Forge let 3-1 lead slip in 3-3 draw with Halifax
Two late Wanderers goals cost the Hammers ground on Cavalry in the Shield race, with Pacific visiting Hamilton on Wednesday.
· by Colin Radek · match report · cpl shield · halifax wanderers · lucas cavallini
Forge had the CPL Shield race in their hands on Saturday afternoon and could not close the deal. Cavalry FC had already lost to Inter Toronto earlier in the day, meaning a win would have pulled Forge within three points of the leaders with a game in hand. Instead, Halifax Wanderers scored twice in stoppage time to force a 3-3 draw at Hamilton Stadium, a fourth draw in five matches for the Hammers.
The afternoon began about as well as it could. Lucas Cavallini, making his home debut, turned in Aghilas Sadek's corner at the back post in the fourth minute after a scorpion-kick assist from Antoine Batisse. It was Cavallini's first goal for the club and the fastest Forge have scored in CPL play this season. Tristan Borges thought he had made it 2-0 from distance early in the second half, but the goal was ruled out for a Cavallini foul on Lorenzo Callegari in the buildup.
Former Wanderer Dan Nimick did double the lead in the 78th minute, heading in a Noah Jensen free kick, and Halifax had not managed a shot on target through 80 minutes. Then it came apart. Nelson Pierre pulled one back in the 81st against Dino Bontis, who again deputized with Dimitry Bertaud away on international duty with DR Congo. Substitute Isma\u00ebl Oketokoun restored the two-goal cushion in the 90th with his fifth of the season, only for Liam Mackenzie to score in the fourth minute of stoppage time and Tavio Ciccarelli to equalize in the 103rd.
Bobby Smyrniotis did not dispute the performance, only the finish. "We were the better team but here's the thing: we were the better team the last three weeks and we got three points, so sometimes you don't need to be the better team maybe," the Forge head coach said, adding that his side has to be better at closing out games at this time of year.
Nimick called the result a wake-up call and said there had been a few of those in recent weeks, pointing to goals conceded late against Cavalry. He noted the dressing room conversation that followed and said there is still plenty in front of the group. "There's still a lot to play for, we've still got three trophies to play for," he said.
The turnaround is quick. Forge host Pacific FC at Hamilton Stadium on Wednesday, October 7 at 7 p.m. ET, a rescheduled fixture after the clubs' July meeting was postponed because of poor air quality. Beyond that sits the Canadian Championship Final against CF Montr\u00e9al at Stade Saputo on Wednesday, October 21. For Halifax, the point lifted them back above Inter Toronto into fifth on the first tiebreaker.