Kathmandu, February 24

Laxmi Hyundai Manang Marshyangdi Club crawled into the semi-finals of the Sheikh Kamal International Club Cup as the Group B runners-up today.

MMC made it to the last four after they played a 2-2 draw against Bangladeshi club Chittagong Abahani Limited and another local outfit Mohammedan Sporting Club defeated Shaheen Aswayee FC of Afghanistan 2-1 in the late match.

MMC and Mohammedan were tied at four points each from three matches but the national league champions of Nepal made it to the last four as group runners-up on head-to-head results between the two teams. MMC had defeated Mohammedan 2-0 in their opening match of the group but faced a 3-1 defeat against Shaheen in second match. Chittagong Abahani Limited topped the group with five points.

MMC will now face Group A winners TC Sports Club of Maldives on Monday, while Chittagong Abahani meet Pocheon Citizen Football Club of South Korea on Tuesday. The final is slated for March 3.

In day's match, Afeez Olawale Oladipo opened the scoring for MMC in the third minute following a pass from skipper Anil Gurung, who headed towards the box on a cross from Biraj Maharjan from the left flank. Olawale doubled the lead in the 23rd minute. He received a long pass from Ogabemiro Olasemi Samson and dodged two defenders before firing home.

MMC thought they were in the last four comfortably but the hosts hit back with two goals to level the scores. Chittagong Abahani's Nasir Uddin Chowdhury cut the deficit in the 32nd minute capitalising on a poor keeping from MMC’s goalie Dinesh Thapa Magar, while Augustin Walson scored from the spot in the 63rd minute after Devendra Tamang handled the ball inside the danger zone. MMC's Olawale was named the man-of-the-match and received $500.

MMC coach Chhiring Lopsang Gurung said his side came under pressure after the players took the game lightly following the two-goal lead and also blamed the referee for being biased against his team. "The boys seemed a bit relaxed after scoring two goals but they came under pressure after the opponents struck twice. And the match officials were also against our team as they needlessly awarded the penalty to Chittagong Abahani," said Gurung.