Montreal Escape Victorious Over Alajuelense in Hostile Territory

 

Montreal entered the game with 2-0 aggregate lead and needed to score or hold on defensively to get a result. A feat they accomplished.

The Montreal Impact celebrate their first goal in their CCL second-leg match vs. Alajuelense

Alejuelense

4 2

Montreal Impact

ALEJUELENSE: LEWIS, ACOSTA, GUTIERREZ, LOPEZ, RODRIGUEZ (GUEVARA, 68'), CALVO (ORTIZ, 59'), VENEGAS, GABAS, MATARRITA, ALONSO (SANCHEZ, 81'), MCDONALD

MONTREAL IMPACT: BUSH, SOUMARE, TOIA, CIMAN, CABRERA, MALLACE, DUKA (ROMERO, 61'), ODURO (TISSOT, 82'), PIATTI, REO-COKER, MCINERNEY (BERNIER, 70')

SCORE: MCINERNEY (ODURO, PIATTI) - 42' GABAS - 47' GABAS (ORTIZ, RODRIGUEZ) - 60' ROMERO (BERNIER, ODURO) - 72' GUEVARA (ALONSO) - 79' MCDONALD (VENEGAS) - 90+3'

REFEREE: REFEREE: JOEL AGUILAR ASSISTANT REFEREE: JUAN ZUMBA ASSISTANT REFEREE: WILLIAM TORRES FOURTH OFFICIAL: ELMER BONILLA

INCIDENTS: MCDONALD, YELLOW - FOUL, 19' BUSH, YELLOW - TIME WASTING, 33' ODURO, YELLOW - FOUL, 43' MCINERNEY, YELLOW - UNSPORTING, 70' GABAS, YELLOW - UNSPORTING, 70'

The Montreal Impact may have lost the second leg of the CONCACAF Champions League Semifinal, but they are leaving Alajuela, Costa Ricathe victors. With a 2 goal aggregate lead, Montreal only needed to mitigate the attack or drive up the score. They succeeded. Montreal is now the first Canadian team to reach the finals of any CONCACAF  club tournament.

Montreal went to Costa Rica to face Alajuelense with a two goal lead that they rightfully earned in the first leg. Early goals by Ignacio Piatti andVictor Cabrera put the Impact up early and allowed them to settle in for a tactical defense and attempts at counter attacks. Although Alajuelense nearly scored in the game, Montreal held them off and nearly added a third of their own.

The first half of the second leg played out much like the second half of the first. With a not quite comfortable lead, Montreal was content to sit back and absorb pressure and look for opportunities to counter attack. Alejuelense, having shifted from a 5-3-2 to a 3-5-2, was poised to put a lot of pressure on Montreal. Alajuelense dictated the pace of the game and applied pressure throughout the first half, but Montreal was there and ready for every attack. Alajuelense needed an early goal to get things on the right track and nearly found one in the 30th minute on a quick free kick. Jonathan McDonald got free in the box and went one on one with Impact keeper Evan Bush. Bush was able to get a hand on the ball and deflect it, but the ball caromed back off McDonald and was headed towards goal. Donny Toia's timely backtracking run allowed him to save the ball off the line to Bakary Soumare who cleared it long. Five minutes later, Toia committed a foul and resulting free kick was nearly put in the back of the net, but Bush was there for the save. In the 42nd minute, the deadlock was finally broken, but it wasn't Alajuelense who scored. Dominic Oduro worked a clever give and go with Ignacio Piatti to get free on the wing and his cross was slotted home at the near post byJack McInerney. Montreal, would take the 1-0 lead, 3-0 on aggregate into halftime.

For the second half Alajuelense would need to score early and score often to have a chance at advancing. An early foul by Montreal at the top of the box was just the chance the home side needed to get things on track. Pablo Gabas's free kick was perfectly placed in the upper corner and beat Bush for their first goal. Dilly Duka nearly put extended the lead again just moments later, but his attempted missed the target. A 60th minute Alajuelense corner led to Gabas' second goal on the night and put the Costa Rican club just two goals shy of advancing with a half hour to play. Andreas Romero replaced Dilly Duka shortly after the goal and Montreal decided that Patrice Bernier would do better than McInerney holding the slim lead to finish out the game. The moves turned out to be a stroke of genius by Frank Klopas, the Montreal manager. Bernier and Oduro combined to find Romero in the box. Romero's fancy footwork cause Johnny Lewis to over commit and and leave his goal while the rest of the defense was caught out of place so he could score. The game score was back to 2-2 but Montreal had a commanding 4-2 lead overall. Gabas continued to take shots, but was unable to find the net for the remainder of the game.  In the 79th minute, Allen Guevara did add a third for Alajuelense as the Montreal Impact defense broke down. Guevara got on the end of a nice cross and was all alone at the far post for an easy score. Sensing the danger, the Impact defense solidified and knew they had just a short time to hold on. Several great chances came, but were narrowly missed or quickly stopped. A free kick late in stoppage time came back off the wall, but an open McDonald was able to power it through traffic and into the net giving Alajuelense a 4-2 lead in the game and tying the aggregate score. Evan Bush covered one last ball in the box before being fouled. On the restart, the referee blew the final whistle and the game was over.  Montreal had gone on the road into hostile territory and come away with a result that saw them through.

The home fans did not take kindly to the way the second half played out. When Montreal scored their second goal of the night, trash and shoes began hitting the field. The poor display by the fans is likely to be heavily fined by the region and sheds a poor light on what is a very historic Costa Rican club. 

The win by Montreal is not only significant for the club as they become the first Canadian club to reach a continental final, it marks the second time an MLS side has advanced this far. With the resolve Montreal showed, they will have the confidence to take on whichever team they face next. The win also justifies their current MLS standings. Montreal has only earned two points in MLS in three games, but those game without playing their starters every match. Sacrificing the regular season to ensure the highest quality in CCL play has paid off so far.

Montreal awaits the winner of the Wednesday night matchup between Mexican side Club America and Costa Rican club Herediano. Herediano has a three goal lead on aggregate heading into the final game.