U Tay Za (above) outlines his vision for Yangon United at a press conference on July 6, one day after his side lost on penalties to Yadanarbon FC in the MNL Cup Final.

KANBAWZA FC snuffed out any chance Magway FC had of making the MNL Cup final, winning the final group match of the competition 1-0 at Thuwanna Stadium on July 1.

Magway went into the game knowing they needed a four-goal victory to make the July 5 final ahead of Yangon United on goal difference. Their task was not made any easier by the loss of striker Sithu Win to injury and the suspension of captain Lwin Oo.

In a competitive first half, Kanbawza keeper and man of the match Kyaw Zin Htet kept his side in the match by making a string of top-class saves, thwarting Naing Lin Tun in the first minute and then saving from Soe Min Naing 15 minutes later.

Kanbawza’s midfielders never really got going in the first half and, aside from a 26th minute free kick that Nay Zaw Htet hit over the bar, the Taunggyi-based side hardly threatened the Magway goal.

In the second half, Magway FC opened the door for Kanbawza by playing a more defensive game and were punished in the 70th minute, when striker Soe Min Oo scored the winner from a Khin Maung Lwin corner.

Kanbawza head coach U Aye Maung Gyi said his side was determined to beat Magway, despite knowing they couldn’t do any better than a fourth-placed finish.

“Whether we won or not today, we couldn’t make the final and would have to be content with fourth place. But I told my players before they went out they had to use every bit of effort left to win, because the duty of a footballer is to try and win every match,” U Aye Maung Gyi said, attributing the win to a more attacking mindset.

“We knew that our opponents today would play very attacking football – they would try and win and do so convincingly. So we decided to try and match them in offense and I think today’s result is thanks to that,” he said.

Magway head coach U Kyi Lwin said it was an “unlucky” result for his side.