Cavalry FC–Forge FC rivalry

Forge FC hosts Cavalry FC at Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton

The first match between Cavalry and Forge was played on May 12, 2019, at Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton. Cavalry won the game 2–1 with the winning goal from Nico Pasquotti coming late in stoppage time.[3] The following month, the two clubs met in the second round of the 2019 Canadian Championship. Once again, Cavalry scored late into stoppage time in Hamilton; this time on a penalty kick to equalize after Forge goalkeeper Quillan Roberts was sent off for a foul.[4] The drama continued after the match when a scrum broke out between the two teams with opposing players exchanging pushes and shouts.[5]

The day after the match, Cavalry player Jordan Brown accused Forge FC coach Peter Reynders of using racist remarks during the post game scrum, a claim which was supported by his teammates Elijah Adekugbe and Nathan Mavila.[6] Following an investigation, Reynders was initially found to be guilty by the Canadian Soccer Association and suspended 45 days for the incident, however the decision was overturned on appeal.[7] In June 2020, Forge players defended Reynders publicly.[8] The case was referred to a third party, and Reynders was cleared of the charges in August 2020.[9] The match and subsequent allegations are considered to be the first significant moment of the rivalry.[2] In the return leg of the Canadian Championship tie at ATCO Field, Cavalry won 2–1 to advance in the competition.[10]

On June 22, 2019, Forge and Cavalry faced off for the fourth time that season and the third time in 19 days. With a draw, Cavalry could clinch the top record in the 10-game spring season while Forge needed a win to remain in contention.[11] Forge won the game 1–0 on an early goal from captain Kyle Bekker, ending Cavalry's run of seven straight wins to start the season.[12] Cavalry won their following game on June 26 to claim the spring title and a spot in the 2019 Canadian Premier League Finals. Forge secured their place in the finals with a win on September 28.[13]

Forge hosted the first leg of the 2019 CPL Finals on October 26 in Hamilton. In the 37th minute, Cavalry defender Joel Waterman handled the ball in his own penalty area while sliding to prevent a scoring chance. Waterman was sent off and Forge was awarded a penalty kick. League-leading scorer Tristan Borges took the penalty kick but it was stopped by Marco Carducci to keep the game scoreless. Late into first half stoppage time, Borges scored the game's only goal, beating Carducci with a left-footed strike to give Forge the lead going into halftime.[14] In the 69th minute, a challenge between Borges and Jay Wheeldon of Cavalry sent both players to the ground. As a result of the play, Borges was shown a red card and both teams finished the match with 10 players.[15][16] After the match, Cavalry and Forge appealed their respective red cards to the Canadian Soccer Association but only the suspension to Forge's Tristan Borges was overturned, allowing him to play in the second leg.[17][18] During the second leg in Calgary on November 2, a total of seven yellow cards were issued.[19] Forge scored the game's only goal late in stoppage time and won the series 2–0 on aggregate, becoming the first-ever champions of the Canadian Premier League.

The season opener of the 2020 CPL Island Games was chosen to be a rematch of the 2019 final. The match ended a 2–2 draw with Cavalry equalizing in the 94th minute with a controversial penalty kick.[20] Forge would get their revenge by defeating Cavalry 1–0 in their final group stage match to clinch a spot in the 2020 Canadian Premier League Final while also eliminating Cavalry.[21]

In their fourth and final regular season meeting of 2022, Forge defeated Cavalry in a match that featured three goals and three red cards.[22] The two clubs ended the regular season with identical records (14–5–9), finishing 2nd and 3rd and earning a meeting in the CPL semifinals.[23] Following a 1–1 draw in the first leg, Forge won 3–2 on aggregate to advance to its fourth consecutive CPL Final.[24] In the second leg, Kyle Bekker of Forge and David Norman Jr. of Cavalry were both sent off within five minutes of each other in the first half.

  Cavalry FC win   Draw   Forge FC win

As of October 14, 2023

Top goalscorers As of October 14, 2023 Rank Name Club Nationality Goals 1 Kyle Bekker Forge FC  Canada 7 2 David Choinière Forge FC  Canada 5 3 Dominique Malonga Cavalry FC  Congo 4 Joe Mason Cavalry FC  Ireland Ali Musse Cavalry FC  Somalia Anthony Novak Forge FC Cavalry FC  Canada 7 Jordan Hamilton Forge FC  Canada 3 Woobens Pacius Forge FC  Canada 9 Molham Babouli Forge FC  Syria 2 Myer Bevan Cavalry FC  New Zealand Tristan Borges Forge FC  Canada Mikaël Cantave Cavalry FC  Haiti Alessandro Hojabrpour Forge FC  Canada

Clean sheets As of October 14, 2023 Rank Player Club Clean sheets 1 Triston Henry Forge FC 7 2 Marco Carducci Cavalry FC 2 3 Tyson Farago Cavalry FC 1 Quillan Roberts Forge FC

Players in bold are still active players with a team.

Discipline

As of October 14, 2023

List of sent off players

Player	Club	Date	Competition	Minute	Type	Score	Final
Quillan Roberts	Forge (h)	Jun 4, 2019	Canadian Championship	90+4'		1–0	1–1
Dominic Samuel	Forge (h)	Oct 16, 2019	League	71'		1–0	1–0
Joel Waterman	Cavalry (a)	Oct 26, 2019	CPL Finals	37'		0–0	1–0
Tristan Borges[lower-alpha 1]	Forge (h)			69'	[lower-alpha 1]	1–0
Kyle Bekker	Forge (h)	Sep 10, 2022	League	70'		2–1	2–1
Joseph Di Chiara	Cavalry (a)			86'		2–1
Mikaël Cantave	Cavalry (a)			90+5'		2–1
Kyle Bekker (2)	Forge (h)	Oct 23, 2022	CPL Playoffs	43'		0–0	2–1
David Norman Jr.	Cavalry (a)			45+3'		0–0

1. Borges's red card was rescinded by Canada Soccer after the match.[50]

• 905 Derby
• Al Classico
• Canadian Classique