It's tenser and tighter than imagined heading into leg two of the Canadian Championship quarterfinal between Forge and CS Saint-Laurent, with a 1-1 draw at Stade Boréale in the first leg doing nothing to separate the two sides.
Now, the tie shifts to Hamilton, with the hosts looking to return to the semifinal for a fourth consecutive year, while the visitors look to keep their magic going and become the first semi-pro side to reach a CanChamp semifinal in the modern era.
It all shapes up for a tasty affair in the donut box, and maybe one that most didn't foresee as close heading into the quarters.
Last time out
Leg one went just about as well as CSSL could've hoped for, with a somewhat rotated Forge side unable to get anything going offensively in Laval while the hosts grew in confidence as the game progressed.
In the end, it was actually Saint-Laurent who had more shots on the afternoon, and Zakaria Bahous' 56th-minute goal cancelled out Nana Ampomah's strike from the first half.
Cédric Toussaint did a fantastic job in the middle of the park, while the back line of the Québécois side stayed pretty solid, not letting Forge work their usual patterns of play to create big chances.
While some more of the regular starters for the CPL side came on later in the second half, there still wasn't anything that could put Martin Cantona in too much danger.
That left us with a 1-1 draw, and the tie still wide open heading to Hamilton on Sunday.
What to expect from Forge
The big question will revolve around how Bobby Smyrniotis manages his squad for this match. Regulars such as Tristian Borges, Hoce Massunda, Ben Paton, Brian Wright, Antoine Batisse and Rezart Rama didn't start in leg one.
Surely, the Forge boss was hoping his reserves could get the job done easily and allow for a breezier second leg, but that's out of the picture now. After Sunday, the Hammers have a home date with Pacific on Thursday before getting over a week off after that.
This is a team that has prioritized winning the Canadian Championship in the past, so it would seem likely we'll see a Forge side closer to full strength for this leg two as they push to advance to the semifinal.
It's also fair to expect the hosts to push the tempo a bit more, as there were too many times in the first leg where the ball movement was too slow and methodical. To break down the block of their opponent, the ball will have to do more of the work.
What to expect from CS Saint-Laurent
It should be more of the same from the plucky underdogs, with the 4-4-1-1 defending in solid banks of four trying to continue to stymie Forge's attack.
Cantona will likely be relied upon more than he was on Wednesday, though Saint-Laurent will try to keep the shots on target closer to the three they gave up in round one, rather than the 13 faced against Inter Toronto in the last round.
Bahous and Saad Chaouki will be keys once again in transition, both in moments to attack and also just to alleviate pressure. Forge will likely keep a vast majority of the ball in this game, and CSSL will need to give their defenders a break when they can.
It would be a monumental victory if the Québec-based semi-pro side was able to knock off the current CPL leaders in their own backyard, but fairytales exist for a reason.
Projected XIs
TrueNorthFoot projects a handful of changes for Forge with usual starters returning to the fray. Meanwhile, Saint-Laurent make just one alteration, with a halftime change of Zineddine Bey on for Younesse Chibane holding to start this one off.
Forge FC (4-2-3-1): Dimitry Bertaud; Marko Jevremovic, Antoine Batisse, Dan Nimick, Rezart Rama; Ben Paton, Anthony Aromatario; Hoce Massunda, Tristan Borges, Mo Babouli; Brian Wright
CS Saint-Laurent (4-4-1-1): Martin Cantona; Samir Morsli, Nathan Goulet, Abdelmouhaimen Nboucha, Tarek Ghamraoui; Aylan Khenoussi, Cédric Toussaint, Rayan Mlah, Zakaria Bahous; Saad Chaouki; Zineddine Bey
Game information and how to watch
📆 Sunday, July 12, 2026
⏰ 4:00 pm ET / 1:00 pm PT
📺 OneSoccer
🧑⚖️ Renzo Villanueva
🏟 Hamilton Stadium, Hamilton, Canada
