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TSN Soccer Analyst

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Montreal Impact didn’t lift a trophy on Wednesday night and they didn’t get an invite to an end of year party featuring the regional club champions across the globe. There was no magical final chapter in a fairy-tale story, no enormous match against a European Cup winner to look forward to in December.

For the players and coaching staff it will take a long time to forget about that and some of them couldn’t hide their disappointment as tears fell onto the Olympic Stadium turf.

Yet for the city, including over 60,000 people in attendance, this was a special night no matter the result.

It would be all too Canadian to take victories out of a defeat but as Club America finally battered Montreal into submission in the second half it was impossible not to be stunned at how close Frank Klopas got his team to glory.

Club football around the world has told many a story of true giant killing acts in knock-out competitions but rarely have any come as close to winning it all as this.

The Impact had rejects from other clubs all across their starting XI, no star designated player, no genuine goalscorer, no goalkeeper at an MLS level and no chance in the eyes of many even before this two legged affair kicked off.

Yet, there is something incredibly unique about the CONCACAF Champions League and this season’s final act, for a long stretch, was absolutely no different.

Games in this competition could be played out on the television to the Benny Hill theme tune. There is no other way to describe the events as a circus. A highly entertaining circus.

Except this show had no script. That’s what made the unlikely dream of Montreal becoming champions seem so plausible. The moment Club America advanced to the final they become monumental favourites to win the crown and make it 10 straight champions from Mexico.

Yet there they were collectively walking down the tunnel at half-time heads down and a goal down. The visitors were expected to bully their way past one of Major League Soccer’s worst teams but as the football world waited and waited still no major punches were thrown in over two hours of this final.

The Impact stood tall, sticking to a game plan built on deep defensive lines that would step up in possession and play the ball to a trio of attackers who all brought key components to their success. Dominic Oduro’s pace disrupted Club America’s plans while in Dilly Duka and Ignacio Piatti they had players who could match the Mexicans with technical ability.

Through three halves of football Montreal had deservedly led through such a stoic strategy but it was clear they had to keep momentum on their side.

Club America showed little appetite to defend throughout the entire tie yet when they needed it the least they showed it the most. The visitors started the second half in Montreal finally showing the authority they had teased us with in the previous rounds. Their entire team was no longer stretched and gone were the spaces for Montreal to exploit and find time to slow the game down in.

The circus of the first half, which at times looked like a basketball game as both teams took turns to attack each other, had turned into a footballing clinic.

Sure, Montreal contributed to the pendulum swinging - issues down their right defensively were painfully exploited - as the talented duo of Dario Benedetto and Oribe Peralta each scored to completely change the tie. Benedetto would add two more to complete an impressive hat-trick on a night when he should have had even more after hitting the bar from a yard out in front of an open goal during the circus.

When the circus stopped Dennis Green may as well have been given the microphone, as both teams ‘are who we thought they were.’

The inevitable discussions around how close MLS teams are to Mexican sides were trotted out post match, which was a pity. We can barely digest anything that happens in front of us these days without wondering what it means for the big picture.

The truth is no result in this final will have changed that gap. Club America, a true powerhouse with deep pockets, lifted their sixth CONCACAF Champions League trophy on Wednesday after defeating a team that has lost 26 of its last 46 in Major League Soccer and hasn’t won a league game outside of Montreal since September 2013. Montreal were not an ideal representative of MLS on this night, they were a side that went to battle for sporting underdogs everywhere.

Had Montreal pulled off the miracle it would have been rightfully praised for its tactics but nothing was on show over these two games to identify a smaller bridge developing between the two leagues. In the end the Impact were unable to find another gear when they desperately needed it. They had managed to get out in front and block a casual, cocky at times, opponent for a long time but down the stretch they faltered, were overtaken and then had to watch the Mexican team blast off in front of them.

Yet there should no shame in that for Montreal. It was a wonderful ride to get this far, featuring the kind of moments that forced fans of other teams, and sports, to take notice of what was happening. Cameron Porter’s 94th minute equaliser in the quarterfinal second leg came when some fans had already left the stadium and over 23,000 seats, soon to be sat in weeks later in the final, went unused.

They would advance from the last eight on away goals and do the same in the semi-finals with both ties ending in compelling, frantic draws that featured late dramatic goals.

They started this final again leading the tie on away goals but in the end it proved to be a massive hurdle too far for them.

Once part of the pain of defeat starts to leave them it will one day dawn on everyone at the Montreal Impact that it was a remarkable run to get that close to the Champions League crown.