After a 3-day run of games between the six male and three female halls on the University of Ibadan, four halls – Zik, Mellanby, Bello, and Kuti – moved to the semis while Queens emerged winner from the round-robin format employed for the female category. The male category still had 3 more matches for a champion to be declared. Tedder and Indy had failed to qualify for the knockouts while Zik were drawn against Bello and Mellanby against Kuti in the semifinals.
Semi Finals
Both semifinals were played on Tuesday July 9th. The first game between Zik and Bello, which kicked off at 4:33 pm, started with little efforts from both sides. In the 19th minute of the first half, a handball was made by a Bello player within the penalty box, Zik were awarded a penalty kick and it was converted by Frank from the department of Forestry. The rest of the first half was nothing beyond exchange of passes and random interceptions.
The second half kicked off at 5:04 pm. Jimoh Pelumi Azeez, p. k. a ‘Kante’, was a thorn in the flesh for the Zik team as he repeatedly intercepted their passes, stopped their counters, and broke through their midfield, but unfortunately only him could not do the job. Bello Hall made a substitution 4 minutes into the 2nd half and they made 2 more substitutions 17 minutes later, Zik Hall also made their first substitution around the same time.
Zik defenders also kept frustrating the efforts of Bello’s, not too sharp, attack. In the dying minutes of the game, Prosper, a Bello forward, made a clear dive in the opposition’s penalty box trying to claim a penalty kick, the referee didn’t have any of this as he, instead, issued Prosper a yellow card for diving. The full-time whistle was blown at 5:30 pm and jubilation from the Zik fans filled the atmosphere as they were going to the final.
Mellanby vs Kuti kicked off at 5:39 pm with the first highlight being an attempt from Mellanby at the midfield immediately after kickoff which was very close to being a goal. 7 minutes later, Okedigba Emmanuel, p.k.a ‘Mbappe’, from Mellanby scored a freekick goal from the right side of the penalty box edge. 15 minutes into the first half, Emmanuel from Mellanby delivered a perfect cross from a corner kick which was put in the back of the net by Tobi from the department of Theatre Arts. 4 minutes after, Okedigba Emmanuel again showed his set piece efficiency as he converted another free kick goal – his second of the game and third of the tournament. In the 22nd minute with Mellanby up by 3 goals, a Kuti player made a foul just outside the penalty box denying a clear goal scoring opportunity, he received a yellow card but to the surprise of the Mellanby players who were expecting a red instead. Olumide blasted the rebound from the freekick – awarded to Mellanby from the foul outside the box – into the net. The count was now 4 goals to nil and the frustrated Kuti coach made his first substitution replacing the goalkeeper whom did not seem happy about it. Half time ended at 6:05pm.
The second half began at 6:15 pm, not long after, a Mellanby player went down due to a collision. Mellanby’s goalkeeper, Jesse, out of concern ran off the pitch to call for help but this only got him a yellow card. Mellanby Hall made their first substitution 7 minutes into the second half. This was followed by a fifth goal for Mellanby scored in the 8th minute of the second half by Olaoluwa from the department of Computer Science.
Kuti made their second substitution immediately, with the substitute – Babatise from the department of Sociology – having an immediate impact as he scored a consoling goal for Kuti. Kuti made two more substitutions following their goal. 7 minutes later, Mellanby Hall were awarded a penalty kick as Emmanuel Okedigba was brought down in the penalty box, Emmanuel, who had the chance to score his hattrick, gave the penalty to Qudus from the department of Agricultural Engineering who converted it successfully. Emmanuel was subbed off in the 19th minute of the second half after a stellar performance, although he got a yellow card for showing another player the middle finger on his way out. Mellanby made one more substitution towards the end of the game. Full time whistle was blown at 6:39 pm with Mellanby putting 6 goals past their opponents whom could only respond with one goal from a substitute. The final stage was set between Mellanby and Azikiwe.
Final
The final match and award presentation day was meant to be on Thursday July 11th but was postponed to Friday July 12th as there was heavy rainfall on the initial date.
The match on Friday started at 5:17 pm. Both halls pressed well but Zik hall were quite better at it. Lekan of Zik had a one-on-one chance with the goalkeeper but failed to convert it. First half ended goalless after 28 minutes and the second half began at 5:55 pm. Mellanby had a freekick attempt which was parried away by Zik’s goalkeeper. Both teams kept going sweat for sweat and muscle for muscle till the full-time whistle. Mellanby had 2 offside calls while Zik had double the amount. Both teams had 1 yellow carded player each while they headed straight to a penalty shootout. Mellanby became champions after defeating Zik 5-3 on penalties, Toki’s miss costing Zik the trophy. Okedigba Emmanuel, 100 level Statistics student from Mellanby, received awards for the best player of the tournament and highest goalscorer of the tournament. Adebayo Oluwaleke from Sultan Bello received the award for the best goalkeeper. The Queen Elizabeth II Hall team were presented their medals. Zik Hall Team were also presented their medals as the freshers’ cup silver medalists, and then finally the champions of the game, the Premier Lions.
Joseph Jacobs.