Forge FC overcomes 3-1 first leg deficit with 3-0 win over Costa Rica’s Santos de Guapiles in Scotiabank CONCACAF League quarterfinal
The Hamilton side dug itself out of a 3-1 first-leg deficit with a 3-0 win over Costa Rica’s Santos de Guapiles for a 4-3 aggregate victory in their Scotiabank CONCACAF League quarter-final.
“Just fantastic,” said Forge coach Bobby Smyrniotis, who built the two-time CPL champion side with his brother Costa, Forge’s director of football. “We talked about it before the game, it being the most important game that we’ve played as a club in our history and just how much it would mean to us. The victory also helped ease the pain of last week’s Canadian Championship semi-final loss to CF Montreal in an 11-round penalty shootout – part of a congested schedule. Tuesday’s game was Forge’s sixth in 18 days.
Babouli tied the game on aggregate in the 65th minute with another spectacular strike. He volleyed home a Browne cross that bypassed a half-dozen Santos defenders.“They’re playing football that entertains Of course we want to win, we want that to be a byproduct. But that’s Forge football today,” he added.