The defending champions could not think of a better way to shrug off last year's bridesmaid and set up a classic September 9 final clash with Premier League champions Brothers Union.

Moni gave the Reds a 36th minute lead with a spectacular 20-yard right-footer before his partner Kanchan headed home a trademark Belal long throw 16 minutes after the break to send the Black and Whites packing.

Mohammedan coach Abul Hossain was excited when the semifinal line up fulfilled his desire of avoiding a premature meeting with bitter rivals Abahani or star-studded Brothers, but his Muktijoddha counterpart Shafiqul Islam Manik took it in his stride to do even better than the earlier group encounter.

Muktijoddha began the first semifinal in front of one of the biggest crowd at a blistering pace and it was not unexpected when Moni seized the first opportunity. The nimble attacker latched on to a midfield through before unleashing a powerful shot that crashed into the net giving Mohammedan's young custodian Tareq, who was all at sea throughout the nerve-shattering contest, no chance. It was Moni's seventh goal and he joined Sheikh Russel's Moroccan striker Youness at the top of the scoring chart.

Tareq's inability to cope with the big-match pressure was exposed again when he failed to act in a long throw situation created by Belal. He froze as the ball travelled harmlessly over his head into the far corner, where an unchallenged Kanchan produced a powerful header.

Kanchan also scored in Muktijoddha's 2-1 win when the two sides met at the same venue last week.

Although Mohammedan created a few chances in both halves, there were no signs of the same impressive display that they showed in their last three games.

Their faithful warrior Imtiaz Ahmed Nakib got the only chance before the break from a Farhad clever chip, but his header sailed over the crossbar. The same player wasted another opportunity after the restart much to the frustration of the loyal Black and Whites supporters, who jeered their heroes throughout the match.

Manju had a golden opportunity to level the score but his feeble header from an intelligent by substitute midfielder Amin Rana rolled out of the far post. The other occasions Mohammedan tried to break through, they were stopped on the track by Hassan Al Mamun's brilliant display which earned the fullback-turned central-defender the man-of-the-match award.

Muktijoddha coach Manik was delighted after the match that he claimed a strategic victory.

"I was aware that Mohammedan would try to apply the pressure in the first 20 minutes. So, I told my boys to go all out to counter their strategy and it worked. I am happy that my boys played according to the plan," said the long-serving master tactician.

He also promised more surprises in the final.

His Mohammedan counterpart Abul accepted the defeat and admitted that he did not pick the right eleven to start with.

"I have started with Tareq in goal instead of experienced Bijon and he was obviously nervous playing such a big match. Besides, I tried Shuvra as a defensive midfielder and that backfired. Maybe I should have stuck with the tried and tested Amin Rana from the start," said Abul adding that he was still not disappointed with the effort of his all-local side.

"If you considered our strength without a foreign name then it's not a bad result. Muktijoddha played better football and they won," said the former national defender.

TEAMS

MUKTIJODDHA SANGSAD: Aminul, Hasan Al Mamun, Prodip, Pavel, Belal, Saif, Matiur Munna, Ghansa, Kanchan (Enamul, 89th), Kabua and Moni (Biddyut, 75th).

MOHAMMEDAN SC: Tareq (Bijon, 68th), Jewel Rana, Faisal Ahmed, Zahirul (Monju, 42nd), Kaiser, Shuvro, Sentu, Pappu, Faisal Mahmud, Farhad and Nakib (Amin Rana, 57th).

Referee: Mansoor Azad.