The matchday one of SEALS Cup ’24 – for the male category – has been nothing short of surprises, from Veterinary Medicine netting a late winner against Philosophy to Psychology earning three points against History, 2 goals to 1. After carefully following the 16 matches played across eight groups, read on to catch up on the performances of each team, from clear favourites to underdogs.
Group A
For the opening fixture – in Group A – defending champions, Philosophy, faced the Veterinary medical students. As said earlier, Vet Medicine defeated Philosophy 1 goal to nil on Friday, 26th of July. The philosophy players started the game slowly, allowing Vet Medicine to press their defence. Close to the end of the first half, Philosophy woke up and began to test their opponents. Vet Medicine’s keeper, Orodin, brought on his A game, protecting his net and covering up for his backline on numerous occasions. The match eventually evened out but Vet Medicine still required Orodin’s heroics to save them from falling behind before half time. Surprisingly, Vet Medicine made a substitution 4 mins before half time which proved to be a game changer, as Hessy came on for Victor.
Vet Medicine made their second substitution at the start of the second half. Philosophy continued to press Vet Medicine’s neck but Orodin was their knight in shining armour. He made saves upon saves to keep his team in the game. Philosophy continued their attacks against a tiring Vet Medicine forcing Orodin to make saves which brought him down three times. With the game tied at 0-0 and nearing its end, Vet Medicine had a quick counter attack which left Hessy one-on-one with an onrushing Philosophy goalie. He calmly chipped the ball into the back of the net, eventually changing the scoreline in Vet’s favour. Unsurprisingly, Orodin was named the Man of the Match.
The following match, which continued on Monday, 29th of July, between the two other teams in Group A – Electrical Engineering and Statistics – ended in a goalless draw. With this, Vet Medicine are on top of Group A with 3 points, Electrical Engineering and Statistics have one point each while defending champions, Philosophy sits at the bottom of the table with no point and a goal difference of -1.
Group B
In the second match on Monday between Agricultural Engineering (AEE) and English in Group B, AEE won the match by 2 goals to nil. Decool from AEE was the first man to put the ball behind the net in the first half. English tried to pull one back for themselves but Jude’s close-range goal in the second half sank their hearts and hopes of getting a point from the match.
Pharmacy, who are participating in the SEALS Cup for the first time in 2 years, played against Microbiology in Group B. The match also ended in a goalless draw. Both teams had their chances but neither could convert. They will now hope to win their next match to increase their chances of qualifying from the group. With this, Agricultural Engineering are on top of Group B with 3 points, Pharmacy and Microbiology have one point each while English sits at the bottom with no point and a goal difference of -2.
Group C
In the first match of Group C on Monday, Psychology defeated History two goals to one. Many were anticipating History’s performance in this competition as they had beaten Industrial Production Engineering (IPE) and Philosophy in the pre-SEALS Cup friendlies. Psychology seemed undaunted by that as Israel p.k.a Mahrez slotted home an early goal to give Psychology the lead. Awosanmi later doubled the lead, tapping in the ball from close range. Thiago from History later scored a consolation goal to reduce what History’s Goal Difference (GD) after the match would have been. The second match in Group C between Mechanical Engineering and Nursing, which was played on Wednesday, 31st of July, also finished in a goalless draw. With this, Psychology stands on top of Group C with 3 points, Mechanical Engineering and Nursing have one point each and History are fourth with no point and a goal difference of -1.
Group D
In the first match on Tuesday, 31st July, Physiology beat Adult Education by 3 goals to nil in the first match of Group D. The match was a lively one, with Bayo scoring a brace and Niffy putting the third in to complete the demolition. In the second Group D match played on the same day, Industrial Production Engineering (IPE) demolished Linguistics by putting 5 goals past them. In quick fire, they scored two goals before half time courtesy of efforts from Pius and Paragon. They resumed their attacks immediately after the half time; Paragon added one more and scored another one later to complete his hattrick. For the last goal, Kenneth set up Zee to send Linguistics to the bottom of the table. With this, IPE are on top of Group D with 3 points and a GD of +5, Physiology are second, also with 3 points but a GD of +3, Adult Education are third with no point and a GD of -3 while Linguistics are fourth with a GD of -5. Group D had the most goals, across all groups.
Group E
In the last game on Tuesday, MBBS waited, albeit unintentionally, till late minutes to put in their second after playing the most minutes of the game in a 1-1 draw. The student doctors looked rusty at the beginning of the game and allowed KHE to score just 2 minutes in, courtesy of a goal from Tomiwa. After the goal, the student doctors upped the tempo and equalized 9 minutes into the game, after Ramoni giving the reply. They continued to dominate the game, searching for another goal but could not get one before half time. In the second half, KHE began to dominate and came close to scoring on a number of occasions. Oscar from KHE kept putting the ball in the final third, searching for a finisher but could not find any. In stoppage time, Habeeb was fouled at the edge of the box. He took the freekick himself and after the goalie had stretched his best to keep the ball out, the ball deflected the ball into the back of the net. Group E’s second match, between Urban & Regional Planning (URP) and Economics also ended in a goalless draw, leaving fans who came to watch Wednesday matches at the Old Football Pitch bored. – for the most part. With this, MBBS stands on top of Group E with 3 points, Economics and Urban & Regional Planning have one point each, while KHE are fourth with no point and a goal difference of -1.
Group F
In the first game on Wednesday which is Group F’s first game, Political Science faced Animal Science. Contrary to expectations, the political scientists who knocked out MBBS at the last edition of the SEALS Cup could not get a goal against the animal scientists. Their midfield failed to link up with the attack leading to a drought in front of goal. The animal scientists also had to depend on defensive mistakes from the political scientists to force several attacks but also could not find the net. In Group F’s second match played last on Wednesday between Wood Products Engineering (WPE) and Architecture proved to be the salvation of the bored fans as 3 goals were witnessed in the match. WPE beat Architecture by 2 goals to 1 in a keenly contested match. Some fans even claimed that that was the best match of the group stage. Mjay and Akinpade were the goalscorers for WPE while Domin8 secured one for Architecture. With this, WPE are first in Group F with 3 points, Political Science and Animal Science are 2nd and 3rd with 1 point each, while Architecture are fourth with no point.
Group G
Group G had their first game between Civil Engineering and Archaeology & Anthropology on Tuesday, 30th of July, and it ended as one goal to nil in favour of the engineers. Civil Engineering dominated the match from the start and had several chances to take the lead. In a counter attack, Scott P failed to put the ball in the back of the net after a nice pass from Heskeyman. In the second half, Heskeyman also hit the crossbar from a freekick. They eventually got their goal in stoppage time when Ayobami shot the ball into the back of the net from Heskeyman’s assist. Group G’s second match, played on Thursday, 1st of August, between Public Health and Computer Science, was an interesting one which ended in a 2-1 win for the Public Health students. Public Health struck first in the first half courtesy of a goal from Obj, thanks to Ajise’s wonderful assist. The computer scientists seemed to wake up after the goal and had several attempts. Later, Ezekiel from Public Health committed a defensive blunder which almost led to a goal for Computer Science but the ball narrowly missed the goal. They continued to add pressure. Against the run of play, Public Health got their second goal after a foul was committed in front of their box. Malik played the ball under that wall and between the legs of Moses, the Computer Science goalie. Later, Fadaca from Public Health tried to get his goal but was unsuccessful. The computer scientists eventually got a consolation goal courtesy of an effort from Olamide. With this, Public Health are on top of Group G with 3 points, a GD of +1 and a GF of 2. Civil Engineering are second with also 3 points, a GD of +1 but a GF of 1. Archeology & Anthropology and Computer Science occupy the 3rd and 4th positions respectively, the only difference being their GAs.
Group H
Group H’s first match was on Thursday, Classics from the Faculty of Arts faced Petroleum Engineering from the Faculty of Technology. Classics hoped to get Faculty of Arts first win in 5 games against the Faculty of Technology. The match was a back and forth in the beginning but later on, Petroleum Engineering took control of the game. Regardless, they could not get the lead before half time. Against the run of play, Victor from Classics almost got a goal but was denied by the crossbar. At the beginning of the second half, Classics were the better team, trying to fashion out chances. Petroleum Engineering later resumed their dominance, almost finding the breakthrough. At the end of the game, Zico from Petroleum Engineering eventually found the goal but it was ruled off for an offside. The game ended goalless.
In Group H’s second match on Thursday, Agric Economics locked horns with Chemistry, the reigning champions of the Faculty of Science. Chemistry dominated the beginning of the match but were unable to find the lead. They had a fast break in the 9th minute but Sammy, who was the highest goalscorer at the last edition of the CBN Cup, found himself one-on-one with the goalkeeper but could not find the back of the net. Agric Economics eventually began to grow into the game and got their first goal in the 21st minute, as Victor capitalized on a defensive error from Chemistry. Agric Economics added two goals in the second half courtesy of efforts from Wasiu and OG. At the end of Matchday 1, Agric Economics are first of Group H with 3 points, Classics and Petroleum Engineering have one point each while Chemistry are fourth with no point and a goal difference of -3.
The matchday two of the competition promises to be more interesting. All teams have all to play for to secure their spots in the knockout stages of the competition. Stay with UIMSA Press.
Emmanuel Ibitunde.