Forge FC edges Cavalry FC in wild first leg of CPL final

Forge FC's Tristan Borges. (Peter Power/CP)

From red cards to shots rattling the crossbar, Saturday’s first leg of the Canadian Premier League final in Hamilton had it all.

In the end, it was Forge FC who edged the match, 1-0, over Cavalry FC as both teams had a man sent off at Tim Hortons Field.

Current Golden Boot leader Tristan Borges scored the winner, a sensational goal off a wonderful dribbling sequence from Chris Nanco, to clinch Leg 1 for the Hamilton-based club.

Borges had a chance to open the proceedings minutes earlier after Cavalry defender Joel Waterman was adjudged to have handled the ball in the penalty area, thus leading to his sending off. Goalkeeper Marco Carducci stopped Borges’ subsequent spot kick.

However, Borges’ game was over in the 68th minute after he saw red following a fracas with Jay Wheeldon.

Both Borges and Waterman will miss the second leg at Spruce Meadows on Nov. 2.

[relatedlinks]

When submitting content, please abide by our submission guidelines, and avoid posting profanity, personal attacks or harassment. Should you violate our submissions guidelines, we reserve the right to remove your comments and block your account. Sportsnet reserves the right to close a story’s comment section at any time.