Forge FC’s 2024 Concacaf Champions Cup campaign came to an end at Estadio Akron on Tuesday night, as they fell 2-1 to Chivas Guadalajara (5-2 on aggregate) in their round one matchup.
An early goal from Érick Gutiérrez, and a second-half effort from José Castillo were enough to give Chivas Guadalajara the victory. The Hamilton side, however, were given a late moment of joy as 17-year-old Kevaughn Tavernier scored a late screamer as a consolation goal.
Chivas were dangerous from the opening whistle, testing Forge goalkeeper Chris Kalongo just seven minutes into the match on a stinging outside-of-the-boot strike from Jesús Sánchez. Kalongo did incredibly well to get his hands on the ball and redirect it wide.
From the ensuing corner, however, Chivas opened the scoring. Kalongo got his hands to Guadalajara’s initial shot but spilled the ball right into the path of Gutiérrez. The Mexican international slid and snuck the ball under the Forge goalkeeper to give Chivas a 1-0 lead.
MATCH HIGHLIGHTS:
Forge responded reasonably well, pushing forward with confidence knowing they still needed three goals to get themselves back into the tie on aggregate. Kyle Bekker troubled Chivas goalkeeper Óscar Whalley with a cross to the back post that the Spanish keeper took no risks on as he touched it out for a corner.
Most of the opening half, however, was spent deep in Forge territory as despite their significant score advantage on aggregate, the Liga MX side kept pushing for more. They managed to test Kalongo five times on nine shot attempts during the first 45 minutes.
Forge’s best opportunity came just before the half-time whistle, as a quality cross from Béni Badibanga was volleyed off the turf and goalward by Bekker, but Whalley proved equal to the task. The save ensured Guadalajara held their 1-0 advantage at the half.
After making a trio of substitutions to start the second half, including bringing off the goalscorer Gutiérrez, Chivas were quick to once again put Forge under pressure. They forced Kalongo into another quality stop off a free-kick effort after Cade Cowell was brought down just outside the box.
But Forge put together a quality spell of football thereafter, moving the ball quickly through the Chivas press on multiple occasions and creating some good opportunities. The best of which fell to midfielder Noah Jensen who cut into the box in the 50th minute, but he couldn’t slide the ball through the legs of Whalley.
Chivas caught Forge on the ball in the 62nd minute, however, leading to a sequence from which they doubled their lead. Castillo burst into the box after a clever one-two, and after his initial strike was well saved by Kalongo, headed home the rebound to give Chivas a 2-0 lead on the night.
Forge made a pair of substitutions directly after the goal, with Jordan Hamilton and David Choinière instantly making an impact. The latter especially quickly showed his quality with a couple of dangerous darting runs in the attacking third.
The hosts were forced to play the final 20 minutes down a man after substitute Raúl Martìnez suffered an injury and could not continue. Guadalajara had already made all five of their allotted substitutions.
Forge were given a brilliant late consolation goal as Kevaughn Tavernier hit a brilliant strike from the top of the box after a pass from Choinière. It was a special moment for the 17-year-old, who had scored his first professional goal.
Chivas will move on to the competition’s round of 16, where they will face the winner of Club América and Real Estelí — who play their second leg on Wednesday night. The Nicaraguan side shocked the heavily favoured Club Américan 2-1 in the first leg.
Forge, meanwhile, have to wait until April 13 to return to action, when they open the 2024 Canadian Premier League season against Cavalry FC at Tim Hortons Field.
BOX SCORE
Lineups
Guadalajara: Whalley, Sánchez, Briseño, Sepúlveda (Martínez 67′), Castillo, Torres, Gutiérrez (Padilla 46′), F. González, Garcia Bernal (Brizuela 46′) Cowell (Brígido 67′), Cisneros (Marín 46′)
Forge: Kalongo, Duncan (Samuel 77′), Metusala, Achinioti-Jönsson, Owolabi-Belewu, Hojabrpour, Bekker, Jensen (Kane 85′), Badibanga (Tavernier 85′), Campbell (Hamilton 63′), Borges (Choinière 63′)
Goals
8′ — Érick Gutiérrez (Guadalajara)
62′ — José Castillo (Guadalajara)
90+3′ — Kevaughn Tavernier (Forge FC)
Discipline
N/A
