The defending champions were far too good for Forge’s liking as they went 2-0 up in the opening 22 minutes.
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Defending champions CF Montréal stormed into the semifinals of the Canadian Championship, thanks to a sensational hat-trick by Sunusi Ibrahim. For the second year in a row, Forge FC were eliminated from the tournament by Montréal. The defending champions were far too good for Forge’s liking as they went 2-0 up in the opening 22 minutes. Ibrahim, who scored both the opening goals, completed the hat-trick at the start of the second half to secure his side’s place in the semifinals of the competition with a 3-0 win. They will next face rivals Toronto FC in a rematch of last year’s final.
Last year, Montreal won 1-0 in the final against Toronto FC. However, Toronto will be eager to enact revenge on their rivals when the two sides face each other on 21st June. It was the same day the other semifinal will also happen between Vancouver Whitecaps and York United. On Wednesday night though, Forge were simply not able to deal with the threat offered by 19-year-old striker Sunusi Ibrahim. He was excellent on the night and could have even scored more goals had he been more clinical in front of goal.
Montreal started on the front foot and almost opened the score in the opening few minutes when Ibrahim broke through on the Forge goal. Triston Henry came off his line quickly to deny the youngster from opening the score. The aggressive Montréal press was difficult for Forge’s backline to deal with as they struggled to retain the ball. Their positive start to the game was rewarded when Ibrahim got behind the Forge backline in the 14th minute.
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He received a beautifully played pass by Matko Miljevic before scoring past the goalkeeper to give the hosts an early 1-0 lead. Forge did not even have time to respond as Montreal came hard at them once again. There was a time when Garven Metusala was off the pitch with an injury. CF Montréal made the most of the extra man advantage to increase their lead. On the back of some impressive play from Kei Kamara, Ibrahim doubled his tally for the day. Forge did do their best to end the half strongly but they were not able to affect the scoreline.
Forge started the second period on the front foot but to their dismay, Montreal got the early goal. The Nigerian striker got on the end of a brilliant set-piece delivery from Miljevic to complete his hat-trick. The 3-0 lead more or less settled the match in Montreal’s favour. Forge tried their best to reduce the deficit in the final period of the match but were not able to alter the scorline as Montreal booked a semifinal ticket.
