The Canadian Premier League inaugural match was the first soccer match in the history of the

Canadian Premier League The Canadian Premier League (CPL or CanPL; ) is a professional Association football, soccer league in Canada and the highest level of the Canadian soccer league system. The league comprises eight teams, from five of provinces and territories of ...

(CPL). It was played April 27, 2019, in

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, before 17,611 fans between

Forge FC Forge FC, also known as Forge Football Club, Forge FC Hamilton, or Hamilton Forge FC, is a Canadian professional Association football, soccer club based in Hamilton, Ontario, that competes in the Canadian Premier League, the top tier of Canadia ...

and

York9 FC York United Football Club (formerly known as York9 FC) is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Toronto, Ontario. The club competes in the Canadian Premier League and plays its home games at York University's York Lions Stadium. Histor ...

(now known as York United FC). It was the first match of the 905 Derby. The match ended as a 1–1 draw.

Ryan Telfer Ryan Telfer (born 4 March 1994) is a Trinidadian professional footballer who plays as a winger for Canadian Premier League club HFX Wanderers and the Trinidad and Tobago national team. Club career Early career Born in Canada, Telfer was ra ...

scored the CPL's first goal for York9 in the 3rd minute; Forge substitute Kadell Thomas equalized for Forge in the 78th minute.

Background

The

(CPL) was approved and sanctioned by the

Canadian Soccer Association The Canadian Soccer Association (; branded as Canada Soccer) is the governing body for soccer in Canada. Headquartered in Ottawa, Ontario, the federation is a full member of FIFA and governs Canadian soccer at the international, professional, a ...

as a tier 1 league on May 6, 2017. On January 29, 2019, the CPL announced that its inaugural match would be contested at

Tim Hortons Field Hamilton Stadium (originally Tim Hortons Field) is a multi-purpose stadium in Hamilton, Ontario, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Completed in 2014 with a capacity of 22,500, it was built as a replacement on the same site as the previous stadium, name ...

with

hosting

. The league dubbed this matchup the " 905 Derby" due to both clubs being based in the "905" region (named for the 905 area code) of the

Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area The Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA) is an urban conurbation that is composed of some of the largest cities and metropolitan areas by population in the Canadian province of Ontario. The GTHA consists of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and ...

. Forge owner Bob Young later announced a 'Soccer Unites Hamilton' initiative that saw Tim Hortons Field's capacity increased from its 10,016 capacity for regular Forge matches to beyond the stadium's full seated capacity of 23,218 seats for this match only, and that this match would be free to attend.

Broadcasting

The match was broadcast on

OneSoccer OneSoccer is a Canadian Association football, soccer-oriented List of sports television channels, sports channel and subscription streaming service. The service was first established in 2019 as part of a 10-year agreement between Canadian Soccer ...

, which aired all matches of the

2019 season Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number) * One of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (1987 film), a 1987 science fiction film * '' 19-Nineteen'', a 2009 South Korean film * '' Dici ...

. It was also broadcast on CBC TV as the first of 10 CPL matches broadcast on the network that season, and streamed on CBCSports.ca as the first of 20 matches that season.

Match

Summary

A few days before the match, CPL commissioner

David Clanachan David F. Clanachan (born 1962) was the commissioner of the Canadian Premier League (CPL) from 2018 to 2022. As Commissioner, Clanachan oversaw all aspects of the league along with the Canadian Soccer Business (CSB). Clanachan is also the Chairman o ...

predicted 25,000 fans would take in the match. Ultimately, 17,611 fans were in attendance. Both teams started nine Canadian players; league rules required a minimum of only six each.

scored the CPL's first ever goal in the 3rd minute to give York9 the lead off of a through pass by

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

Manny Aparicio Manuel "Manny" Aparicio (born September 17, 1995) is a Canadian professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder for Canadian Premier League club Atlético Ottawa. Early life Aparicio was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and moved to Toronto ...

. Forge's

Emery Welshman Emery Simeon Alexander Welshman (born 9 November 1991) is a footballer who plays as a forward. Born in Canada, Welshman represented the Guyana national team. Club career Early career Welshman attended Siena College of the Metro Atlantic Athletic ...

nearly tied the match a few minutes later with a

bicycle kick In association football, a bicycle kick, also known as an overhead kick or scissors kick, is an acrobatic strike where a player kicks an airborne ball rearward in midair. It is achieved by throwing the body backward up into the air and, before ...

, but his shot went wide. In the 62nd minute, Forge captain

Kyle Bekker Kyle Edward Bekker (born September 2, 1990) is a Canadian professional soccer midfielder and team captain for Forge FC of the Canadian Premier League. Club career Youth Bekker was born in Oakville, Ontario and began his youth soccer career wi ...

notably ran through York9's Joseph Di Chiara with his elbow up, but escaped punishment on the play. Forge substitute Kadell Thomas eventually levelled the score at 1–1 in the 78th minute off of a feed from Welshman. Aparicio was later

sent off In sports, an ejection (also known as dismissal, sending-off, disqualification, or early shower) is the removal of a participant from a contest due to a violation of the sport's rules. The exact violations that lead to an ejection vary depending ...

in stoppage time for a second yellow card. Forge outshot York 20–6, had six shots on target to York's one, and had 62% possession.

Details

Aftermath

York9 captain Manny Aparicio picked up an automatic suspension for his

red card A red card is a type of penalty card that is shown in many sports after a rules infraction. Red card may also refer to: Art, entertainment, and media * ''Red Card'' (album), 1976 release by Streetwalkers * Red card, suit (cards) of hearts or di ...

. Forge captain Kyle Bekker was later suspended for two matches and fined an undisclosed amount for his elbow to Joseph Di Chiara that had gone unpenalized during the match. The first win in CPL history came the next day when

Pacific FC Pacific Football Club is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Greater Victoria, British Columbia. The club competes in the Canadian Premier League, playing home matches at Starlight Stadium located in Langford. History On May 5, 20 ...

defeated

HFX Wanderers FC Halifax Wanderers FC, also written as HFX Wanderers FC, is a Canadian professional Association football, soccer club in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The club competes in the Canadian Premier League (CPL) at the top of the Canadian soccer league syste ...

1–0 in its home opener. In league play, Forge finished second in the CPL's spring and fall seasons and went on to become the CPL's first champions by defeating

Cavalry FC Cavalry Football Club is a Canadian professional soccer club based in the Calgary metropolitan region of Alberta. The club competes at the top of the Canadian soccer league system in the Canadian Premier League, and plays their home matches ...

in the 2019 Canadian Premier League finals. York9 finished sixth in the CPL's spring season and third in the fall season.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Inaugural match, Canadian Premier League 2019 Canadian Premier League season

Canadian Premier League inaugural match The Canadian Premier League inaugural match was the first soccer match in the history of the Canadian Premier League (CPL). It was played April 27, 2019, in Hamilton, Ontario, before 17,611 fans between Forge FC and York9 FC (now known as York ...

Canadian Premier League matches Forge FC matches York United FC matches

Soccer competitions in Ontario