The highly anticipated Sigma Sports Festival Football Category kicked off in style with the Round of 16 fixtures on Wednesday, September 17, amidst much fanfare at the Old Football Pitch, SUB. Only three of the four knockout games scheduled to take place on day one were eventually held, however.
The opener, a keenly contested one, saw Clippers FC edge out Tech Road FC by two goals to one, thanks to first-half strikes from Anthony and, quite fittingly, Progress—whose goal ultimately proved decisive and ensured his team’s progress into the quarter-finals. Tech Road Boys managed to pull one back before the second half through Abdul-Haq, but the all-important equalizer eluded them. Clippers would feel vindicated by the result after dominating for long spells, but it could very well have been a different story had the Tech Road Boys taken their chance right at the death.
Next up, we finally got to see Da-Ebs’ much-hyped new black-and-white kit in action against the green of Blaze FC. Eventually, the new kit bounce would count for little as Blaze FC came from behind to triumph by two goals to one over their opponents. The match started brightly enough for Da-Ebs, with Olamigoke putting them ahead after a spell of pressure. Blaze hit back and restored parity through Emmanuel to set the stage for an all-or-nothing second half. The second half didn’t take long to prove itself even more eventful than the first, as Da-Ebs #24 was brandished a second yellow following an ill-timed challenge in a dangerous area. Blaze FC, however, would put the resulting free kick disappointingly over the bar. For a while, it seemed like the red did little to deter the Da-Ebs boys as they took the game to their opponents, keeping them in their half for an extended period, but eventually the one-man advantage told, and Da-Ebs were made to pay for sticking to their high-risk high-line game. A fine through ball found the feet of Obot Idongesit, who latched on to it and coursed through on goal, showing good strength and spatial awareness to hold off his markers and round the goalkeeper before calmly slotting into the waiting empty net with ice in his veins. Barely 3 minutes later, Blaze played a similar ball through, but they could not make it count this time. That proved the last real action before the whistle went, and with it, Da-Ebs’ new kit made its short and sorry tournament debut.
The third and final game of the day pitted Galacticos FC (in white) against Blue Wave FC, who ironically wore an all-red kit. The match kicked off at 3:51 PM, and with it came rain, first in light showers, then in torrents. It took under 2 minutes for Blue Wave to see red: A defensive mix-up in the penalty area let Abideen pounce, rifling a left-footed half-volley into the back of the net. From there, the weather took over any football, as both teams struggled to gain any real rhythm, with the players slipping, sliding, and scraping through the downpour. Galacticos clung to their early lead until the final whistle and will no doubt be hoping to play their quarter-final fixture in more favorable conditions. Blue Wave, meanwhile, rode its own wave to an early exit.
The fourth scheduled match would inevitably be postponed.
Still, Day One had it all: goals, comebacks, red cards, tricks, and rain-soaked drama. And this is only the beginning. Day Two will see returning champions SFA throw their hat into the ring, and the question undoubtedly burning on everyone’s minds is: will they manage to retain their title for the third year running? Or will TomTom FC, twice beaten in those finals, break the duck and go one better this year? Or will yet another team manage to pry away the bragging rights from the early tournament favorites? Time, as always, will tell… so best keep watching as the action unfolds.
