoen Gomis; Kobe Franklin (Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty 78’), Kosi Thompson, Deybi Flores (Kevin Long 68’), Raoul Petretta; Federico Bernardeschi (C) (Deandre Kerr 78’), Lorenzo Insigne, Derrick Etienne Jr.
Substitutes Not Used: Greg Ranjitsingh, Sigurd Rosted
MEDIA NOTES
- Lorenzo Insigne made his 50th appearance for Toronto FC across all competitions, becoming the ninth current TFC player (Jonathan Osorio, Richie Laryea, Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty, Deandre Kerr, Federico Bernardeschi, Shane O’Neill, Kosi Thompson and Kobe Franklin) to reach the milestone.
- Raoul Petretta made his first Canadian Championship appearance for TFC.
POSTMATCH SOUND
- Link can be found here
