German powerhouse Bayern Munich were forced to sweat it out before striking late goals to win 2-0 against Mohammedan Sporting and move into the final of the 111th IFA Shield football tournament in Kolkata on Friday.
The second stringers of the famed club had to wait till the 82nd minute when substitute Stefan Fuerstner broke the stalemate before Michael Goelitz took the issue beyond Sporting in the floodlit semifinal at the Salt Lake stadium.
Crowding the defence, Sporting defended dourly giving little space to their opponents to operate despite their able defender Palash Karmakar being marched out in the 38th minute after receiving a second yellow card.
Much of the credit for Sporting's valiant fight must go to their custodian Gopal Das who brought off a number of spectacular saves, as Bayern players and coach Hermann Gelland looked frustrated after every passing minute of the one-sided game.
The visitors carried out waves of attacks into the Sporting rearguard, creating several opportunities but were done in by their inept shooting.
Bayern will now clash with Ever Ready Association in the final on Sunday.
Ever Ready had beaten East Bengal 2-1 in the other semi-final on Thursday.
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