Matchday two of the SEALS Cup ’24 male category has shown us that it can only get interesting. There has been so much permutations from players and fans. It is now beyond if a win or draw can help; hopes are now falling on opponents’ loss by a calculative margin, goal difference tally, and maybe even fair play – at least for the teams who have not recorded two losses back-to-back. The drama has not excluded some teams securing their spots in the knockout stages and some bidding the tournament a goodbye already. In the round-up, let’s see how things have played out so far.
Group A
The first game of matchday two was played on Thursday, 1st of August, between Veterinary Medicine and Statistics. Vet. Med. had a taste of their own medicine as they were held to a 1-0 defeat thanks to Lanre of the Statistics team. On Friday, 2nd of August, Group A’s second game saw Elect. Engineering conceding 2 goals to Philosophy; Philosophy’s Papi opened the scoresheet in the first half while Ebenezer sealed their victory with another goal in the second half of the game. As things stand in Group A, Statistics sit atop the table with 4 points and +1 goal difference, Philosophy rise to 2nd with +1 goal difference and 3 points, Vet. are 3rd with 3 points and 0 goal difference, Elect. Engineering sit at the bottom with 1 point and -2 goal difference.
Group B
Moving to Group B, on the same Friday, English lost 3-0 to Microbiology, Luni of Microbiology came up clutch as he scored a hat trick making sure of English’s loss and elimination from the tournament. Two of Luni’s goals came from open play while the 3rd was from a deflected free kick. On Pharmacy swallowed a bitter pill as they lost their second game of the campaign, losing 1-0 to AEE. Ehis of AEE made a superb lift to head the ball into the back of the net securing the 3 points for his side at the detriment of the pharmacists. AEE remain top of the group with 6 points and +3 goal difference, Microbiology are 2nd with 4 points and +3 goal difference while Pharmacy are 3rd with a point and -1 goal difference. English sit at the bottom of the group with 0 points and -5 goal difference.
Group C
Group C side Psychology secured their place in the knockouts on Sunday, 4th of August, as they cruised past a seemingly weak Nursing side with a 3-nil win. Mahrez opened the scoresheet in the first half, converting a rebound from an initial shot; Haaland made it 2 after outpacing the last man in Nursing’s backline to steal the ball and place it in the bottom corner from the edge of the penalty box. Alvarez sealed the win with the third in the second half. Mechanical engineering and History held each other to a draw on Monday, 5th of August. As it stands after matchday two, both teams are placed 2nd and 3rd respectively with the former having 2 points and zero goal difference; the latter, 1 point and a goal difference of -1. Psychology lead with 6 points and +4 goal difference while Nursing sit at the bottom of the group with 1 point and a -3 goal difference.
Group D
The first match of group D for Matchday 2 was played on Monday, 5th of August, it was one for the books as Linguistics clinched the win over Adult Education in a 5-goal thriller winning 3 goals to 2. Nihhy from Adult Education pulled an “Ahmed Musa vs Argentina World Cup” performance as he scored a brace, each of his goals a response to Linguistics taking the lead. At the end, Linguistics scored a 3rd with no reply from the educators, securing their win. Group D’s second match of the Matchday was played on Tuesday, 6th of August, as Paragon of IPE extended his goal haul to 5 by scoring a brace in a 2-0 win against Physiology. IPE remain top of the group with 6 points, zero goals conceded, +7 goal difference, and a place in the knockouts. Physiology come right after with 3 points and a +1 goal difference, Linguistics are 3rd despite the win with 3 points and -4 goal difference. Adult education are confirmed to be eliminated from the tournament with 0 points and a -4 goal difference.
Group E
Group E saw MBBS secure a win and a place in the knockouts after beating URP 1-nil on Sunday, 4th of August. The latter turned up in a new strip but it had no say in their performance as Teslim’s header from a set-piece played by Habeeb was enough to zero their efforts. With expectations higher than the score-line, people are patiently waiting for what plays out when the ‘student doctors’ face a tougher opponent. Human Kinetics played against Economics moments later with the former earning their first win of the tournament thanks to an own goal by the Economics side. The student doctors sit atop the table with 6 points and +2 goal difference, Human Kinetics follow with 3 points and a zero goal difference, URP and Economics are both on 1 point and -1 goal difference.
Group F
Group F did not fail to deliver as Political Science, last year’s finalists, registered their first win of the tournament on Friday, 2nd of August, as they beat Architecture 2 goals to nil. Both goals came in the first half; Tobi scored first and Bright was there to exploit a defensive error to score the second. WPE joined the esteemed group of those who had secured spots in the knockouts with a 1-0 win over Animal Science, their captain’s lone strike earning them the bragging rights. WPE lead the group with 6 points and +2 goal difference, Pol. Science follow with 4 points and +2 goal difference. Animal Science are 3rd with 1 point while Architecture exits the tournament with 0 points and -3 goal difference.
Group G
Group G’s third game of the tournament saw Civil engineering battle it out with Computer science; both sides went pace for pace and sweat for sweat till Ayobami of Civil engineering broke the deadlock, putting his side ahead thanks to a defensive error from the opposition. Bukunmi from Computer Science came on later to level the score from a set piece and the game ended 1-1. In the other game, Public Health put 4 goals past Archaeology whilst conceding only one goal themselves. Fadaca, Ajise, and Azeez found themselves on the score sheet with an own goal by the archaeology team making it 4. Public health sit above with 6 points and +4 goal difference, Civil Eng. are second with 4 points and a +2 GD, Computer science with 1 point and Archaeology with 0 points, -4 GD, and no chance of advancing to the next round.
Group H
Group H has not been so boring but they have little evidence to prove this as the group has recorded only 3 goals so far, with all coming in one game during Matchday 1. Matchday 2 was a day off for goal scorers as both matches played in group H were goalless, despite the matches being entertaining and thrilling. Agric Economics remain top with 4 points and +3 goal difference, Classics and Pet. Engineering are both on 2 points with zero goal difference while Chemistry sit at the fourth position with 1 point and a -3 goal difference.
While some fates have been determined, we have matchday 3 for other fates to be sealed. The last round of group stage games promises to be interesting as fates would be decided. You don’t want to miss an atmosphere filled with permutative statements and hopeful calculations. Stay with UIMSA Press.
Joseph Jacobs.
