This evening, the defending champions of the SEALS Cup, MBBS, defeated Biochemistry by 5 goals to nil in the second round of the SEALS Cup ‘25 group stage. MBBS started the match brightly, taking charge and earning a corner after just a few minutes of play. The cross was blocked for another corner, which was delivered beautifully from Habeeb. Prestige connected well with the ball, sending it into the back of the net for the first goal.
MBBS continued to look for a second goal, creating chances via Habeeb and Prestige. They eventually got their chance via a penalty kick after Hollandia was fouled in the box. Karbon took the spotkick, but the Biochemistry goalkeeper was equal to the attempt. Biochemistry responded by placing more players in the middle of the park, a move that gave MBBS midfielders a tough job. Later on, Habeeb had a ball fall favourably for him, and he reacted with a snapshot, but it missed the goal by a few inches. After this came a series of fouls by the Basic Medical Sciences (BMS) outfit, one of which gifted MBBS a free kick from the wing. Habeeb curled it beautifully, and it looked like it was going in until the Biochemistry goalkeeper produced another beautiful save to keep his team’s hope alive.
Biochemistry, however, could not keep the hope alive after a deflection by the Biochemistry goalkeeper from Habeeb’s shot saw MBBS extend their lead by 2 goals. Biochemistry continued to commit foul after foul, gifting MBBS free kicks in dangerous positions. This time, Sir Dave took it, but it was blocked. MBBS quickly recycled the ball, and Habeeb shot the ball into the back of the net for his second goal. After the goal, the medics had to attend to Habeeb after a minor injury. To the delight of the MBBS fans, he got on his feet soon after. The rest of the first half saw persistent fouls from the Biochemistry side.
At the start of the second half, Biochemistry made two substitutions. They improved their game, prompting saves from Emerald, the MBBS goalkeeper. Soon after, MBBS resumed their attacks, but on several occasions, Chris Kygo of the BMS outfit defended well. Sir Dave of MBBS was substituted for Jide, while Biochemistry made another substitution. The MBBS captain, Ramoni, was shown a yellow card after a foul while trying to stop a Biochemistry attack. Biochemistry continued to trouble the MBBS defense with improved attacks, but they couldn’t get anything from them.
Karbon finally got his goal after a great attack; Hollandia sent the ball to Prestige, and Prestige passed it to Habeeb. Habeeb then gave it to Ramoni, who laid it on the plate for Karbon. Karbon’s shot was weak, but the Biochemistry goalkeeper failed to save the ball. After the resumption of the match, Habeeb found himself one-on-one with the goalkeeper, but he couldn’t score. MBBS had another free kick on the left wing, which was taken by Habeeb. He curled the ball beautifully into the back of the net for his hat trick, sending fans into a frenzy. At the other end of the pitch, Promise defended well on several occasions to prevent Biochemistry from getting a consolation goal. Close to the end of the match, MBBS earned a free kick in a dangerous position, which was taken by the 100-level debutant, Odegaard. His kick was blocked, and Karbon tried an overhead kick from the rebound, but the ball went out, signaling the end of the match.
With this, MBBS is on top of Group A with 4 points and +5 GD, just above IPE, also with 4 points but +1 GD. This win also confirmed Biochemistry’s elimination from the SEALS Cup ‘25 after losing their first 2 matches.
Speaking after the match, Promise, who delivered a great performance at right center-back for MBBS, spoke with UIMSA Press. In his words, he expected a better performance from his team. “I mean, it’s Ibadan Medicine. I expected 7-0 because we really need the goal difference. In this group, it’s the goal difference that will likely determine who tops it. IPE will likely win their other matches, so we really needed it. We did well, but I know we can do better. We are aiming for the top.”
Victor from Biochemistry also had a chat with the press. “I actually feel bad, although we are still in the process of building. Many people were reluctant to join the team because of academic demands. We tried our best, but it wasn’t enough.”
The defending champions will face ASSE in the final game of the group stage, a game that will likely determine the qualifiers from the group.
