Myanmar Finance and Revenue FC?s Aung Kyaw makes a foray into the Mohammedan Sporting box in their IFA Shield semi-final on Thursday. Picture by Santosh Ghosh

Calcutta: Expectedly, Myanmar Finance and Revenue Football Club reached the IFA Shield final, beating Mohammedan Sporting 3-1 at the Salt Lake Stadium on Thursday. This was one part of the script, though.

Mridul Banerjee?s boys almost pulled off another ?surprise?, but they had to stop just short owing to some glaring mistakes from Henry Chukwukei and Co. They matched the Myanmar national champions blow for blow, never looked dispirited despite a first-half deficit, and kept their fancied opponents on their toes till the last quarter.

But poor finishing let the city team down as the century-old tournament saw a foreign team again in the summit clash after Brazil?s Palmeiras SC in 2001.

Aung Kyaw Moe put the visitors into a 35th-minute lead and substitute Kyaw Thu Ra doubled the tally in the 70th minute. However, Mohammedan Sporting, unfazed by the scoreline, were never found wanting in raiding the rival area and duly pulled one back after three minutes when Stanley Festus earned a penalty for his team and Naushad Moosa converted the spot-kick.

Captain Myo Hlaing Win, however, took the match beyond Mohammedan Sporting?s reach in the 79th minute when he converted another spot-kick after right-back Syed Aga Abdul Wahid tripped Soe Myat Min.

But a crumb of sympathy should go to Banerjee. And he didn?t attempt to hide the disappointment. ?The way my strikers had missed one chance after another made the difference,? he admitted, his eyes glowing with tears.

The Mohammedan Sporting coach had reasons to get upset. The way Festus headed straight at the goalkeeper from the six-yard box in the 57th minute and failed to connect a ball properly from the same area eight minutes from time, bordered on the astonishing.

Making a departure from his match-eve stand, Banerjee let his wards play an open game. Festus shot wide from inside the box within two minutes while Amjad Hussain, who had a good game as an attacking right-half, failed to capitalise after chancing upon a weak clearance from the rival goalkeeper Aung Aung Oo.

In the 20th minute, Hussain again prised open the right flank, but was blocked by the goalkeeper.

Meanwhile, Lwin Oo?s header off his captain?s cross struck the crosspiece three minutes before the Myanmarese made the breakthrough. Moe passed to Oo, who quickly relayed the ball back to the former near the top box. Moe?s powerful shot beat Chinmoy Banerjee.

Undaunted by the reversal, Mohammedan Sporting kept the pressure on and did everything but finding the target. As Banerjee later said, ?it was not our day.?

Besides, the speed and fitness of the Myanmarese also proved decisive as they scored at a time when the same from the opposite end was being expected.

TEAMS

Myanmar Finance and revenue FC: Aung Aung Oo; Khin Maung Tun, Moe Kyaw Thu, Min Min Aung (Aung Kyaw Myint 84), Soe Lin Tun, Soe Myat Min, Aung Kyaw Moe, Yan Paing, Lwin Oo (Kyaw Thu Ra 59), Zaw Htike (Tun Tun Win 78), Myo Hlaing Win.

Mohammedan Sporting: Chinmoy Banerjee; Temjen Kibang, Bidesh Pal, Naushad Moosa, Syed Aga Abdul Wahid; Amjad Hussain, Stanley Festus, Zaheer Abbas, Raman Vijayan (Jiten Rai 59), Abdul Rauf Khan (Siddharth Thapa 72); Henry Chukwukei.

Referee: P.K. Bose (Madhya Pradesh).