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Results and details of the CPL game of Saturday April 27, 2019 between Forge FC and York 9 FC played
at Tim Horton's Field in Hamilton at 1:00pm. This was the inaugural game of the new league.

Forge FC (all orange, white names and numbers)

.............1 Triston Henry
2 Jonathan Grant...3 Elimane Oumar Cisse...4 Dominic Samuel...19 Triston Borges
............6 Kwame Awuah...8 Giuliano Frano
......10 Kyle Bekker (cpt)...11 Chris Nanco...13 Alexander Achinioti Jonsson
..................14 Emery Welshman

Subs:...18 Quillon Roberts (gk)...7 David Choiniere (mid)...9 Marcel Zajac (fwd)...16 Klaidi Cela (def)
...17 Kadell Thomas (fwd)...21 Bertrand Owundi Eko (def)...23 Anthony Novak (fwd)
team officials:...head coach Bobby Smyniotis...assistant coaches Johan Albert, Peter Reynders, Jelani Smith,
and John Zervos, kitman Joseph Hanley, physiotherapist Kiran Persad, physical trainer Guilherme Tamanini

York 9 FC (black socks, names and numbers, white shorts and shirts, green trim)

...................29 Nathan Ingram
5 Justin Sptinger...13 Luca Gasparotta...19 Kyle Porter...2 Daniel Gogarty
.............18 Ryan Telfer...8 Joseph Di Chiara
......23 Wataru Murofushi...10 Manuel Aparicio (cpt)...17 Cyrus Rollocks
...................12 Simon Adjei

Subs:...1 Matt Silva (gk)...3 Morey Doner (def)...7 Austin Ricci (fwd)...11 Emilio Estevez (mid)
...14 Emmanuel Zambazis (mid)...20 Diyaeddine Abzi (def/fwd)...22 Rodrigo Gattas Bertoni (fwd)
team officials:...head coach Jim Brennan

Game officials:...referee David Gantar...assistant referees Philippe Briere and Peter Pendli
...fourth official Yusri Rudolf...assessor Tony Comacho...(blue shirts, black shorts and socks)

First Half:...game defends 1:09pm...Forge defend south end on this cold afternoon. There's a strong wind from the north
but the sun has just come out before game time.
1 min...York Porter high cross from right end line bends behind end line for goalkick.
2 min...York Rollocks long run down left wing and centers low cross to charging York Adjei who one-touch blasts 6 yarder from
slight left that goalie guarding left post gets arm on to pop up and deflect away and defender clears from 10 yards.
2 min 50 sec...York 9 Ryan Telfer GOAL...York Manny Aparacio receives short pass at Forge 50 yard line and cuts to middle
still inside centre circle and rolls pass up the middle from 45 yards to Telfer who cuts between defenders on run from left
to receive ball at 30 yards and survives sliding tackle attempt from Forge Dominic Samuel at 25 yard line and blasts
low 18 yard shot up the middle into low left corner of net with goalie Triston Henry out to 10 yards in center of net.
5 min...Forge Nanco short cross frorm 25 yards on left has Forge Welshman with a back to goal bicycle kick from 12 yards
bound just wide right of post.
6 min...York Rollocks long run on left and low cross from 20 yards along 8 yard line is cleared by Forge Samuel cleared easily
in box.
12 min...Forge sub...Owundi replaces Grant (who we later learned had aggravated a hamstring injury).
13 min...York Rollocks chases through ball pass up right but it rolls over end line before he can get to it.
14 min...Forge Nanco races for loose ball at 30 yard line rolling centering pass too far forward for Forge Welshman
and goalie picks it up.
15 min...Forge Bekker at 22 yards on right after a short run crosses rather than taking a shot and defender clears.
15 min...Forge player's pass is centered through York box on right but cleared.
16 min...York Porter is injured at Forge 45 yard line on left when Forge Nanco pushes him from behind and needs trainer.
17 min...Forge Welshman heads ball down at 18 yards but bounces it for York goalie to grab before he can get control.
19 min...York Telfer rolls pass forward on left but too far for York Murofushi so it rolls for a goalkick.
20 min...York Telfer receives ball in middle and 25 yard shot is just wide left of post even with the bar.
21 min...York defenders clear ball in box and Forge Bekker backheels pass he'd received at 20 yards on right.
24 min...York Adjei receives centering pass from right and turns and fires 22 yarder over bar.
25 min...York player's cross from 25 yards on far right has Forge Frano head ball away from 8 yards on right but directly
to York Telfer and he blasts 15 yard shot that Frano is able to deflect wide left for a cornerkick.
25 min...York Aparicio cornerkick from left has York Gasparotto head down on right side of box back to center but defender
able to punt it away.
26 min...Forge Nanco rush on left and threads pass from 25 yard line through defenders that finds Forge Welshman on right
side of box he takes 15 yard shot between five defenders but retreating defender clears at 6 yards in center of box.
27 min...Forge Borges rekick of cornerkick from right is short to Forge Bekker and he sends it into box. A defender clears with
a header from 12 yards and Forge Cisse blasts 20 yard shot down middle over net.
28 min...Forge Awuah rolls ball into York box from 25 yards on left but defender clears.
28 min...York Rollocks bases between defenders on right and 20 yard shot has sprawling goalie push ball wide right of post.
29 min...York Aparicio cornerkick from right has defender clear at 15 yards in crowd of players in center of box.
30 min...Forge Nanco gets back to poke ball away from York Rollocks on edge of box on run up right.
30 min...A new FIFA rule allows the Forge goalie to play a short goalkick inside his box to a defender inside the box which was
a good idea this half with Forge running into the strong wind.
31 min...Forge Bekker blasts 25 yarder up middle well over net.
33 min...Forge Awuah low cross has York Porter slide to concede a cornerkick.
34 min...Forge Awuah cornerkick from left is into crowd of players and Forge Jonsson pops up ball on kick at 12 yards and goalie
catches wide right of post.
36 min...Forge Cisse run up middle after recovering loose ball but passes at 20 yards to left and Forge Bekker at 10 yards who
one-touches shoot on left well wide left.
37 min...Forge Bekker cross from just outside right edge of box has York Springer clear away on left side of box.
38 min...Forge Borges plays give and go with Forge Bekker after run across field from right after throw-in has Borges
blast 23 yards up middle which diving goalie pushes wide right of post and rolls for cornerkick.
38 min...Forge Borges cornerkick from right is caught by goalie in crowd of players on left side of 6 yard box.
39 min...Forge Nanco rolls centering ball from just outside left side of box. Forge Bekker has 15 yard shot blocked.
Forge Welshman blasts 18 yard rebound well over net.
40 min...Forge Borges rescues pass on right end line then crosses into York box from 15 yard line and York Gasparatto heads
away from center of box.
41 min...York Aparicio run up right but can't get around Forge Owundi and rolls ball too far forward for goalkick.
42 min...York Springer gets back to prevent Forge Bekker from getting to through ball pass at 30 yard line.
42 min...York Gogarty pass to York Rollocks and his 15 yard shot from left has ball deflect off defender for cornerkick.
43 min...York Aparacio cornerkick from left is short to York Murofushi and their play is cleared on left side of box.
44 min...Forge Welshman eludes defender to get away low 15 yard roller from right just wide left of post.
46 min...half ends 1:55pm.

Second Half:...starts 2:10pm. The wind is still blowing but now York 9 faces the wind.
46 min...Forge Borges rolls pass forward to left for Forge Nanco to shoot 8 yarder under pressure into outside left side
webbing of net.
47 min...York Aparicio runs up left and stops on corner of box but rolls pass attempt to York Rollocks too far forward
for goalie to pick up.
47 min...Forge Nanco on run up left sends centering cross to Forge Welshman but it's behind him at 8 yards in box
and defender clears.
49 min...Forge Borges cuts in from right along 20 yard line and fires 22 yarder from right left that hits bar in center of goal.
50 min...Forge Awuah rush for through ball pass sent by Forge Nanco up left wing but can't stop it going over end line.
53 min...York Rollocks pops up shot just outside box that goalie catches.
53 min...York Rollocks cross near right end line back into box is well over box and out left side.
54 min...Forge Welschman cuts in from left after long run and shoots cross out right side of box for throw-in.
55 min...Forge sub...Thomas replaces Nanco. Another new FIFA rule is Nanco exits other side of field rather than having to leave
back to player's bench.
57 min...Forge Borges cornerkick from right has nearest defender on right head ball away.
58 min...York YELLOW card...Aparacio earns it for upending Forge Borges at York 50 yard line near right sideline on sliding tackle.
60 min...Forge Thomas run down left wing and rolls centering pass to Forge Welshman at 15 yards in center of box. Welshman who's
well covered pushes ball to right for open Forge Borges who shoots low 9 yard shot that goalie slides to 6 yards and deflects
ball wide right with great foot save on short side for cornerkick.
60 min..Forge Borges cornerkick from right is high and cleared on right side of box.
61 min...York Porter cross from 20 yards from far right is over goalie who get hand to it on leap and ball drops down and hits
inside left post but stays out and defender clears from middle of 6 yard box.
62 min...York De Chiara is checked out of bounds near center line sideline and is injured on hit by Forge Bekker.
64 min...Forge Borges rescues ball on left end line and 15 yard cross is caught by goalie stepping forward.
65 min...Forge Borges low cross from 12 yards is partially cleared. Forge Frano runs forward and shoots 15 yarder wide left.
66 min...York sub...Ricci replaces Murofushi.
67 min...York Rollocks rolls ball through box from left end line but defender clears to start fast break.
67 min...Forge YELLOW card...Frano earns it for sliding tackle in center circle that injures York Telfer.
69 min...York Ricci rolls pass up left and York Rollocks shoots 18 yarder from left just high over top left corner of net.
70 min...Forge Thomas cross from left side of box near end line has defender slide foot in to deflect ball through box at 6 yard line.
70 min...Forge Thomas 20 yard low shot from left bounces for goalie to smother in 6 yard box.
72 min...Forge Bekker 28 yard shot from right is well high and wide right of net.
73 min...Forge Borges tackle injured York De Chiara at Forge 40 yard line on sliding tackle.
74 min...Forge Welshman spins and low 22 yard shot from right is caught by goalie in middle of net.
75 min...Forge sends in high pass from 25 yards on left and York Gogarty outjumps Forge Borges to head away at 6 yards on right.
76 min...Forge sub...Zajec replaces Jonsson.
77 min...Forge Kadell Thomas GOAL...Forge Emery Welshman receives pass at 40 yard line on right sideline and runs
upfield. He runs to right end line cutting towards goal and gets around York Aparicio at 12 yards and chips pass across box.
Thomas has ball drop to him in open at 13 yards even with left post and he settles ball down and shoots 12 yarder that bends
into top right corner of net behind goalie in crowd of player guarding left side of net and just over the head of jumping
York Luca Gasparotto guarding the right side of net.

79 min...York sub...Gattas replaces Adjei.
81 min...York Di Chiara slides back to prevent clear shot from edge of 6 yard box by Forge Borges after low cross from left
end line from Forge Zajac who rescued ball.
82 min...York Springer slides on left edge of box to block low cross attempt by Forge Thomas.
83 min...Forge Zajac receives drop back pass from Forge Borges from near left end line and Zajac gets away low weak 8 yard shot that
goalie catches at 3 yards.
84 min...York Di Chaira is injured at York 40 yard line.
84 min...Forge Thomas sends in high cross from 25 yard line near left sideline that gets held up in the wind and goalie catches just
wide of right post.
86 min...York Abzi replaces injured Di Chiara who had still not returned to game.
91 min...York Abzi gets away on long run up left side and rolls pass forward to York Telfer who slips cutting inside box at 8 yards
and defenders clear.
91 min...York Gasparotto gets back for midair flying clearance of York Welshman's pop up pass inside box preventing 8 yard shot up middle by choice of two Forge forwards.
94 min...York RED card...Manny Aparacio earns his second Yellow card of the game for grabbing the ball
as he was sliding at York 45 yard line to prevent a run up middle.

95 min...Forge Bekker 45 yard freekick has defender clear away just inside box.
95 min...game ends 3:00pm.

Final Score:...Forge FC........1.......York 9 FC........1......

Attendance was announced as 17611. There had been talk before the game that all 25000 tickets to this CFL stadium had
been distributed. That meant quite a few people no-showed. The weather was quite cold and overcast before the game.
I left Toronto in the morning and there was a small amount of snow falling. Yikes. This is the last weekend in April
and I didn't expect this. That was one of the selling points of this league for me. No more sitting outside in February
and March for Toronto FC games either in the league or CCL in the cold weather. I'd been given a free ticket as a season
ticket holder for York 9 and the offer of a free bus ride from one of the club sponsors, TOK a huge transport company.
When I felt the weather after I'd driven there on my own, I was glad I had been granted one-day press accreditation for
this game. It took about 90 minutes to get here on morning empty highways but 2 1/2 hours to get home through afternoon
traffic and detours. The York 9 travelling fan component had pre-game estimates of 1200. Many of the other tickets had
the designation of being 'free' as even me as a travelling supporter was given the opportunity of claiming one extra ticket
for every season ticket I held. There was a Toronto FC game taking place in downtown Toronto about 10 minutes after this
game ended which drew more criticism from media types than fans themselves but may have effected the final count. I feel
when people have paid nothing for their ticket, they don't feel bad about not turning up as they haven't lost any money.
This was a one-time event and future Forge games will be restricted to a 10000 seat lower bowl set up in Tim Horton's Field.
I'd say that might be easy to reach capacity on weekends but expect less for midweek games.

Manny Aparacio picked up a Red card for York 9 but it was in injury time so had little effect on the game. He grabbed the
ball on a slide to stop a break through. This was addressed after the game in interviews which I've kept on a separate post.
Dave Gantar was the referee for this first game. He is a well known (and hated by many fans) MLS referee too. Today he may have
been instructed to 'let them play' as there were very few freekicks and Yellow cards. Only three were given out. Two to Aparacio
equals his ejection and one to Giuliano Frano for Forge. I thought a huge miss was on Kyle Bekker who bulled over Joseph
Di Chiaro on the sideline at 62 minutes. At my angle Di Chiaro was already out of bounds and picking up the ball so he could
take a throw-in (although he'd knocked it out so Forge would have been awarded the restart when he was hit. Bekker escaped with
no call at all and the incident took place in front of fourth official Yusri Rudolf. There is no VAR in this league at least
for this first year.

Aparacio will miss York's next game against Cavalry FC but now it doesn't seem like such a joke that when Aparacio was
named captain, the team also named five vice-captains.

Rodrigo Gattas from Chile who had just been signed by York yesterday came on at 79 minutes to search for the winning goal.
I'm pretty sure he shook my hand as I picked up my personalized scarf at the team office yesterday but I didn't recognize him.

There was no 'Man of the Match' announced. Maybe the league is waiting for a sponsor. The TV announcers awarded it to
York goalie Nathan Ingham which I cerrtainly agree as he kept them in the game and held Forge off in the second half until
77 minutes then had to hold on with more saves to let York escape with one point.

I was a bit disappointed in Tim Horton's Field scoreboard. To me the number display of the time counting up was too small
to see easily. I also couldn't see any replays of plays on the scoreboard. I was able to successfully intall 'One Soccer'
easily on my phone but had only had it for less than a day. I couldn't see replays of the goals as the sun had come out just
at gametime (nice!) and it was too bright to see my screen or the press who'd brought laptops. I was at a bad angle to peek
at theirs. Thankfully I was PVRing the game that was showing on CBC...also a replay right after the hockey playoff game.
Then One Soccer archived the game so I can relive the game anytime.

I felt the result was the best possible news for the league. A tie would turn some heads in the Toronto region especially
with a well known name scoring (well Ryan Telfer started the season with Toronto FC before this on-loan move). Also the Forge
team didn't lose and scored a tieing goal for a come-from-behind result and dominated the second half and I thought were the most
likely team to win. A tie opens the door for Pscific FC or HFX Wanderers to take the league lead with a win but both teams
should be catchable.

For me, I felt York 9 getting a result was important to stop any potential 'loser Toronto' mentality that this city had for
years until ownership money of the big sport teams bought their way to signing the best players. York 9 is the last team to hold
a home game because of stadium renovations and it would be a tougher sell if they returned for their opener sporting an 0-3 record
in league games. Their first league home game will be Saturday May 25th against--Forge FC! Their first home game is the return
leg of their first round match in the Canadian Championship against A.S. Blainville on Wednesday May 22nd, hmm the day the singer
Morrissey turns 60.

I like Forge FC because of their connection with Sigma FC, a team in League 1 Ontario that has sent their graduates on to the
MLS and then on to Europe most famously Cyle Larin. I have watched many on today's roster play on their L1O team last season.
I am looking forward to watching their season opener this weekend against Vaughan Azzurri who have almost as many players
that left them for this season to play for York 9 FC. It will be interesting to see 'who's left?'. I can see a few players from
both these L1O teams supplying players as call ups mid-season to these CPL teams.

I had picked Forge as the most likely to finish first in this league. I was hoping York 9 could be second. I don't really know
the other teams but seeing them picking up a few Ontario based players, I figured their depth isn't that good. Only Cavalry which
has a lot of their players coming over from Calgary Foothills, the 2018 PDL Champions I expect to instantly play better as a team.

Rocket Robin
robing@eol.ca
twitter @RocketRobin01


Forge FC starters


York 9 FC starters


Team captains Manny Aparacio (10) of York 9 FC and Kyle Bekker (10) of Forge FC at coin toss.


Action in Forge end. The football lines are not completely invisible.


York 9 FC Justin Springer (5) will take this throw-in.


Forge FC Tristan Borges (19) takes cornerkick from right.


York 9 FC Manny Aparicio (10) and Luca Gasparotto (13) clear ball on edge of York box.


York players salute their travelling supporters after the game.


Forge players salute their hardcore fans after the game.


Forge FC Emery Welshman (14) gives post game interview.

 
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Stats from canpl.ca website  
 
Forge FC  1  -     1  York9 FC 
 
Canadian Premier League   Saturday, April 27, 2019 1:00 PM 
Venue Tim Hortons Field       Attendance  17,611

Forge  G. Frano   68' Yellow card              York    M. Aparicio   59'   Yellow card 
                                                       M. Aparicio   90+5' second Yellow card    
  
Match Stats     

 1st   2nd   Full       Statistic               1st   2nd   Full    
   0     1      1       Goals                     1     0      1     
  10    10     20       Total Shots               6     0      6    
   1     5      6       Shots On Target           1     0      1    
   7     5     12       Shots Off Target          3     0      3    
   2     0      2       Blocked Shots             2     0      2   
   7     8     15       Shots from Inside Box     3     0      3     
   3     2      5       Shots from Outside Box    3     0      3    
   1     0      1       Headed Shots              0     0      0    
   3     2      5       Corners Taken             3     0      3    
   4     4      8       Fouls Conceded            1     6      7    
   5    10     15       Open Play Crosses         8     4     12     
   0     0      0       Offsides                  0     1      1     
  17    27     44       Duels Won                16    33     49    
  51.5% 47.4% 48.9%     Duels Won %              48.5% 54.1%  52.1%   
 242   293    535       Total Passes            174   153    327 
  82.6% 81.9%  82.2%    Passing Accuracy         74.1% 65.4%  70.0%  
  57.3% 66.2%  61.9%    Possession               42.7% 33.8%  38.1%  

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