Forge FC maintained their unbeaten record against Halifax Wanderers at Tim Hortons Field with a resounding 3-0 victory on Saturday.
Kwasi Poku scored a first-half brace, putting him into a tie for the league’s Golden Boot with York United’s Brian Wright and Atlético Ottawa’s Rubén del Campo with eight total now on the season. Nana Ampomah, meanwhile, scored his first CPL goal in the 69th minute.
It took Forge 16 minutes to open the scoring. David Choinière played a lovely low ball across the Halifax backline, and Poku made a clever run between the two defenders to tap it past Yann Fillion. The goal gave the Hamilton side a 1-0 lead.
Just over ten minutes later, the hosts doubled their lead. Nana Ampomah beat his man down the left wing with a lovely bit of skill, before doing the same to Dan Nimick in box, who brought him down. Poku stepped up to the spot, and after his initial effort was saved, he slotted home the rebound.
It was the fifth straight match between these two sides that a penalty had been awarded, and the first time it was Forge who went to the spot.
The Wanderers nearly replied in the 40th minute. On their first of a pair of corners, Cale Loughrey, fresh off scoring his first CPL goal, forced an incredible save from Jassem Koleilat in the Forge net. That was the last real chance for either side in the half, as Forge went in up 2-0.
Poku kept pushing for his first career hat trick in the second half with a number of quality chances. In the 55th minute, Poku had a shot lined up from distance blocked, before Noah Jensen played a lovely curling ball into the box that he headed just wide.
In the 60th minute, Patrice Gheisar went to his bench for a triple substitution, bringing on Zachary Fernandez, Massimo Ferrin and Vitor Dias. The moves seemed to ignite the visitors, who began to control the ball better and get into the attacking third.
On the counter-attack in the 69th minute, however, Forge added a third. Forge captain Kyle Bekker played a lovely long ball into the path of Choinière. The Forge winger showed tremendous footwork to cut into the middle and poke the ball into the path of Ampomah, who smashed the ball home brilliantly from just outside the box for his first CPL goal.
The goal seemed to pretty much deflate the visitors, who came close once more on a Ferrin free kick in stoppage time, but had few other chances of consequence.
It has Forge’s sixth victory of the season at home, moving them into a tie with York United for the league lead in this category. They remain in third spot, but just four points behind top of the table Atlético Ottawa with a game in hand on both them and third place York United.
BOX SCORE
Lineups
Forge FC: Koleilat; Duncan (Samuel 80′) Achinioti-Jönsson, Metusala (Hamilton 86′), Owolabi-Belewu; Hojabrpour, Bekker, Jensen (Cissé 80′); Choinière (Borges 72′), Ampomah (Koné 72′), Poku
Halifax Wanderers: Fillion; Ferrazzo (Fernandez 60′), Nimick, Loughrey (Alphonso 72′), Timoteo; Callegari, Rampersad; Probo (Dias 60′), Gagnon-Laparé (Vasconcelos 78′), Daniels (Ferrin 60′); Telfer
Goals
15′ — Kwasi Poku (Forge FC)
29′ — Kwasi Poku (Forge FC)
69′ — Nana Ampomah (Forge FC)
Discipline
40′ — Yellow: Nana Ampomah (Forge FC)
57′ — Yellow: Kwasi Poku (Forge FC)
84′ — Yellow: Andre Rampersad (HFX Wanderers)
90+1′ — Yellow: Malik Owolabi-Belewu (Forge FC)