Arcahaie FC made their first-ever Concacaf Champions League appearance with a penalty shoot-out win against Hamilton Forge FC. A careless mistake by Hamilton goalkeeper Triston Henry played a role in the final outcome of the game.
Three keys to the game
Hamilton Forge did not capitalize on their chances
Hamilton Forge FC did not capitalize on their scoring chances. They had six chances but only shot on goal two times. However, Forge did start on the front foot. In the 1st minute, David Choinière received a great cross from Johnny Grant, but was unable to convert. Then in the 12th-minute, Krutzen had a good chance, but his header was off-target.
Arcahaie did not give up many chances since Forge gave up the game-tying goal. Other than the 82nd-minute mistake by the Arcahaie goalkeeper Guerry Romondt, Forge never really threatened Arcahaie’s backline.
45+1' The difference in the game so far.#ForgeFC | 0-1 | #SCL20pic.twitter.com/mHjY6xOAAi
— Last Word on Soccer (@LastWordSC) December 2, 2020
They were generating a lot of chances at the start of the second half. This includes in the 49th-minute where Krutzen’s free-kick hit the crossbar. However, a lot of those chances dried up when Hamilton gave up the game-tying goal. It is also important to note that Forge had six corners in the game while Arcahaie FC had zero. If Forge was able to score a goal in one of those corners, it might have been a completely different game.
Triston Henry was punished for his mistake
Goalkeeping can be one of the worst positions to play in soccer, especially when a goalkeeper makes a mistake that decides a game. This can be seen with Henry, who did not face many shots from Arcahaie throughout the game.
However, he made a critical mistake in the 59th-minute. He got a bit too fancy with the ball. As a result, the ball was intercepted by Kervens Jolicoeur, who scored the game-tying goal.
Kervens Jolicoeur scores the equalizer!
🇭🇹 Arcahaie FC 1⃣ – 1⃣ @ForgeFCHamilton 🇨🇦 | #SCL20 pic.twitter.com/s6HTVxqphf— Concacaf (@Concacaf) December 2, 2020
Furthermore, Henry did not perform well in the penalty shoot-out. He was unable to stop one shot in the penalty shoot-out. This was while Forge was unable to convert two of their four penalty kicks against Arcahaie FC goalkeeper Romondt. As a result, Arcahaie is heading into their first-ever Concacaf Champions League appearance.
Arcahaie FC played decent defense
While it looked shaky at times, Arcahaie FC’s defense stepped up when they needed it most. Forge FC had 62 percent of the ball. Yet, Forge only had six shots and had two shots on target. In comparison, Arcahaie had six shots and three shots on goal despite Arcahaie only having 38 percent of the possession.
This shows that Hamilton could not break Arcahaie’s defense. There were periods in both the first and second half when the game was a stalemate and both teams had no chances on both sides. A part of that was Arcahaie’s defense, which was able to neutralize Hamilton’s offense.
Arcahaie did not give up many chances since scoring the game-tying goal other than the 82nd-minute blunder by the Arcahaie goalkeeper. Forge never really threatened Arcahaie’s backline.
Overview of the Game
Forge FC was the better team on Tuesday but did not capitalize on their chances. Furthermore, the mistake made by Henry really hurt their chances of advancing to the Concacaf League semi-finals. There is still a chance though for Hamilton to qualify for the Concacaf Champions League through the Concacaf League.
They will face Honduran-side C.D. Marathón in the play-in game. The game will take place between December 8-10 of this year.
For Arcahaie FC, congrats on making its first-ever Concacaf Champions League appearance. They were also the first-ever Haitian team to make the Concacaf League semi-finals. There, they will face Costa Rican-side Deportivo Saprissa in the Concacaf League semi-finals.
Semifinalist of #SCL20 and participant of #SCCL2021.
Arcahaie FC making history! 👏🇭🇹 pic.twitter.com/SoxE2vL3qb
— Concacaf (@Concacaf) December 2, 2020
