The first leg, played at 11 a.m. in Forge’s first ever School Day Match with thousands of local children in attendance, was certainly memorable; David Choinière brought the crowd alive with a first-half goal, although Montréal’s Bryce Duke ensured they’d head back to Quebec on level footing.
The return fixture was when the real drama started. “A game of two halves” is a too-common cliché, but this certainly was. Forge came out flying, scoring twice in the first half-hour thanks to Daniel Parra and Kwasi Poku.
During halftime, however, a thunderstorm rolled into Montréal, sending the game into a weather delay that lasted more than two hours. By the time the teams returned to the pitch, Forge’s momentum was gone; they had no choice but to bunker down and try to stop an onslaught from the hosts.
They managed to do so, conceding just once to finally — with their fifth attempt — get past an MLS opponent in the Canadian Championship.
Having overcome that mental hurdle, Forge rolled into last year’s quarterfinal meeting with the bleu, blanc et noir more confident than ever.
Forge shut them out in the first leg, taking the lead thanks to Brian Wright’s superb finish late in the second half.
Leg 2 was a little more theatrical. Montréal scored shortly after halftime, tying up the aggregate score and swinging momentum firmly into their favour.
Until, that is, Tristan Borges and Kyle Bekker had their say.
A pair of club icons, both of them the architects of plenty of remarkable moments of the years, delivered two more in quick succession.
Borges, just inside the semicircle above the penalty area, let fly with his left foot and found the back of the net to restore Forge’s lead.
Three minutes and 10 seconds later, Bekker one-upped his teammate, leathering an even more powerful strike from a couple metres further out than Borges.
The one-two combo was a potent knockout punch to Montréal, who did score late but couldn’t recover from the Hammers’ double blow.
Wednesday night’s meeting between Montréal and Forge will be the sixth, but undoubtedly the most consequential for both sides.
For Forge, it’s a chance to make history — and lay groundwork for even more history later this week.
For Montréal, it’s a chance to salvage something from this nightmare season.
There is now considerable history between these sides, who each year have used the other to test their level.
On Wednesday, one of them will come out of it with a trophy, and another chapter will be written in Canadian soccer’s budding rivalry.