April 25, 2025...Preview: York United vs Forge FC (from canpl.ca)
PREVIEW: York United vs Forge FC | CPL Match #15
25/04/25
Written by:Mitchell Tierney
2025 CPL Regular Season — Match #15
York United vs. Forge FC
April 27 at 2 p.m. ET
York Lions Stadium in Toronto, Ontario
Watch Live: OneSoccer //
For the first time in 2025, provincial rivals Forge FC and York United meet in the 905 Derby on Sunday at York Lions Stadium.
It is the 27th meeting between the two clubs, who first met in the league’s inaugural match back on April 27, 2019.
Both sides will come into the match frustrated by how things played out this past weekend, and searching for a positive
response and result.
York United are the only club in the CPL who have scored first in all of their matches so far this season, yet they have
lost the past two – including this past Saturday on the road against Atlético Ottawa.
The Nine Stripes opened the scoring in that match in the 11th minute through Julian Altobelli’s league-leading third goal
of the campaign, and then equalized through Riley Ferrazzo in the 83rd after Atlético Ottawa took the lead. But they left
the nation’s capital empty-handed handed losing the match in the 90+6 minute on a goal from former York United defender
Noah Abatneh.
Forge, meanwhile, drew 1-1 with Valour FC, in a performance that Forge FC head coach Bobby Smyrniotis called “bang-average”
– their first dropped points of the season.
If there was one positive to come out of that match for Forge, however, it is the fact that 2024 Players’ Player of the Year
Brian Wright opened his account for 2025. The former York United player will make his return to York Lions Stadium, after
spending the past two seasons with the Nine Stripes.
It will also mean the return of former York United captain Mo Babouli, who returned to Forge after two-and-a-half seasons
with the Nine Stripes. Babouli was substituted early against Valour after suffering an injury in the buildup to Wright’s
goal against Valour, but Smyrniotis says he is fully training and available for selection on Sunday.
The rivalry between these two clubs has been fairly one-sided in recent years, as Forge are undefeated in the last seven
against York United in all competitions, and York have won just one win in their past ten. York did not score against Forge
in CPL action last season.
One Forge player who has particularly tormented the Nine Stripes over the years is Tristan Borges. The reigning CPL Player
of the Year has more goals (seven) and assists (nine) against York than any other club in the league.
York United will, unfortunately, likely be without key attacker Massimo Ferrin for Sunday’s clash as he works his way back
into training but isn’t quite match fit. No player has scored more against Forge the past two seasons than Ferrin, making
his absence even more significant. Central defender Frank Sturing is also back in training, but not yet available for selection.
The only availability question for Forge, according to Bobby Smyrniotis, is Malik Owolabi-Belewu who remains day to day.
3 THINGS TO WATCH
York looking for important bounce back at home: In 2024, the Nine Stripes set a club record for both home points and home
victories with seven wins and 24 points. A key aspect of that was the fact that they never lost back-to-back games at home
all season. After losing their 2025 home opener to the Halifax Wanderers, now is the time to dig deep and make sure they don’t
follow that up by leaving more points on the table at York Lions Stadium. “We want to make this place a fortress, it’s something
we want to build on from last year,” said York United head coach Mauro Eustáquio. “I think a lot of it has to come from us,
has to come from what we’re feeling and how we want to protect our backyard.”
Max Ferrari thriving at wing-back to start 2025: It is a role that Ferrari has been playing for some time, with York United
switching to a back three midway through last season, allowing him more license to join the attack as a wing-back. This year,
however, it appears as though a different system, and new personnel, are allowing him to thrive even more. With the club playing
with three attackers instead of two now, Ferrari has formed an outstanding partnership with Gabriel Bitar on the right side.
Bitar often cuts into the middle, making extra space for Ferrari to get forward down the right flank. It was from such a move
that Ferrari set up York’s opener against Atlético Ottawa this past weekend with a stunning cross to Julian Altobelli. So far
this year, Ferrari has created five chances and played 11 passes into the box.
Forge FC’s backline proving solid: The biggest area of change for Forge coming into this season was across the backline, but so far
this year, it has been an area of strength. With Dan Nimick and Marko Jevremovic slotting in seamlessly alongside mainstay
Alexander Achinioti-Jönsson, that has created a strong defensive foundation. Right-back has been a little bit more open,
with Zayne Bruno making his first professional start in the season opener, before traditional midfielder Khadim Kane played
the next two matches at the position. But whether it is one of the youngsters or Rezart Rama at that spot, they are getting
strong performances – and the group, with plenty of solid help from Jassem Koleilat in net, has allowed a league-low one goal
through three matches this season. “It’s just good communication, and then just good understanding between all of them,” said
Forge FC midfielder Alessandro Hojabrpour. “There’s a good understanding between all of them. And then when the younger guys
have come in as well, they’ve kind of understood what they have to do in their roles, and it’s just been pretty seamless.”
PROJECTED STARTING XIs
York United: Urtiaga; Singh, Higgins, León; Ferrari, Yeates, Adekugbe, Ferrazzo; Bitar, Altobelli, Reid
Forge FC: Koleilat; Rama, Nimick, Achinioti-Jönsson, Jevremovic; Hojabrpour, Bekker, Borges; Choinière, Ampomah, Wright
ALL-TIME SERIES
York United wins: 7 || Forge FC wins: 16 || Draws: 3
Last meeting:
Sept. 28, 2024 — Forge FC 2-0 York United
KEY QUOTES
"I think the moment right now for us is to bounce back and be able to continue to do the good things that we’ve
been doing. Obviously, the results haven’t gone our way, but the mindset is to bounce back. We’ve been having
a good week, the guys have recovered their bodies and they’re ready to go.” — York United head coach Mauro Eustáquio
"Mo was my captain, Brian was a leader, and those guys helped me out every day. But now we’re rivals. So once we enter
the pitch on Sunday, it’s a battle, and I think everyone can respect that. Obviously, both teams want to win, and all
of us players want to win. And it’s going to be, I’m sure, a feisty affair.” — York United wing-back Max Ferrari
"You look at where the goals and where the scoring came from last year for this York team and two of those guys are
wearing orange these days. So I think they’re quite different all across the park from the goal, from their defensive
line, midfield, frankly everywhere around the park, different setup, different formation, at least that’s what we’ve
seen right now. With a new coach, a lot of new players, they’re trying to set up a new identity for their club. ”
— Forge FC head coach Bobby Smyrniotis
"Not every day you come onto the field is going to be perfect. There’s a lot of bumps in the road, and to have one
kind of that early in the season [against Valour last week] kind of also sparks the rest of the team to say ‘okay,
when we don’t put energy that’s required to play in these games, that’s what’s going to happen’. So you need to be
switched on for every single minute of the game, and every single time we step on the field. ” — Forge FC midfielder
Alessandro Hojabrpour
back to 2025 York United FC menu
.
.