2024 CPL Playoffs — Semi-Final
Forge FC vs. Atlético Ottawa
November 2, 2024 at 4 p.m. ET
Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton, Ontario
Watch Live: OneSoccer.ca & TELUS Ch. 980 // Tickets available here

There’s one open spot left in the 2024 Canadian Premier League Final; who will claim it?

Forge FC and Atlético Ottawa square off on Saturday in a semi-final at Tim Hortons Field, as both teams vie to be the ones to join Cavalry FC in the championship match on Nov. 9.

These two sides come into the game in Hamilton in different moods; Forge, at home again after losing last weekend’s qualifying semi-final to Cavalry — and thus losing the chance to host the Final this year — know the pressure is on them to perform, lest they be absent from the CPL’s marquee game for the first time in league history.

Meanwhile, Ottawa will be seeking a return to the Final for the first time since 2022, coming into this match in high spirits after beating York United on penalties in last Sunday’s spectacular quarter-final.

So, with just two games left in the CPL Playoffs, a brief reminder of how we got to this point:

Forge enter Saturday’s semi-final needing to rebound after suffering just the second postseason loss in club history — and their first since the 2021 CPL Final. They lost 1-0 to Cavalry thanks to Tobias Warschewski’s first-half goal, which head coach Bobby Smyrniotis admitted was an uncharacteristic way for his side to concede.

The Hamilton side won the CPL’s regular season title with the best record over 28 games, and thus have already secured a Concacaf Champions Cup spot, but they aren’t technically in great form. They’ve lost three in a row including last weekend, and haven’t scored in any of those three; although the last two regular season game were somewhat meaningless for Forge after clinching first place, it could still be a concern that the attack has dried up at this time of year, with such thin margin for error.

Meanwhile, Ottawa survived an exhausting, back-and-forth clash at home against York United. They led for much of the game and seemed on the verge of winning in normal time before they conceded in the fourth minute of stoppage time. Again, early in extra time, they took the lead from the penalty spot, but York equalized just moments later.

So, Atleti needed a penalty shootout to get past the Nine Stripes. They did so thanks to all five of their players scoring their attempts, while goalkeeper Nathan Ingham saved Mo Babouli’s attempt to win it for the home side.

Carlos González’s Ottawa team finished third in the regular season, and could have climbed into second on the final day but ultimately wound up four points behind Cavalry. They still get a playoff trip to Hamilton with a chance to make the final, though.

Last time Atleti were at Tim Hortons Field was just a few weeks ago on Oct. 12, when they dominated the Hammers en route to a 2-0 win. Forge weren’t particularly worried; they lifted the CPL Shield after that match and thus admittedly had other things on their minds during the game, but it was still a poor performance on home turf.

That game’s repercussions continue to be felt this weekend, though, since both Forge’s Daniel Parra and Ottawa’s Luke Singh earned three-match suspensions for incidents in that fixture.

Historically, Forge have had the upper hand in this matchup, including a win in the 2022 CPL Final in Ottawa. However, Atleti have taken control more recently, winning three out of four meetings in 2024.

So, are we destined for a second straight CPL Final between Cavalry and Forge? Or can Atlético Ottawa spoil the party in Hamilton and book themselves a ticket to the big game?

All CPL matches are available to stream on OneSoccer, FuboTV, or on TELUS Optik TV Channel 980.

3 THINGS TO WATCH

• Forge need line-leading ability up front: Although Forge have a lot of attacking firepower in the lineup and on the bench, it was clear in the loss to Cavalry that something was missing up front — namely, a central focal point with clinical goalscoring ability. Nana Ampomah lined up at number nine last weekend, and although he’s an experienced and talented player with the ability to cause havoc for defenders, he’s more naturally suited to a role out wide, rather than trying to bring the ball down in the middle and turn to goal. Nobody has quite managed to make that striker position their own at Forge since Kwasi Poku’s departure in August, and although the club hasn’t really suffered for it, continuing to score plenty, it’s becoming more of a problem at this stage of the year. Forge haven’t scored in their last three matches; they need somebody to display the killer instinct to shoot quickly and finish chances. They could turn to Jordan Hamilton or Terran Campbell (who’s nearing fitness but hasn’t played much this year at all), or perhaps give a nod to Victor Klonaridis if he can get healthy in time.

• Atleti full of confidence after QF win: Advancing past the first playoff match at home will have taken a weight off Atlético Ottawa’s shoulders, avoiding what could have been a disastrous early exit for the club after they began the season with so much hype. Now, they’ve passed their first big test, and have an opportunity to strike at a Forge team which now has the majority of the pressure on them. Ottawa proved they can get the job done in those high-leverage moments, although it did come close; still, the confidence and composure with which they struck all five penalties against York was a mark of a team that’s been well prepared for knockout football. Atleti proved to be very difficult to beat in the regular season, losing just one of their last 10 games, which serves them well now. They’ll be buoyed by the knowledge that, if necessary, they can get the job done from the penalty spot if they need to.

• Goals common in Forge/Ottawa clashes: Although playoff games can sometimes be cagey, the good news is fixtures between these two sides have a history of goals. Their four regular season meetings this year produced a combined 15 goals, including an absolutely wild game in June that Ottawa won 4-3. The year before, they had a similarly crazy meeting in Hamilton that Forge won 4-3. Although Forge had a heavy advantage in their historical record against Ottawa for a while, winning 11 of their first 14 meetings and losing just one, it’s Atleti that have been better recently, being the only team to beat 2024 regular season winners three times. The hallmark of those particularly explosive 4-3 games was early goals; if somebody can get on the board early, game plans might fly out the window and this could turn into a back-and-forth slugfest. Both teams are desperate to get to the Final, for various reasons, and will be hesitant to make critical errors, but if one team can be forced into one in the first half then the game could burst wide open.

PROJECTED STARTING XIs

Forge FC: Koleilat; Duncan, Achinioti-Jönsson, Metusala, Owolabi-Belewu; Jensen, Hojabrpour, Bekker; Borges, Badibanga, Choinière

Atlético Ottawa: Ingham; Morer, Del Amo, Didic, Walker, De Brienne; Bassett, Sissoko, Aparicio; Del Campo, Tabla

ALL-TIME SERIES

Forge FC wins: 12 || Atlético Ottawa wins: 5 || Draws: 3

Last meeting:

Oct. 12, 2024 – Forge FC 0-1 Atlético Ottawa

PLAYOFF HISTORY 

2022 CPL Final — Atlético Ottawa 0-2 Forge FC

KEY QUOTES

“When you haven’t been in these situations, it’s sometimes hard to deal with what happens within the game because the game will bring everything to you. You can go up, you can go down, stalemate for a long period of time, and we’ve been through all of it. … That gives a level of calmness to the team, a level of understanding of how to deal with different situations and just go about it. Tactics aside, it’s the usually hardest-working teams over the 90-plus minutes, or whatever is needed, that are going to come out victorious in these games. You can’t give any periods of the game where you have a low level of concentration.” — Forge FC head coach Bobby Smyrniotis

“What we’re looking for is to build from all those victories that we’ve had, acknowledging that it’s going to be a completely different game. We know them quite well. We know which type of game of game we expect. We are prepared for that, and I have full confidence and trust in my players and on the way the team is facing these type of games.” — Atlético Ottawa head coach Carlos González