The sides were facing off in the CanChamp for the sixth year running, with Forge eliminating Montreal in each of the last two years. Still, the Hammers were considered underdogs going into the match at Stade Saputo.
Montreal, who took out the four-time defending champions Vancouver Whitecaps in the semi-finals, had the first major moment of the game midway through the first half, when Prince Owusu was fouled in the box by Manjrekar James.
Despite Forge challenging the play, the referee stuck to his initial decision. Up stepped Owusu, whose spot kick was denied by Dmitry Bertaud.
Forge took the lead in first-half stoppage time when Antoine Batisse headed in Noah Jensen’s corner to stun the crowd. The Hamiltonians, who lost the delayed 2020 final against record winners Toronto FC, went into half-time ahead.
However, it did not take the hosts long to level the contest. Less than five minutes after the restart, Fabian Herbers found Daniel Rios in the box, nodding it beyond Bertaud to tie things up.
The match changed five minutes later as Brayan Vera, already on a yellow card, drove into the box to try and have a shot. The Colombian went down under no contact, with the referee showing him a second yellow card to send him off.
Despite going down a man, the five-time CanChamp winners created the more dangerous chances. Twice more was Owusu stopped by Bertaud to keep the score at 1-1.
Benjamin Paton had Forge’s best chance towards the end of extra time, but his curling effort came off the bar.
CFM had star Alexis Sanchez on the bench, but failed to get him on in time before the extra time period came to an end. Both he and club captain Samuel Piette were left on the bench throughout the match.
Penalties were needed to determine the winner.
Bertaud stopped two of the first three kicks for Forge, including another one from Owusu. Meanwhile, Montreal’s goalkeeper Sebastian Breza saved the third penalty he faced. In the end, James took the last spot kick, placing it into the bottom corner to end the shootout and give Forge the win.
The Hammers, four-time CPL play-off winners and three-time regular season champions, became the fourth different club to lift the Voyageurs Cup after Toronto FC (eight times), Montreal, and the Whitecaps (five each). The only other team to reach the final of the competition were Vancouver FC, who did so last year.
It was a disappointing end for CFM, currently bottom of the Eastern Conference in MLS play. They have four games left in what will be a year to forget for them. It was the fourth time that they were the defeated finalist.
As for Forge, who also defeated the other two Quebec-based teams en route to the final, the victory secured a spot in the CONCACAF Champions Cup for next year. The Hamiltonians could claim another trophy on Sunday as the CPL wraps up its regular season. They will need to collect more points than Cavalry in their respective matches.
