MIAMI, Florida – A sensational late strike from Anthony Novak lifted Canadian Premier League side Forge FC to a 2-1 victory over Municipal Limeno of El Salvador in the Preliminary Round of the 2020 Scotiabank Concacaf League on Thursday night at the Estadio Cuscatlan in San Salvador, El Salvador.

Reduced to 10 men in the second half, Forge still found a winning goal that sends them to the Round of 16 where they will face Tauro of Panama on November 3.

Forge could not have asked for a better start, as they grabbed a 1-0 lead in the 21’ with a strong finish from David Choiniere off a surgically played pass from Mo Babouli.

Municipal Limeno worked their way back into the match and after a quickly-taken free kick missed the target, they would pull level 1-1 in the 38’. A string of passes ended with Harold Alas laying off for Kevin Oviedo, who fired into goal for the equalizer.

Forge looked to regain control and a glancing header from Daniel Krutzen in the 53’ off a corner kick nearly snuck in, only to see the ball skim the crossbar.

A pivotal moment came in the 63’ when Forge DF Jonathan Grant was sent off with his second yellow card of the night, giving the hosts a man advantage.

But Forge never lost their cool and they were handsomely rewarded with the winning goal in the 83’ when Dominic Samuel played a cross into Novak, who took a touch to control the ball and hammered a shot into net for a late 2-1 lead.

Municipal Limeno’s frantically tried to get back on even terms to force a penalty shootout, but Forge held strong to nail down the win.