AT TIMES IT WAS UGLY it was ugly but in the end the Montreal Impact did what it had to do against Costa Rica’s Alajuelense, continuing its improbable run to the CONCACAF Champions League final.

The visiting Impact lost the game, 4-2, at Estadio Alejandro Morera Soto but finished 4-4 on aggregate and advanced on away goals to the final where it will await the winner of Wednesday's Club America-Herediano semifinal.

Entering the game with a 2-0 lead from the opening leg at home, Montreal weathered an early storm and took a commanding aggregate lead in the 42nd minute when Jack McInerney, one of five Americans in the Impact starting lineup, hammered home a Dominic Oduro cross with his first touch to make it 1-0 on the night and 3-0 overall. For the 22-year-old from Georgia, it was his 41st professional goal at the club level in all competitions.

When the second half began, it seemed as if Alajuelense’s deficit was insurmountable because with away goals, it would need to score at least four times to erase the deficit that now included a conceded away goal.

Alajuelense pushed hard, however, and in the 47th minute Pablo Gabas pulled one back with a stunning free kick from just outside the box that beat Montreal goalkeeper Evan Bush.

The hosts continued the pressure and in the 60th minute Gabas pulled Alajuelense even closer on another set-piece, nodding home a flick-on header after a corner kick. Gabas’ header hit the cross bar and barely crossed the line and after some initial confusion the right call was made and Alajuelense now only trailed Montreal 3-2 on aggregate.

 With all the momentum pointing in Alajuelense’s direction, Montreal responded well and in the 72nd minute it found a way to make the game 2-2 and restore its two-goal aggregate advantage. Oduro got the ball in an attacking position and hit a nice pass to substitute Patrice Bernier, who quickly found a wide open Andres Romero. The Argentine pulled Alajuelense keeper Dexter Lewis out of position and fired into the open net.

Despite the hosts now needing three goals in the final 18 minutes to advance, Alajuelense put up a valiant effort. In the 79th minute, Allan Guevara narrowed the deficit when he finished off a pass from Armando Alonso.

 The game continued to devolve into a violent affair that is all too common in CONCACAF with late tackles and studs up challenges that went unpunished. In one particular moment, Alajuelense players seemed to prevent McInerney from leaving the field after he had been subbed out. A brief shoving match ensued and it was actually McInerney that was carded.

Similarly, at the end of the game, when Bush made a fair play on the ball and after he came into possession an Alajuelense player came in late with a slide tackle on the American and no cards were given.

Alajuelense managed to make the series close on paper when Jonathan McDonald scored in the third minute of stoppage time with a 25-yard blast. That equalized the aggregate score but Montreal still had the tiebreaker of two away goals.

Shortly afterward, the whistle blew and Montreal had booked its place in the final. The run is even harder to fathom given that Montreal finished in last place in the Eastern Conference last season and is winless in its first two games this season.

Despite its lack of success in MLS, the Impact become the first Canadian team to ever play in the CONCACAF Champions League final and the first MLS team to do so since Real Salt Lake made it to the final against Monterrey in 2011. No MLS team has won the tournament since CONCACAF began its Champions’ League in 2008 and commissioner Don Garber has repeatedly said it’s a major priority for an MLS team to earn the spot in the FIFA Club World Cup that goes to the Champions’ League winner.