Match Thread: CONCACAF Champions League - Round of 16 - Leg 1: Forge v Cruz Azul (Mexico) - February 16, 2022

[gator]

Just home from the match, despite the weather it was great to get to see the home team again and vs a high profile opponent like this it was special! I feared we could take a beating and that may yet happen in the Azteca but Forge gave a good account of themselves! There were very few chances for the home side but that is not surprising given the disparity in budgets, CA were very organized and quickly nullified any real danger, I called for Henry to be challenged for the starting position at the end of last season and he once again gave up a howler, in fairness he did make some good saves! It is hard to gauge how Forge will stack up this season based on a match with new players against a high class opponent in our preseason, it was a fun night out and I look forward to the CPL season and of course the return leg in the Azteca! BTW the Battalion were in great voice and although we were possibly outnumbered the songs were strong all the way through, the CA supporters, many who were fans of other LG Mex teams were good natured and seemed to enjoy the atmosphere!

[CanadaFan123]

Tons of respect to the Cruz Azul fans who travelled to this match. I saw some with a San Diego flag and spoke to one who came from Mexico. Nice to see them buying Forge gear in the club shop after the game.

Forge played well but that goal was a killer. Right when the scorer ran to kick it you knew it might be trouble. Cruz Azul didn't really trouble Forge at all in the first half so that sucked.

[Metro]

12 hours ago, dyslexic nam said:

Only caught the second half but Forge looked good out there.  Tough conditions against a quality opponent and once again Forge seem to raise their level of play for the competition.  

The one thing they seem to be missing is that final guy to put it in the net.  Good build up play for most of the game (that I saw) but seems to fall apart a bit in and around the box.  I guess it is a byproduct of CPL budgets that teams at this level won’t be able to keep really effective attackers for long but man I hope we see some young relent emerge through the league.  

Anyway, one more leg and 1-0 may be challenging but it certainly isn’t an impossible hill to climb.  

I'm pretty sure I read that Omar Browne was coming back for another season, though he wasn't available last night.

[jonovision]

Watching last night's game, the lines were definitely painted wider than they were for the USA match.