Forge win 2-1 in Ottawa to stay in Shield hunt
Anthony Aromatario and Levonte Johnson scored their first CPL goals as Forge made it three straight wins before Wednesday's Canadian Championship final.
· by Colin Radek · match report · cpl shield · canadian championship · atletico ottawa
Forge FC kept their Shield hopes alive on Saturday, beating Atlético Ottawa 2-1 at TD Place for a third consecutive victory and a first win in the nation's capital since 2023. The result moved the Hamilton club into first place, at least for a few hours, with Cavalry FC still to play Pacific FC later in the day. A Cavalry win would leave Forge ahead of them only on goal difference heading into the final week.
The opening half hour was a scrappy one, with heavy challenges from both sides and early yellow cards for Forge's Levonte Johnson and Ottawa's Diego Gutiérrez. Kamron Habibullah went closest first, dribbling into space in the 24th minute before dragging his shot wide. The opener in the 33rd minute suited the tone of the match: Rezart Rama drove into the box and fired from a tight angle, Crampton parried, and Anthony Aromatario bundled in the rebound for his first CPL goal. Noah Jensen nearly added a second before the break, forcing a save from distance. The sides combined for 15 fouls in the first half.
Ottawa pressed higher after the interval and forced turnovers, but Forge found their way through it. In the 54th minute Lucas Cavallini picked out Johnson, whose low, deflected strike beat Crampton for his own first CPL goal. The hosts were down to ten at the hour mark when Gutiérrez picked up a second yellow for another reckless challenge.
The extra man did not translate into a bigger cushion. Ottawa defended well for the last half hour, and in the seventh minute of stoppage time Gabriel Antinoro won a penalty after an FVS review and converted it himself past Dino Bontis. For a side that had been ruthless lately, the closing stretch was a missed chance to improve their goal difference.
"It keeps us in the hunt for the Shield, gives us good confidence going into [Wednesday's CanChamp final]," head coach Bobby Smyrniotis said, adding that there were plenty of positives in the three points.
The week does not slow down. Forge travel to Stade Saputo for the TELUS Canadian Championship Final on Wednesday against CF Montréal, kicking off at 7 p.m. ET on TSN and OneSoccer. After that comes the final day of the CPL season, with every team playing simultaneously and Forge heading west to face Pacific FC in Victoria.