SEMI-FINALS PREVIEW: It's CPL vs. MLS as Forge, Pacific take on TFC, Whitecaps
After a bit of a break, the Canadian Championship resumes this week, as the first leg of both semi-final ties will take place on Wednesday, July 10th.
First, the focus will be out east, where a pair of neighbours get set for just their second-ever meeting in their history, and that’s Forge FC and Toronto FC, who will meet for the first time since they did battle in the strange 2020 Canadian Championship final that was delayed until 2022.
Meanwhile, out on the West Coast, a familiar matchup will take the stage later that evening, as Pacific hosts the Vancouver Whitecaps in the third installment of the Ferryside Derby, named for the fact that the body of water that separates the two is best accessed by ferry, as coined by former Pacific head coach Pa Modou Kah back in 2021.
A pair of matchups between established Major League Soccer sides with a history of success in this competition, and two Canadian Premier League sides who have done well to establish a strong resume within their league and in this tournament, it’ll be a huge opportunity for all teams involved, especially for the CPL sides.
The road to the Voyageurs Cup is set!
— Canada Soccer (@CanadaSoccerEN) May 30, 2024
Who takes it home? 🏆 #CanChamp pic.twitter.com/k4cgnONJ4o
For them, this game is a huge chance to showcase the work they’ve been doing to develop Canadian talent, showing that they have players who deserve to play at a higher level, while further looking to prove the growing level of a league in just its sixth season of existence.
And that’s the beauty of cup soccer. They’ll enter these ties as underdogs, but that doesn’t mean victory isn’t out of reach, as there’s reason for all teams to believe they can win it all.
In fact, this edition has already seen one CPL side take out an MLS one in a tie, so that shock factor will certainly be lessened if there’s another cupset.
With that in mind, here’s what to expect from the first leg of these semi-finals this week.
Forge looking to continue magical run vs. slumping Toronto FC side:
They’ve pulled off the unlikely once already. Can they do it again?
That’s the question that Forge will be looking to answer in their tie against TFC, as they’re coming off quite the victory in this tournament, having defeated MLS side CF Montréal 3-2 on aggregate in the quarter-finals.
Having fallen to CF Montréal in three straight Canadian Championships, that win was a long time coming for them, however, as Forge were able to take past experiences and apply them across that tie.
GOAL⚒️⚒️@ForgeFCHamilton are flying in Montréal🪽
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) May 23, 2024
Kwasi Poku has made it 2-0 in leg 2 of Forge's #CanChamp QF tie vs #CFMTL, putting them up 3-1 on aggregate
CFMTL now needs at least 3 goals to win this tie👀
🔴Watch TELUS #CanChamp on OneSoccer pic.twitter.com/VAnj4A3lD3
Now, they’ll look to apply them again, even if they’ll be up against a TFC side they’re not as familiar with, having only played them once before (they fell on penalties in that final after drawing 1-1 in regular time).
And for what it’s worth, they’re getting TFC at the perfect time, as they enter this tie winless in six straight in MLS play, sitting with a record of 1W-2D-9L (5 PTS) in their last 12 games. After starting the year with a record of 6W-1D-4L (19 PTS) in their first 11 games, it’s been a rude awakening for them, as they’ve returned to the sort of form they’ve shown over the last few years, in which they’ve finished bottom two in MLS for three straight seasons, going from an early playoff candidate this year to a team barely hanging on their postseason aspirations at the moment.
In particular, their defensive play has let them down, as they’ve conceded 43 goals, which is bottom five in MLS, which has nullified the fact that they’ve scored a solid 30 goals.
Forge aren’t in sparkling form themselves, to be fair, sitting with a record of 2W-2D-3L (8 PTS) in their last seven since they beat CF Montréal, but it’s worth noting that they always seem to rise to these sorts of occasions.
There’s a reason why they’ve got four CPL playoff titles to their name and have done well to make deep runs in Concacaf League and this tournament over the years, while remaining competitive in their two forrays into the Concacaf Champions Cup - these are the sort of big matches they want to play as a club.
As a result, they believe that they can become the first CPL side to reach the final of this tournament without virtue of a bye, as they did when they faced TFC in that 2020 final, and have a great chance to do so here.
Of course, they’ll have to find another level than what they’ve shown in CPL play, where they’re fifth in the table, as their offence has been strong, but their defence has been less than stellar. To be fair, the fact that they held Montréal to just two goals shows a sign that they could step up in this tie, although having conceded 18 goals in 12 CPL games, they’ll know they can be tighter than they’ve been.
However, TFC will have a lot to prove in this tie on their end. Having progressed through the first two rounds with comfortable wins over League 1 Canada sides, it’s felt that they haven’t been tested as much as they could’ve in this tournament. Because of that, it’ll be most intriguing to see how their depth holds up, as that’s what’s hurt them most in their most recent slump, as they’ve struggled to navigate a congested fixture list, one that started in their earlier rounds of this competition.
GOAL 🦉 x 8#TFClive go up 8-0 over CS Saint Laurent as Prince Owusu makes it 11-0 on aggregate in this 2024 TELUS #CanChamp clash 🇨🇦
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) May 22, 2024
🔴 Watch LIVE on OneSoccer pic.twitter.com/rBbcxiom0u
Given that they’ll see this tournament as their biggest priority for the rest of the season, knowing that it could give them a much-needed trophy and a chance to qualify for the Champions Cup, they’ll go full-out to win this tie, which will make it tough for Forge.
Yet, if there’s a team who that won’t faze, it’s Forge, who will want to face TFC at their best to prove what they’re all about as a club, showing why this is such a fascinating tie to monitor.
Pacific FC and Vancouver Whitecaps getting set for Ferryside Derby rematch:
Quietly, it’s become a bit of a West Coast tradition in the Canadian Championship - a Ferryside Derby meeting, with this match between Pacific FC and the Vancouver Whitecaps marking the third edition of this derby.
Yet, that’s a credit to Pacific, who have now reached their third Canadian Championship semi-final in the past four years, as well as the Whitecaps, who are gunning for their third straight Voyageurs Cup - these are two teams who have done well in this tournament over the last few years.
Despite that, it’s worth noting that the Whitecaps enter this tie as clear favourites, and are in pretty solid form, having amassed a record of 4W-1D-2L (13 PTS) in their last seven games heading into this one.
Sitting sixth in the Western Conference and 11th in all of MLS, the Whitecaps have been a pretty good team on their day this year, although consistency has eluded them, as their season has been broken into three acts - a hot start, an ice-cold May, and then a return to form recently. Overall, the biggest factor that has pushed them forward is their offence, as they’ve mostly been quite good defensively by conceding 29 goals in 21 games, but despite scoring a solid 34 goals, most of that came in big bursts either at the start of the year or over the last few weeks, as they dried up right when they started struggling in May.
GOAL 🏔️
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) May 8, 2024
Right at the stroke of half-time, it's LEVONTE JOHNSON with a thunder-strike to give #VWFC a 1-0 lead over @CPLCavalryFC in this TELUS #CanChamp quarter-final, Leg 1 🇨🇦 pic.twitter.com/whsXYI1Cef
Because of that, look for them to keep up the offensive momentum they’ve been able to refind as of late, which will help them in this tie.
Combined with the fact that they’ve won this tournament two years in a row, the pressure is on them to make it three straight, but they know that they’ve got all of the tools to do so.
At the same time, they’ll need to be wary of this matchup, as their history with Pacific is mixed. In their first-ever meeting, Pacific beat them 4-3 in a match that prompted the Whitecaps to fire then-coach Marc Dos Santos, but while the Whitecaps were struggling at the time, it’s worth noting they fielded a strong XI on that day, one that then managed to go on a run in MLS play and make the playoffs under new head coach Vanni Sartini, who still leads them today.
Then in their second meeting, Sartini made sure his side didn’t mess around, as they picked up a comfortable 3-0 win in last year’s semi-finals. And coming off an uncomfortable quarter-final win, in which the Whitecaps only got past Cavalry on away goals after drawing 2-2 across two legs, the Whitecaps will likely not mess around in this matchup, either.
OWN GOAL 😱#VWFC go down 1-0 to @CPLCavalryFC as Willy Akio's cross deflects off Ranko Veselinovic and past the 'keeper
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) May 22, 2024
It's 2-2 on aggregate now, but the Whitecaps have the away goals advantage at this point in this 2024 TELUS #CanChamp quarter-final clash 🇨🇦 pic.twitter.com/Mk5D7AG2Lj
At the same time, there’s a lot that Pacific can look to in terms of experience. Of course, there’s the fact that they love big games - they’re the lone team not named Forge to have won a CPL playoff title, they’ve made the playoffs in four straight CPL seasons, have played in Concacaf League and they’ve got that aforementioned Canadian Championship experience, but they’re also built for knockout soccer, too.
Armed with an incredible defence, they’ve only conceded 10 goals in 13 CPL games this year, and only 12 in 16 games in all competitions, having kept eight clean sheets across those sixteen matches. Heading into this semi-finals, that’ll give them a chance, as they’ll need to keep the Whitecaps attackers quiet to have a chance.
GOAL 🔱🔱@PacificFCCPL go up 2-0 over @AtletiOttawa in this 2024 TELUS #CanChamp quarter-final as Josh Heard rounds out Ayman Sellouf's post-smacking effort 🕺
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) May 30, 2024
🔴 Watch LIVE on OneSoccer pic.twitter.com/tnazrj6HaI
Of course, it’s a worry that Pacific has also struggled offensively, having scored a league-low 12 goals in 13 league games and 15 goals in 16 games in all competitions, but it feels like they’ve got the weapons to pour in the goals, with injuries, a lack of chemistry and consistency letting them down in that regard.
Therefore, this could prove to be a good matchup, especially if Pacific are on their game defensively, although the Whitecaps will look to prove their credentials once again as they look to advance to another final.
Strange schedule puts pressure on strong first leg:
A key note heading into these semi-finals? Momentum will be difficult to harness, as the second leg won’t be played until August 27th, a consequence of MLS’s participation in the Leagues Cup tournament over the end of July and most of August.
Semi-Final dates are set for the 2024 TELUS Canadian Championship!
— Canada Soccer (@CanadaSoccerEN) June 10, 2024
Hamilton, ON and Langford, BC will host the first legs of the 2024 TELUS #CanChamp Semi-Finals.
Compared to the quarter-finals, which took place across a span of just a few weeks, it’s a big difference, one that could put pressure on teams to have a good first leg.
With so much time between games, lots can change, especially the momentum of teams. Because of that, a narrow win where a team deserved more can mean a lot less in this tie than in the quarter-finals, where teams had the chance to build off that momentum a few weeks later.
That means that in this tie, teams who can turn good performances into good results will benefit from that, as they’ll have to see the second leg like a whole new game, and less of a second half of a game.
Plus, this puts lots of pressure on the two CPL sides, too, at least in terms of keeping the ties competitive. With both of them playing the first leg at home, it’s crucial they keep the score close and limit the away goals they give up.
Just look at the difference between the Forge win over CF Montréal and Cavalry’s loss to the Whitecaps in the quarter-finals - Forge were able to leave leg 1 with a 1-1 draw having only allowed one away goal, which meant they only needed one goal in the second leg to gain an advantage, while Cavalry lost leg one 2-1, meaning they needed at least two goals in leg two.
Therefore, a first leg 0-0 or 1-1 scoreline could be quite valuable, for example, while a win would be massive, showing the importance of taking advantage of this first leg.
Especially for Forge, as TFC are struggling and missing several key regulars, they’ve got a massive chance to catch them while out of form, which would be huge as TFC are expected to add to their squad this summer after their recent slump, which will add a new wrinkle to the second leg.
All of that to say, it puts a lot of importance on this week for both CPL teams, and they’ll now look to make the most of the opportunity that awaits them, continuing what has been an excellent edition of the tournament to date.
