Forge FC eliminate CF Montreal from Canadian Championship for second consecutive year

By Canadian Press on July 9, 2025.

MONTREAL — Tristan Borges and Kyle Bekker scored three minutes apart to lift Hamilton’s Forge past CF Montreal on Wednesday with an aggregate score of 3-2 in the quarterfinal of the Canadian Championship.

Forge has now eliminated Montreal in the club tournament’s quarterfinals in back-to-back seasons.

Prince Owusu scored a brace for Montreal of Major League Soccer in the 58th minute and again five minutes into injury time.

Borges tied it in the 79th minute and Bekker gave Forge, representing the Canadian Premier League, a 2-1 lead in the 82nd minute.

Entering the game trailing 1-0 on aggregate, Montreal started with aggressive pressure and maintained possession for most of the game.

Bombarding the Forge goal and forcing them to drop into a low block, Montreal would need to win by two goals to advance without a penalty shootout, despite having only scored two or more goals at Stade Saputo just once this year.

Montreal’s first big chance came just after the 15-minute mark when a free kick from Dante Sealy was mishandled by Forge keeper Jassem Koleilat.

Just four minutes later, Joel Waterman appeared to have been brought down in the area, but the ref deemed it not worthy of a penalty.

Montreal’s control over the tempo of play continued through the first half, but they could not manage to find the final ball needed to open the scoring.

CF Montreal continued the pressure in the opening minutes of the second half, but after less than five minutes, the stadium lost power. After a 20-minute delay, play resumed.

Sealy received the ball from a turnover and played in Owusu, who needed two attempts before finding the back of the net. Montreal continued to press in the ensuing minutes, looking ot take an aggregate lead in the tie, but were denied on several occasions by excellent saves from Koleilat.

As the game progressed, Forge was able to find their footing and create some offence. Three minutes apart, Borges and Bekker would find the back of the net in similar fashion after unloading shots from the same spot outside the penalty area.

With nothing left to lose, Montreal threw more bodies forward in an effort to get back into the tie. Owusu added a second, but there was too little time for another.

UP NEXT

Montreal: Will travel to Orlando City FC on Saturday.

Forge: Will match up with Atletico Ottawa on the road on July 12.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 9, 2025.

Elias Grigoriadis, The Canadian Press