Forge FC will not feature in a Canadian Premier League Finals for the first time since the league’s inception.

Atlético Ottawa learned their opposition for next Sunday’s championship match after Forge, the league’s perennial finalists, were out-run by defending champions Cavalry FC, 1-0. 

Cavalry, despite being under pressure for extended periods of the match, were able to make Caniggia Elva’s ball through the gut of the Forge defence count, as Tobias Warschewski, in resurgent form, scored the all-important goal for the visitors in the 57th minute.

A game of centimetres

Unsurprisingly, a match between two of the league’s top-three sides —- dependent on where one inserts Atlético Ottawa into the picture —- especially, with these two long-time rivals, ended with the finest of margins.

Elva’s assist, an unimpeded ball between the centre of the Forge back line, was only able to be scooped up by Warschewski because it caromed off Forge defender Malik Owolabi-Belewu. The ball rolling free allowed the German striker to clip it over a diving Jassem Koleilat.

GOAL 🐴

Tobias Warschewski takes advantage of Malik Owolabi-Belewu's mistake to put @CPLCavalryFC ahead on the night! 🔥

🔴 Watch #CanPL LIVE on OneSoccer, TSN & FuboTV pic.twitter.com/Yko0WvW33g

— Canadian Premier League (@CPLsoccer) November 2, 2025

Had it not been for an incredible Koleilat denial in the 80th minute, also only narrowly, it could have been two for Cavalry. Goteh Ntignee, unleashed on a fifty-plus-yard run from beyond midfield was allowed an one-on-one opportunity, stopped by a strong wrist save from Koleilat.

JASSEM KOLEILAT DENIES GOTEH NTIGNEE TO KEEP @ForgeFCHamilton ALIVE 🧤

🔴 Watch #CanPL LIVE on OneSoccer, TSN & FuboTV pic.twitter.com/By3XMdCgSr

— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) November 2, 2025

Rezart Rama also had a chance to bask in an equalizer five minutes deep into second-half stoppage time, as he snapped a header at Marco Carducci. A ruler’s length either side and the crowd in attendance at Hamilton Stadium might have been treated to 30 minutes of extra time, a fraction as entertaining as the 2023 Finals.

Elva came even closer, kissing the post with a snap shot after being played in by Shamit Shome, in the 50th minute. Just moments before, Brian Wright also drew the ire of the offside flag, managing to finish through Daan Klomp’s slide tackle, only to be judged to have leaned beyond the Dutchman’s shoulder.

"Bend, but don't break."

Both Cavalry head coach Tommy Wheeldon Jr, and Forge skipper Kyle Bekker made reference to the proverb post-match, as Cavalry, left unchanged after their thrashing of York in the semi-final qualifier match.

Forge, meanwhile, saw Smyrniotis welcome two names back into his leading group, perhaps hoping to break their two-match losing streak in the CPL play-offs, dating back to last season. 

Out were key pillar Tristan Borges and clutch forward David Choinière, and in were centre-back Malik Owolabi-Belewu, allowing Alex Achnioti-Jönsson to push up into midfield, and Nana Ampomah. Both had not started for Forge in over a month, with Owolabi-Belewu’s last call coming in mid-July.

At face value, the changes offered Forge more pace to deal with the dangers posed by the front three of Cavalry’s attack, Ntignee, Elva and Musse, while Achinioti-Jönsson could sit deeper to curtail Warschewski’s influence from the number ten.

It worked to start, as the hosts had the lion’s share of possession, 60 per cent of it, across the first half. Brian Wright and Nana Ampomah both had their looks, with Ampomah skying a dinked Dan Nimick pass well over the bar seven minutes in. 

But what became obvious throughout the full 90 minutes, was Forge being unable to find the target, notching just two shots on target from their ten attempts, while Cavalry withstood the ever-tough road test of Hamilton, handing the hosts just their second home defeat of the season.

“They were a wounded animal in the first 15-20 minutes,” Wheeldon Jr. commented, in reference to his response on facing Forge after last weekend’s win over York. “We were chasing, they were putting a lot of pressure on us and we had to survive in it.”

“I think that was very similar to last year’s semi-final — bend but not break — Sergio Camargo, even though he didn’t travel, reminded the lads that at times, we’ve got to come here and you’ve got to suffer a little bit. But, in doing so, if you don’t break, you’re going to have opportunities the other way.”

That initial miss broadly set the tone for Forge all night, with Wright’s header off a corner in the 26th minute, closer to the goal line than Rama’s at the end, also clearing the bar as Carducci dove out of his goal to swat at the ball. 

“We know the standard of them, and the standard of us, and ultimately, it came down to us not finishing our chances. Fair play to [Cavalry], they stuck in, they were disciplined, they bent but they didn’t break, we needed to be more clinical in the final third,” Bekker told the media after the match.

Tobias Warschewski, 'The Dragon Slayer'

“He’s a player for the big occasions. He’s so entertaining to watch,” Wheeldon Jr. said about his goal scorer post-match. “[Warschewski] loves a big goal and the big moments, and he’s going to keep telling me he’s unbeaten in the playoffs.”

And it a well-earned title, if not a little on the nose when compared to Forge’s ‘Mr Clutch’, David Choinière, who was dropped to the bench, saw just the final half-hour in a must-win match, and has rumours swirling around him of a move to CPL newcomers FC Supra in the off-season.

Choinière is one of a few players who may not be back next year, under Smyrniotis’ own admission. Reflecting on his “five-year cycle” comment from years past, the head coach lamented “I wish today I could flip the switch and say ‘all of you are back”, but that’s not the case.”

Owolabi-Belewu, the unfortunate victim in Warschewski’s winner, already had his departure to EFL side Chesterfield confirmed over the summer.

“[Owolabi-Belewu is] a guy that won’t be here and there’ll be a few more. You try and bring a couple back and we usually [have] a couple up our sleeves somewhere else that’ll come in that nobody knows about and try to make the difference.”

That, for Forge and for Smyrniotis, begins in eight weeks’ time — down from seven, the head coach joked —- as the coaching staff prepare again to beat what Smyrniotis said was the best team in the league this season.

“Maybe I’ll change things up a little bit next year [with how the team prepares] to try and figure out a balance between [the North Star Shield and the North Star Cup] but this is a fantastic group. That’s what makes this one tough is that I don’t get to work with the same group again on the pitch, but this Forge team is the top. It’s the top that this league has seen. There’s no doubt in my mind.”

- Bobby Smyrniotis