HIGHLIGHTS: Pacific FC vs. Forge FC (July 21, 2023) | Presented by tonybet

Forge FC joined Pacific FC on 26 points at the top of the Canadian Premier League table on Friday night after a 2-0 win over the Tridents at Starlight Stadium.

Kwasi Poku opened the scoring in the sixth minute, before David Choinière doubled the score late in the first half. It was the second goal of the season for both players.

The match saw a significant delay in the second half after a scary injury to Pacific’s Djenairo Daniels which required lengthy medical attention. The club has since confirmed that Daniels is stable and improving, and has been sent to hospital for precautionary reasons.

Looking to get off to a better start than they have in recent matches, Pacific FC put on the pressure early. An excellent sequence inside the first three minutes saw Daniels have a good shot blocked in the box.

Out of nowhere, however, it would be Forge who in their first attacking foray of the match stunned Starlight Stadium in the sixth minute. A crossfield ball from Alessandro Hojabrpour was flicked into the path of Choinière by Noah Jensen, who crossed it into the area and allowed Poku to head home his second of the season.

The stunned hosts took a while to recover, as Forge started to dominate possession and looked to extend their advantage. They nearly coughed it all up, however, in the 23rd minute when Triston Henry made a meal of a back pass as he came out of his box, but Manny Aparicio’s attempted chip from distance was short of its mark. Pacific came close again in the 30th minute, as Steffen Yeates found the ball alone at the top of the box but could not keep his shot down.

A couple of minutes later, Henry was forced to make a save on a dipping strike from Aparicio, before Daniels sent another shot over the net. In total, Pacific had eight shot attempts during the first half, but were only able to test Henry once.

Just before half-time, however, Forge delivered another blow. A quick counterattack started by a great ball down the line from Poku found Kyle Bekker, whose cross found it all the way through to Chonière at the back post. The Forge winger beat Kieran Baskett from a tight angle to double the score. They held that 2-0 lead into the half.

The Tridents upped the intensity to start the second half, with a number of good chances created in the opening ten minutes. The best, just given its history of success, was when Ayman Sellouf found the head of Amer Didić from a corner, but the Pacific defender headed high and over the net in the 51st minute.

The match came to a halt in the 56th minute as Daniels suffered an injury which required significant medical attention resulting in a lengthy delay. The players would be sent to their respective dressing rooms as Daniels was stretchered off the pitch, before returning for a brief warmup.

Mere moments after play resumed, Daniels’ replacement, Easton Ongaro, found himself in behind and chipped the ball over Henry from close range, but had his chance cleared off the line by Alex Achinioti-Jönsson. Minutes later, Ongaro got on the end of a cross by Kunle Dada-Luke but sent his header wide.

Thereafter, it was wave after wave of Pacific attack, as the Tridents pushed persistently to try to get themselves back into the match. Their best chance again came from a long-range cannon from Aparicio, which Henry did incredibly well to not only stop but direct over the net.

Pacific FC are now winless in their last five matches, while Forge collects their league-leading fifth road victory of the season.

BOX SCORE

Goals

6′ — Kwasi Poku (Forge FC)
38′ — David Choinière (Forge FC)

Discipline

45′ — Josh Heard (Pacific FC)
71′ — Cédric Toussiant (Pacific FC)
75′ — Garven Metusala (Forge FC)