Match Preview: 3 things to watch in Forge FC vs. Cavalry FC (4PM ET)

Watch the ComeOn! Match of the Week, Forge FC vs. Cavalry FC on OneSoccer, starting with our pre-game show at 3:30PM ET / 12:30PM PT.

Forge FC will take on another former CPL Final foe on Saturday, as they welcome Cavalry FC to Tim Hortons Field for the Hamilton club’s 2022 home opener.

3 THINGS TO WATCH

• Forge look to click in final third: Forge left Vancouver Island last Sunday reasonably satisfied with the way they’d played, despite the defeat. Coach Bobby Smyrniotis has been vocal recently about his desire to see his team score easier goals and create better opportunities in the opposing penalty area; he saw signs of that progress against Pacific, and he was very pleased with his team’s ability to get to that final third, but that last piece of the puzzle remains a work in progress. “We’ve entered Pacific’s box on 24 occasions, and on 18 of those occasions we’re in the zones we have to be in from the metrics we use here,” Smyrniotis said of his side’s attacking performance last weekend. “It’s about getting into certain areas on the field. We put a lot of pressure on them deep in their third and it’s just a matter of executing. We needed to be a little sharper in those zones, sometimes take an extra second to make that final pass and get defenders moving.” 

• Injuries dictate necessary shake-up: Both of these teams have been hit quite hard by injuries to begin the season. Cavalry, of course, lost Tom Field, Joe Di Chiara, Anthony Novak, and Tyson Farago to serious injuries, which has seriously impacted their depth. Without Field in particular, Tommy Wheeldon Jr. had to get creative with his fullback alignment last weekend in Ottawa, using Ben Fisk and Fraser Aird as wingbacks on either side of a back three, having a solid array of capable ball-playing centre-backs. There’s depth in midfield — Charlie Trafford, Victor Loturi, Elliot Simmons, and possibly Elijah Adekugbe depending on his health — to make up for missing Di Chiara, as well. Forge, on the other hand, had to make a major shift mid-game at Pacific, when Ashtone Morgan went down to injury. Kwasi Poku came in to play the left side and did so quite well, but he might not be Smyrniotis’ first-choice left-back. The absences of Tristan Borges and Emery Welshman up front also hurt Forge a little. Smyrniotis said Thursday that Borges and goalkeeper Triston Henry should be available for this match, with Morgan and Welshman listed as day-to-day, so any involvement from them would be a boost to the Hammers.

• Cavs making best of early road swing: Cavalry’s schedule in the early going of this season is difficult, with five of their first six games away from home — including a three-game all-Ontario swing to start the campaign. However, as Tommy Wheeldon Jr. pointed out, that means they’ll have plenty of home games down the stretch to help them pick up momentum late in the season. It’s never easy to go away from home in the CPL, and particularly not to Tim Hortons Field, but this is not necessary an unwelcome situation for the Cavs. In Wheeldon’s view, any points they can bank on the road will help put them over the top when complemented by a stellar home record. Plus, when they do get home to ATCO Field, the stadium’s grass pitch will be in far better condition than it would have been these first few weeks. “We don’t like easy. It’s professional sports,” Wheeldon said. “The climate here (in Calgary), there’s snow on the ground, the grass would be frosty; we’ve just got to play as many early games on the road as possible, so the run-in really is where it’s at. If we take care of our home business, everything we do on the road in terms of picking up points is a benefit.”