By Canadian Press

Forge FC takes on Mexico powerhouse Cruz Azul to open CONCACAF Champions League play

Feb 15, 2022 | 1:14 PM

No stranger to facing CONCACAF opposition, Forge FC steps it up a notch Wednesday when it takes on Mexican heavyweight Cruz Azul at Tim Hortons Field.

The round-of-16 game marks Forge’s debut in the Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League, the elite club competition in the confederation covering North and Central America and the Caribbean.

The Hamilton-based Canadian Premier League team qualified by virtue of making the semifinals of the 2021 CONCACAF League, a feeder tournament that Forge has taken part in the last three years. Forge dispatched El Salvador’s FAS, Panama’s Independiente and Costa Rica’s Santos before falling to Honduras’ FC Motagua on the away goals rule in the semifinal.

“This is a new competition but a competition that we’ve come into and we’ve earned our spot here. And we’ve earned our reputation for doing well in CONCACAF,” Forge coach Bobby Smyrniotis told reporters in a virtual availability Tuesday. “Obviously we have a team in front of us in Cruz Azul who’s a giant in Liga MX and Mexican football, but I think that’s also a great opportunity for our team and that’s the way we’re looking at it.”

The return leg is Feb. 24 at Mexico City’s historic Azteca Stadium.

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“We’re ecstatic that we’re part of this competition but we’re not just happy to be here … We’re looking to see how we can keep ourselves going in this competition,” said Smyrniotis.

While Forge does not kick off CPL play until April 10, Cruz Azul is already five games into the Mexican season and stands fourth in the table with a 3-1-1 record.

“We’ve been the underdog before,” said Forge captain Kyle Bekker. “We know what we’re going to come up against (Wednesday) night.”

“It’s exciting,” he added. “Obviously these are the games you want to play … We can talk about Cruz Azul for ever. I think they’re a fantastic team.”

Forge won the CPL title in 2019 and 2020, finishing runner-up in 2021 to Pacific FC.

CF Montreal, the other Canadian team in the Champions League, played at Mexico’s Santos Laguna on Tuesday, with the return leg Feb. 22 at Saputo Stadium.

Montreal qualified by defeating Toronto FC in the final of the Canadian Championship.

Other MLS teams in the CONCACAF Champions League competition are New York City FC, the New England Revolution, Colorado Rapids and Seattle Sounders.

On Tuesday, Forge announced the signing of Canadian midfielder Noah Jensen and goalkeeper Christopher Kalongo.

Jensen, 22, spent 2017 to 2021 with Oakland University, scoring 12 goals and adding 32 assists in 71 appearances. Kalongo, 19, spent the 2021 season as a development goalkeeper with Forge.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 15, 2022

Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press