2020 Forge FC season

On January 22, Forge FC announced they had transferred reigning CPL golden boot winner and player of the year Tristan Borges to Belgian First Division B side Oud-Heverlee Leuven for a fee reported to be close to $300,000.^[1][2] Before the start of the new season, the club supplemented their roster with several new signings including K.R.C. Genk academy product Paolo Sabak, former Montreal Impact and Canada men's national soccer team fullback Maxim Tissot, and former Toronto FC attacker Molham Babouli.^[3][4][5]

The Canadian Premier League originally announced its schedule on February 21. The season would have begun on April 11 and concluded on October 4 with a balanced, 28-match schedule.^[6] In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the CPL paused all pre-season training on March 13 before later postponing the start of the season on March 20.^[7][8]

On July 29, the CPL announced a revised, shortened season format to be played exclusively at the University of Prince Edward Island from August 13 to September 19 in a bio-secure bubble. Dubbed The Island Games, the season would begin with a round-robin preliminary round. The top four teams would qualify for a round-robin group stage; the top two teams from the group stage would qualify for a single match final.^[9][10]

Henry

Edgar

Krutzen

Grant

Awuah

Achinioti-Jönsson

Sabak

Bekker (C)

Zajac

Nanco

Novak

Forge FC's opening day starting lineup against Cavalry FC

Forge opened their season on August 13 with a 2–2 draw against rival club Cavalry FC in the opening match of The Island Games.^[11] Over the following weeks, Forge completed the CPL's preliminary round, ending with 2–2 draw against Valour FC to qualify for the second round group stage with a record of 3 wins, 3 draws, and 1 loss.^[12][13]

In the group stage, Forge opened with a 1–1 draw against HFX Wanderers FC before defeating Pacific FC 2–0 to put them on the verge of qualifying for the final.^[14][15] Needing just a draw in their final group stage match,^[16] Forge defeated Cavalry FC 1–0 to qualify for their second consecutive CPL final.^[17][18]

Forge faced HFX Wanderers FC in the 2020 Canadian Premier League final. This was the third match between the two clubs at The Island Games with both previous matches ending in 1–1 draws.^[19] Forge won the final 2–0 to repeat as CPL champions and qualify the club for the 2021 CONCACAF League and the 2020 Canadian Championship Final.^[20]

Following the season, captain Kyle Bekker was named the CPL's Player of the Year and goalkeeper Triston Henry was awarded the Golden Glove.^[21]

Forge qualified for the 2020 CONCACAF League by winning the 2019 Canadian Premier League finals to become CPL champions. This was their second consecutive season in the CONCACAF League after making it to the round of 16 in 2019.^[22]

The competition was originally scheduled to begin on July 28, but this was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On August 7, CONCACAF announced they had rescheduled the tournament to begin play on October 20 and conclude on January 28, 2021.^[23]

CONCACAF conducted the tournament draw on September 21.^[24] Due to travel restrictions introduced in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, all rounds of the tournament were played as single leg ties hosted by the higher seeded team.^[25] As the lowest seeded team, this guaranteed that Forge would not play any home games.^[26]

Forge opened its CONCACAF League run in the preliminary round away at Salvadoran club C.D. Municipal Limeño on October 22. David Choinière struck first for the Hammers, opening the scoring in the 21st minute before the Salvadorans tied the game later in the first half.^[27] Overcoming a 64th minute red card to Jonathan Grant, Forge won 2–1 to advance to the round of 16 thanks to an 83rd minute goal by Anthony Novak.^[27] After the match, Forge travelled directly to Panama City to prepare for their next match.^[27]

In the round of 16, Forge faced Panamanian side Tauro F.C. on November 3. Forge took an early lead once again, this time from a goal by Molham Babouli, before Tauro equalized in the 18th minute.^[28] Late in the second half, Novak drew a penalty for Forge which Daniël Krutzen converted in stoppage time to secure another 2–1 win for Forge.^[28] The win propelled Forge into the quarter-finals, a new best result for a CPL team.^[29]

Following a break when the team was able to return home,^[30] Forge returned to action on December 1 for a quarter-final matchup against Haitian club Arcahaie FC with a chance to qualify for the 2021 CONCACAF Champions League. The match was played in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic as Arcahaie did not have a suitable venue.^[31][32] David Choinière drew a penalty just before halftime which Daniel Krutzen scored to give Forge the lead, however Arcahaie capitalized on a Triston Henry error in the 57th minute to tie the game.^[33] Despite outplaying their opponents, the game ended tied 1–1 and headed straight to penalties.^[33][34] Arcahaie's goalkeeper made two saves while their penalty takers converted all of their kicks to defeat Forge 4–2, knocking the Hammers out of the CONCACAF League.^[34][35]

Despite their elimination, Forge then travelled to Tegucigalpa, Honduras to face C.D. Marathón in a play-in match to qualify for one of the CONCACAF League's final two spots in the CONCACAF Champions League.^[36] This was centre-back David Edgar's final professional match as he had announced that he would retire at the end of the year.^[37][38] Marathón took the lead in the 18th minute from a header off of a free kick which proved to be the only goal in a 1–0 final, qualifying the Hondurans for the Champions League at Forge's expense.^[38] The match was "ill-tempered" with four yellow cards shown to Forge, three to Marathón, and both Kyle Bekker and coach Bobby Smyrniotis sent off late in the match.^[38]

As of December 8, 2020^[39]

No.	Name	Nationality	Position(s)	Date of birth (age)	Previous club
Goalkeepers
1	Triston Henry		GK	(1993-09-08)September 8, 1993 (aged 27)	Sigma FC
31	Baj Maan		GK	(2000-07-12)July 12, 2000 (aged 20)	NKU Norse
Defenders
2	Jonathan Grant		DF	(1993-10-15)October 15, 1993 (aged 27)	Nyköpings BIS
4	Dominic Samuel		DF	(1994-09-29)September 29, 1994 (aged 26)	Sigma FC
5	Daniel Krutzen		DF	(1996-09-19)September 19, 1996 (aged 24)	Reading United
6	Kwame Awuah		DF	(1995-12-02)December 2, 1995 (aged 25)	New York City FC
14	David Edgar		DF	(1987-05-19)May 19, 1987 (aged 33)	Hartlepool United
15	Maxim Tissot		DF	(1992-04-13)April 13, 1992 (aged 28)	Ottawa Fury
16	Klaidi Cela		DF	(1999-07-16)July 16, 1999 (aged 21)	Sigma FC
21	Jordan Dunstan		DF	(1993-03-21)March 21, 1993 (aged 27)	Chattanooga FC
22	Monti Mohsen		DF	(2000-06-13)June 13, 2000 (aged 20)	Sigma FC
Midfielders
8	Elimane Oumar Cissé		MF	(1995-03-12)March 12, 1995 (aged 25)	Diambars FC
10	Kyle Bekker		MF	(1990-09-02)September 2, 1990 (aged 30)	North Carolina FC
13	Alexander Achinioti-Jönsson		MF	(1996-04-17)April 17, 1996 (aged 24)	IFK Värnamo
Forwards
7	David Choinière		FW	(1997-02-07)February 7, 1997 (aged 23)	Montreal Impact
9	Marcel Zajac		FW	(1998-04-29)April 29, 1998 (aged 22)	Akron Zips
11	Chris Nanco		FW	(1995-02-15)February 15, 1995 (aged 25)	Bethlehem Steel
17	Kadell Thomas		FW	(1996-11-26)November 26, 1996 (aged 24)	Sigma FC
19	Molham Babouli		FW	(1993-01-02)January 2, 1993 (aged 27)	FC Ukraine United
20	Gabriel Balbinotti		FW	(1998-04-12)April 12, 1998 (aged 22)	UQTR Patriotes
23	Anthony Novak		FW	(1994-03-27)March 27, 1994 (aged 26)	Oakville Blue Devils
24	Paolo Sabak		FW	(1999-02-10)February 10, 1999 (aged 21)	NEC Nijmegen

No.	Pos.	Player	Transferred from	Fee/notes	Date	Source
–	GK	David Monsalve	Ottawa Fury	Free transfer	March 2, 2020	[40]
24	MF	Paolo Sabak	NEC Nijmegen	Free transfer	April 23, 2020	[41]
15	DF	Maxim Tissot	Ottawa Fury	Free transfer	July 22, 2020	[42]
31	GK	Baj Maan	NKU Norse	Free transfer	July 31, 2020	[43]
21	DF	Jordan Dunstan	Chattanooga FC	Free transfer	July 31, 2020	[43]
20	FW	Gabriel Balbinotti	UQTR Patriotes	Selected 7th overall in the 2019 CPL–U Sports Draft	July 31, 2020	[43]
19	FW	Molham Babouli	Unattached	Free transfer	August 4, 2020	[44]

Forge FC selected the following players in the 2019 CPL–U Sports Draft. Draft picks are not automatically signed to the team roster. Only those who are signed to a contract will be listed as transfers in.

Round	Selection	Pos.	Player	Nationality	University
1	7	FW	Gabriel Balbinotti	Canada	UQTR Patriotes
2	8	MF	Alex Zis	Canada	Guelph Gryphons

No.	Pos.	Player	Transferred to	Fee/notes	Date	Source
18	GK	Quillan Roberts		Contract expired	January 8, 2020	[45]
21	DF	Bertrand Owundi		Contract expired	January 8, 2020	[45]
20	MF	Justin Stoddart		Contract expired	January 8, 2020	[45]
19	MF	Tristan Borges	OH Leuven	Undisclosed	January 22, 2020	[46]
8	MF	Giuliano Frano		Contract terminated by mutual consent	July 30, 2020	[47]
–	GK	David Monsalve	Xelajú MC	Undisclosed	July 31, 2020	[48]

Forge FC unveiled its 2020 primary kit on February 27 at an event hosted at Tim Hortons Field.^[49] The kit was inspired by Hamilton's six regional municipalities and featured a gold patch signifying Forge's status as defending champions.^[50]

The CPL unveiled all of its clubs' alternate kits on July 30.^[51] These "City Edition" kits incorporated unique symbolism for each club, with Forge's kit drawing from the image of Hamilton's Gore Park fountain.^[51][52] Like the home kit, the alternate kit featured a gold champion patch.^[52]

The kits continued to be produced by Macron and sponsored by Tim Hortons for a second consecutive season.^[49][52]

Home

Home Alt.

Away

Matches are listed in Hamilton local time: Eastern Daylight Time (UTC−4) from April to October and Eastern Standard Time (UTC-5) otherwise.

Forge FC's opening match against Cavalry FC was announced on July 29.^[9] The rest of the first stage schedule was announced on August 10.^[54][55]

The group stage schedule was announced on September 6.^[57]

Cavalry FC v Forge FC

September 15 3	Cavalry FC	0–1	Forge FC	Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island
1:00pm	Hernández  90+2'	Report	Babouli 27' Bekker  35' Edgar  69'	Stadium: Alumni Field Referee: Filip Dujic

CONCACAF conducted the CONCACAF League draw on September 21.^[24]

The preliminary round schedule was announced on September 29.^[58]

Municipal Limeño v Forge FC

October 22	Municipal Limeño	1–2	Forge FC	San Salvador, El Salvador
8:15 pm	K. Oviedo 38' Alas  68'	Report	Grant  16'   64' Choinière 21' Babouli  62' Novak 83'	Stadium: Estadio Cuscatlán Referee: Selvin Brown (Honduras)

The round of 16 schedule was announced on October 27.^[59]

Tauro v Forge FC

November 3	Tauro	1–2	Forge FC	Panama City, Panama
8:00 pm	Aguilar 18' Niño  54' Simons  54'	Report	Babouli 11' Krutzen 90+1' (pen.)	Stadium: Estadio Rommel Fernández Referee: Nima Saghafi (United States)

The quarterfinals schedule was announced on November 5.^[60]

Arcahaie v Forge FC

December 1	Arcahaie	1–1 (4–2 p)	Forge FC	Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
8:00 pm	Anacius  40' Paul  44' Jolicoeur 59'	Report	Krutzen 45+1' (pen.) Bekker  90+3'	Stadium: Estadio Olímpico Félix Sánchez Referee: Oshane Nation (Jamaica)
	Penalties
	Thomas Alesy Anacius Charles		Krutzen Achinioti-Jönsson Edgar Babouli

The play-in round schedule was announced on December 4.^[61]

Marathón v Forge FC

December 8	Marathón	1–0	Forge FC	Tegucigalpa, Honduras
10:00 pm	Solano 18' Garrido  69' Vega  71' Arriaga  90+4'	Report	Edgar  64' Nanco  66' Bekker  86'	Stadium: Estadio Tiburcio Carías Andino Referee: Bryan López (Guatemala)

The 2020 Canadian Championship was played as a one-game final between Forge as the CPL Champions and Toronto FC as the winner of a head-to-head series between Canadian teams from Major League Soccer. It was delayed until June 2022 due to scheduling difficulties related to the COVID-19 pandemic.^[62] Forge ultimately lost the final in a penalty shoot-out following a 1–1 draw.^[63]

As of December 10, 2020^[update]

No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Total		Canadian Premier League		CONCACAF League
				Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
1	GK	CAN	Triston Henry	14	0	10+0	0	4+0	0
2	DF	CAN	Jonathan Grant	7	0	4+0	0	3+0	0
4	DF	CAN	Dominic Samuel	14	0	8+2	0	3+1	0
5	DF	BEL	Daniel Krutzen	15	4	11+0	2	4+0	2
6	DF	CAN	Kwame Awuah	14	1	9+2	1	3+0	0
7	MF	CAN	David Choinière	15	2	6+5	1	4+0	1
8	MF	SEN	Elimane Oumar Cissé	10	0	6+2	0	1+1	0
9	FW	CAN	Marcel Zajac	4	0	4+0	0	0+0	0
10	MF	CAN	Kyle Bekker	15	3	11+0	3	4+0	0
11	FW	CAN	Chris Nanco	7	2	5+0	2	0+2	0
13	MF	SWE	Alexander Achinioti-Jönsson	15	3	9+2	3	4+0	0
14	DF	CAN	David Edgar	14	0	10+0	0	4+0	0
15	DF	CAN	Maxim Tissot	14	1	3+8	1	1+2	0
16	DF	CAN	Klaidi Cela	2	0	0+2	0	0+0	0
17	FW	CAN	Kadell Thomas	13	0	1+8	0	3+1	0
19	FW	CAN	Molham Babouli	14	2	4+6	1	4+0	1
20	FW	CAN	Gabriel Balbinotti	6	0	3+3	0	0+0	0
21	DF	CAN	Jordan Dunstan	9	0	2+4	0	0+3	0
22	DF	CAN	Monti Mohsen	4	0	3+0	0	0+1	0
23	FW	CAN	Anthony Novak	12	3	4+5	2	0+3	1
24	MF	BEL	Paolo Sabak	15	2	8+3	2	2+2	0
31	GK	CAN	Baj Maan	1	0	1+0	0	0+0	0

Rank	Nat.	Player	Pos.	Canadian Premier League	CONCACAF League	TOTAL
1		Daniel Krutzen	DF	2	2	4
2		Kyle Bekker	MF	3	0	3
		Alexander Achinioti-Jönsson	MF	3	0	3
		Anthony Novak	FW	2	1	3
5		Chris Nanco	FW	2	0	2
		Paolo Sabak	MF	2	0	2
		David Choinière	FW	1	1	2
		Molham Babouli	FW	1	1	2
9		Kwame Awuah	DF	1	0	1
		Maxim Tissot	MF	1	0	1
Own goals				1	0	1
Totals				19	5	24

Updated to match played December 8, 2020
Source: Canadian Premier League

Rank	Nat.	Player	Pos.	Canadian Premier League	CONCACAF League	TOTAL
1		Molham Babouli	FW	2	1	3
2		Paolo Sabak	MF	2	0	2
		Maxim Tissot	DF	2	0	2
4		David Choinière	MF	1	0	1
		Kadell Thomas	FW	1	0	1
		Kyle Bekker	MF	1	0	1
		Dominic Samuel	DF	0	1	1
Totals				9	2	11

Updated to match played December 8, 2020
Source: Canadian Premier League

Rank	Nat.	Player	Canadian Premier League	CONCACAF League	TOTAL
1		Triston Henry	5	0	5
Totals			5	0	5

Updated to match played December 8, 2020
Source: Canadian Premier League

No.	Pos.	Nat.	Player	Canadian Premier League		CONCACAF League		TOTAL
2	DF		Jonathan Grant	2	0	1	1	3	1
4	DF		Dominic Samuel	2	0	1	0	3	0
5	DF		Daniel Krutzen	1	0	0	0	1	0
6	DF		Kwame Awuah	1	0	0	0	1	0
9	FW		Marcel Zajac	2	0	0	0	2	0
10	MF		Kyle Bekker	1	0	1	1	2	1
11	FW		Chris Nanco	0	0	1	0	1	0
13	MF		Alexander Achinioti-Jönsson	1	0	0	0	1	0
14	DF		David Edgar	5	0	1	0	6	0
15	DF		Maxim Tissot	1	0	1	0	2	0
16	DF		Klaidi Cela	1	0	0	0	1	0
17	FW		Kadell Thomas	1	0	0	0	1	0
19	FW		Molham Babouli	0	0	1	0	1	0
20	FW		Gabriel Balbinotti	1	0	0	0	1	0
24	MF		Paolo Sabak	1	0	0	0	1	0
Totals				20	0	7	2	27	2

Updated to match played December 8, 2020
Source: Canadian Premier League

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