In the spirit of a plethora of footballing events currently ongoing in the prestigious University of Ibadan, the long awaited and hyped Super Cup has arrived and this translates to the opportunity for each team in the competition to show their mettle. However, despite all these, only one team will reign supreme. Friday, December 6 was matchday one of this competition and in this article, we shall be giving a succinct yet lucid roundup of the goings-on from round one, which happens to be the Round of 16. It’s worthy of note that this competition only featured 16 registered teams for the males and 8 for the females. These teams were the Dean’s cup winners of their faculties from the 2022/2023 academic session.
Ab initio, the first match day was poised to be a conglomerate of four matches: Philosophy v Urban and Regional Planning, Animal Science v Chemistry, Nursing v Dentistry and MBBS v Economics but the last match didn’t hold due to a deviation from the order of the tournament as the Dean’s Cup (a match between ASSE and Special Education, which ended 2-0 in favour of the former) was surprisingly incorporated within the day’s events.
Philosophy vs Urban and Regional Planning (URP)
The first game of the day between Philosophy (a.k.a, the Plato Academy) and URP (Urban and Regional Planning), kicked off at exactly 2:56 pm. From the blast of the first whistle, pretty much all the spectators knew there was going to be one winner. As early as the 1st minute the Plato Academy struck the crossbar from a long-range effort via Justice. The first half ended in a goalless draw but everyone knew it was just a matter of time before Philosophy would make the breakthrough. Seven minutes into the second half, Philosophy took the lead through a counter attack that was finished off in style by Papi. A minute later, Papi nicely set up Owen for a tap-in as the Plato Academy made it 2-0. The match ended with Philosophy taking the day with a 2-0 win over the URP team who is safe to say offered close to nothing in this encounter.
Animal Science vs Chemistry
Sequel to the hiatus caused by the Dean’s cup, the last season finalists, Animal Science faced Chemistry. The contest was primed to be a grand spectacle as the Chemistry team, which is centered around the 200-level class, looked to prove a point that their antecedents of being a very talented side, capable of causing all manner of problems to opposition teams is very accurate. The Animal Science team on the other hand is one that is coming into the tournament to win the trophy that just about eluded them the last time out. The game kicked off at exactly 4:49 pm. By the end of the first period, Chemistry were leading the pack by a lone goal through their left winger, AY. At the start of the second half, Chemistry picked up from where they stopped in the first half as AY netted the second and Aliamine put the cherry on top as the game ended 3-0 in favour of Chemistry. In all fairness, Animal Science had their chances but as it is with the game of football, every chance missed comes with its consequences.
Nursing vs Dentistry
The last match of the day, which was between Nursing and Dentistry, kicked off at 5:34 pm and in the first minute of the first half, Dentistry were awarded a penalty, which they converted. In the same half, Nursing were also awarded a penalty, which their talisman, Stedder, failed to convert. In the second half, however, Stedder of Nursing Science, made up for his penalty miss by scoring an outside of the box belter, drawing the game level. Dentistry however scored two goals within the space of a minute through the 300-level sensation, Damson, with the game ending up in a 3-1 scoreline in favour of Dentistry.
IPE vs Forestry
Saturday, the second matchday of the round, was no less fun than the previous day as there were loads of mouth-watering and jaw-dropping fixtures. The first of the day was a matchup between IPE and Forestry. Despite being on the front foot and mounting loads of pressure on their opponents, it was not until deep in the second half that IPE took the lead from an own goal which was a precipitate of a delicious cross sent in by Kenneth of IPE. That passage of play was sufficient enough for the IPE team to book a quarter-final matchup with Dentistry.
Law vs Pharmacy
The second game of the day between Law and Pharmacy was a practical illustration of chaos as two goals were scored, one by each team, within the first minute of kickoff. Despite the quickfire start, the first half ended in a 1-1 draw. The second half pretty much kicked off just like the first as just inside 5 minutes, Law were awarded a penalty of which Ibrahim slotted it home with poise and elegance. Just 2 minutes later, Ori of Law doubled the advantage but akin to the first half, Prudence of Pharmacy reduced the deficit by unleashing a marvelous strike. Ten minutes into the second spell of the game, the score was at 3-2 in favour of Law. The rest of the game saw a lot of back and forth, with little touches of scintillating and eye-catching masterclass from maestros. Unfortunately for Pharmacy, as they were desperately searching for the leveller, Law capitalized and landed the soccer punch right at the death through a goal that put the game beyond doubt. At full time, the match ended 4-2 in what was arguably the most interesting matchup of the round.
Physiology vs Political Science
Physiology versus Political Science was the game that followed suit. Despite Political Science taking the lead very early on in the first half, Bayo of Physiology drew the game level at 1-1 in the second period. All efforts by both teams to snatch a winner proved abortive leaving the dreaded spot kicks no choice but to take centre stage. After a tense shoot-out, Political Science prevailed, winning 5-3 and securing a place in the quarter-finals.
Veterinary Medicine vs Human Kinetics (KHE)
The clash between the Veterinary doctors and the Human kineticists was the final game of the day but due to the fact that the dark had caught up with proceedings, only the first half was played and the second half scheduled for the following day, Sunday. This however, didn’t abate the storm headed KHE’s way as Veterinary Medicine came out 1-0 winners of the game.
MBBS vs Economics
The long awaited and highly anticipated rescheduled match between MBBS and Economics arrived and it was the final game of the round. From the blast of the whistle, MBBS proved to the spectators why they are the reigning Seals Cup champions as they kept stifling life out of the economists. It was only a matter of time for MBBS to take the lead, which was through capitalizing a defensive error. However, he wasn’t content with that as he majestically struck freekick into goal. In the second half, Economics were awarded a penalty, which they converted to reduce the deficit to one. From then onwards, Economics tried so hard to level the game as the student doctors didn’t utilize the few chances they had, to increase the scoreline. However, seconds away from full-time whistle, Habeeb tried sneaking into the opponent’s box and he was brought down, prompting the referee to point to the 18-yard spot kick. Habeeb, who was on two goals already, picked up the ball to cap his performances. As expected, he converted the opportunity registering a hattrick and sending the Economists back home.
The Quarter final of the male category will see: Political Science come up against Philosophy, IPE against Dentistry, MBBS against Law and Chemistry against Veterinary Medicine. This next round of games promises to be exhilarating and full of drama. The old football pitch still remains the venue. No one is expected to miss out.
The female category on the other hand will have their matches kick off at the Quarters and the draws will see ASSE come up against Nursing, MBBS against Veterinary Medicine, European Studies against Forest Products and Production, and Statistics against Animal Science. The matches promise to be very entertaining as the ladies join the race to determine who will reign supreme.
Nmesomachi Okoronkwo.
