Calcutta, Nov. 19 :     BAGAN 2 PAKHTAKOR 1 Scoring once in each session and restricting the marauding Uzbeks to one goal during a late 10-minute blitz, Mohun Bagan today shunted out Pakhtakor from the 105th IFA Shield and sealed a semi-final berth by topping group A. Goals from Samuel Omollo and Hari Khadka showed that the glamour club can still tame foreign giants in their own lair but it wouldn?t be fair to equate today?s result with say, Mohun Bagan?s 2-2 draw against Ararat in the IFA Shield final 20 years ago or the more recent shut-out of a Nigerian youth team, in 1996. On those occasions, Mohun Bagan were the underdogs who played beyond themselves to stun the favourites. Today?s win came against Uzbekistan?s champion club that brought its reputation here alright but only a young bunch of footballers to defend it. It didn?t work. Mohun Bagan controlled most of the match and looked the better team. With Tollygunge Agragami beating Mohammedan Sporting 2-1 and booking the second semi-final berth from this group, Pakhtakor?s last match against Mohammedan Sporting is now inconsequential. For the Indian Football Association (IFA), this must have left a bitter-sweet aftertaste. Bitter because for the second successive year they invited foreign teams that didn?t deliver and sweet because the prospect of a Mohun Bagan-East Bengal semi-final has been averted. Coach Subrata Bhattacharya began with three central defenders ? Debjit Ghosh, Samuel Omollo and Jewel Rana ? with the fourth, Satyabrata Bhowmick, who is out of the semi-final with two bookings, providing additional protection. Pakhtakor, who played 37 minutes with 10 men following Ashuramatov Bakhtiyor?s 53rd minute expulsion for a second booking, lacked the speed and creativity to find a way out of this. For a top Asian club they also displayed rather ordinary shooting abilities and set-piece execution. The first goal came in the 37th minute when an unchallenged Omollo leapt to meet Amitava Chanda?s free-kick from the right. For Omollo this was his first goal of the season. Khadka got the second, in the 48th minute, capitalising on Qambaraliyev Bahtiyor?s careless shot which richocheted off the Nepal forward before rolling his way. With Ashuramatov Bakhtiyor and Bahtiyor on his heels, Khadka ran almost 40 yards before slotting home. The reducer came in the 66th minute when Omollo missed Gabyanov Vladimir?s cross from the left and Abduganiev Abdujamil tapped it past Sandip Nandy before Rana could react. Mohun Bagan then went completely on the defensive and, for the next 10 minutes, were overrun by the visiting side. The hosts failed to make the extra man count. They were fortunate that Nandy was tested only once.