SEALS Cup ‘25: MBBS Defeats Chemistry to Qualify for Quarter-Finals
On the evening of the 11th of June, 2025, MBBS defeated Chemistry by 2 goals to 1 to qualify for the Quarter-Finals of SEALS Cup ‘25. The student doctors performed shakily, but they won the match courtesy of the goals of Sir Dave and Ola.
The game, scheduled for 5 PM, started at 5:20 PM. MBBS struggled to keep possession of the ball, allowing Chemistry to create attacks. Habeeb got the student doctors’ first chance on goal in the 3rd minute, but his shot was wide. Chemistry continued to dictate the progression of the game, but in the 9th minute, MBBS got their first goal of the encounter via a header by Sir Dave from Habeeb’s corner. After the goal, they still struggled to find their feet, and even gifted Chemistry free kicks on numerous occasions. About 7 minutes to the end of the first half, Chemistry were through on goal twice, coming one-on-one with the goalkeeper once, but Emerald remained solid to keep out all attempts from Chemistry. Chemistry’s left winger, Sammy, dribbled excitingly to create chances for Chemistry. However, the resilience of the MBBS defence helped them survive. At the end of the first half, MBBS had a free kick from a dangerous position. Sir Dave’s kick was blocked by the wall, and Chemistry began to run on the counter, but Habeeb committed a foul to stop it. The first half ended with the score still 1-0.
Chemistry began to hit again from the start of the second half, but they still couldn’t get a goal. MBBS got their first chance of the half via a free-kick after Chemistry’s goalkeeper handled the ball outside the box. Habeeb’s kick went over the bar, however. The Clinical Sciences outfit began to create chances to extend its lead. On one occasion, Habeeb’s cross was just a few inches away from Jide for what could have been the second goal. Karbon also tried to get a goal on several occasions. Substitutions came in from both teams to change the scoreline. For MBBS, Teslim came on for Jide, while Ola came on for Sir Dave. MBBS eventually got their breather after Ola’s beautiful curler nestled in the top-right corner from several yards out, just a few minutes after his introduction. Chemistry hit back shortly after, pouncing on the MBBS defence’s failure to clear their lines properly. However, that goal proved to be their consolation as the referee signalled the end of the match right after.
Speaking after the match, Istanbul of the MBBS team expressed his thoughts about his team’s performance. “Our performance was shaky. We didn’t play well today, and I hope that in the next game, we’ll do better. We can’t play our next opponents like this. We’ve faced them twice, and they defeated us on both occasions. Honestly, we need to improve our game. There were changes in the dynamics of the team, and that’s probably why we played like that. Next game, we’ll try our best.”
Sammy of Chemistry also spoke with the press. “We played our best. We didn’t come with the mindset of dominating MBBS because we know they are better than us. The majority of the fans knew MBBS would win, but they came here to support us, because Chemistry knocking out MBBS would have given other departments a better chance of winning. I guess their next opponents, Political Science, came to watch the match, and they will now know the weaknesses of MBBS. Their confidence will increase now. With this match, everybody knows MBBS can be beaten. It’s just their dominance, name and the atmosphere they create [that makes the difference].”
MBBS will now shift their focus to a crucial quarter-final tie on Saturday against fierce rivals, Political Science.
