Draft: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, between Forge FC and York9 FC. It was attended by 17,611 fans thanks to Forge's 'Soccer Unites Hamilton' initiative that made the match free to attend. This was the first match of the 905 Derby.

The match ended as a 1–1 draw. Ryan Telfer scored the CPL's first goal for York9 in the 3rd minute; Forge substitute Kadell Thomas responded for Forge in the 78th minute.

Background
The Canadian Premier League (CPL) was approved and sanctioned by the Canadian Soccer Association 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 in Hamilton, Ontario with Forge FC hosting York9 FC. The league dubbed this matchup the "905 Derby" due to both clubs being based in "905" region (named for the the 905 area code) of the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area.

Forge owner Bob Young later announced a 'Soccer Unites Hamilton' initiative that saw Tim Hortons Field's capacity increase 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 CBC TV as the first of ten CPL matches broadcast on the network that season, and streamed on CBCSports.ca as the first of 20 matches. It was also broadcast on OneSoccer.

Summary
A few days before the match, CPL commissioner David Clanachan 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.

Ryan Telfer scored the CPL's first ever goal in the 3rd minute to give York9 the lead off of a through ball by Manny Aparicio. Forge's Emery Welshman nearly tied the game a few minutes later with a bicycle kick, but his shot went wide. In the second half, Forge captain Kyle Bekker 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 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.

Aftermath
York9 captain Manny Aparicio picked up an automatic suspension for his red card. Forge captain Kyle Bekker was later suspended for two games and fined an undisclosed amount for his elbow to Joseph Di Chiara in the 62nd minute that had gone unpenalized during the match. The first win in CPL history came the next day when Pacific FC defeated HFX Wanderers FC 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 in the 2019 Canadian Premier League finals. York9 finished sixth in the CPL's spring season and third in the fall season, ending the year third in the overall table.