The only teams to have won Canadian Premier League championships meet today at 5 p.m. at Starlight Stadium.
Hamilton-based Forge FC, as befitting their name and host city, have held a steel-like grip on the North Star Shield with three CPL championships.
The only club to interrupt that reign has been Island-based Pacific FC, which defeated Forge 1-0 in the 2021 league final at Tim Hortons Field.
“We respect Forge FC absolutely and this is the perfect challenge for us,” said Pacific FC head coach James Merriman.
“They have quality and depth, and we know we have to be at our best.”
Forge FC has opened the season with two league draws and PFC with a win and draw. Both teams also won their opening games in the Canadian Championship tournament for the Voyageurs Cup to advance to the quarter-finals.
Much of the pre-game analysis regarding today’s matchup has revolved around the midfield and injuries. Merriman said PFC midfield-engine Manny Aparicio is set to return, as is former Canada Under-20 and U-23 defender Thomas Meilleur-Giguère.
Captain Kyle Bekker has yet to play his season for Forge FC but the 18-time Canada capped former CPL MVP hasn’t been ruled out for today, which could prove a boost for the Hammers midfield if they get their historic leader back in the centre of the pitch.
“Midfield play wins you games,” said Merriman.
Forge FC has a familiar one in second-year Alessandro Hojabrpour, the former Trident who scored the most important goal in PFC history, in the 1-0 victory over the Hammers in 2021 CPL championship game.
The Tridents feel they have backfilled well after Hojabrpour’s departure last season with other emerging young Canadian midifielders, particularly hometown-Victoria product Sean Young and Cédric Toussaint of Drummondville, Que., the latter an invitee for the Canadian U-23 camp in 2000 for the CONCACAF Tokyo Olympics qualifying tournament before it was postponed to the following year. Both Toussaint and former Bays United, Westcastle United, Highlanders and Island Wave player Young have been noticeably good this season.
“You can see Sean’s potential and Cédric has been excellent,” said Merriman.
“These are young Canadians and we have been happy with what they have been able to do. Sean and Cédric have had strong starts in the midfield, and Steffen Yeates, too. They bring intelligence and technique.”
Yeates, 23, played NCAA Division 1 for the UConn Huskies and Oregon State Beavers, and represented Canada in the 2018 CONCACAF U-20 championship. He is from the Toronto FC academy and was called up for one MLS appearance. Toussaint and Young are 22. Also pressed to play key and surprisingly effective minutes this season has been PFC’s 2023 first-round U Sports draft pick Eric Lajeunesse, a 19-year-old defender from the UBC Thunderbirds, who was U Sports rookie of the year. “Lajeunesse has played well,” said Merriman.
The PFC bench boss pointed to Young, Toussaint, Yeates and Lajeunesse and said: “Part of our philosophy is to develop and move players.”
At the other end of the experience scale for the Tridents is 28-year-old winger Kekuta Manneh, a late signing with 171 games played in MLS with the Vancouver Whitecaps, Columbus Crew and FC Cincinnati, who is being eased into the PFC line-up with more minutes expected today.
“We have depth and have been rotating the roster,” said Merriman.
“There are a lot of attacking players who believe they deserve to be in the 11. It’s a healthy competition. It’s a good problem for me. We can be dangerous in the final third when things start clicking.”
Attacking for Forge FC, in a return to Starlight Stadium, will be former Tridents forward Terran Campbell, whose 25 goals are second on the all-time PFC list behind only Alejandro Diaz’s 31 and whose 69 games in purple are tied atop the club list with former PFC goalkeeper Callum Irving.
