SEALS Cup: Philosophy, Psychology goes on scoring spree as Social Sciences continue dominance over Tech
IBADAN – The SEALS Cup started on an interesting note last week, as previous winners, Geography, began the tournament with a remarkable 1-nil win over their opponents, Petroleum Engineering.
Spectators have since held high hopes for the tournament in terms of entertainment, and Monday football did not disappoint.
The departments from the Faculty of Social Sciences continued their dominance over their Faculty of Technology counterparts, as Philosophy went on a goal-scoring spree against the former Tech Cup giants, Mechanical Engineering.
It was a clash of two faculty giants, as Philosophy also won the top trophy in the faculty of Arts last year, so the match was undoubtedly the match to watch out for on Monday.
Mechanical Engineering started well enough, as it surprised most fans to see them matching the Philosophy team for the first 10 minutes. But once the Philosophy midfield grabbed control of the game, the chances came calling.
The first real threat of the game came courtesy of a long ball from deep in Philosophy’s three-man midfield.
Left striker, John, brought down the ball amid Mech Engineering defenders as he worked out some space to shoot. His shot was unimpressive, but the Mech Engineering goalie couldn’t deal with it, and LakesJay arrived late to bundle the ball over the line for Philosophy’s first goal.
The following minutes saw chances for Awolowo and John go begging, as the latter kept falling into offside traps set by the mech Engineering defense.
Awolowo saw a freekick attempt saved, and Raphael’s half-volley rattled the right-hand post as Philosophy sought a second goal to seal the game. LakesJay’s prowling moves threatened another goal, but the Mech Engineering keeper was alert to save his delicately chipped shot.
Mech Engineering came alive in the second half, as their press brought them several chances and a corner in the opening minutes of the second half. Midfielder Dunamis saw his strike go wide of the mark twice as his well-struck freekick dipped just behind the crossbar.
But it was Philosophy to laugh last, as their well-organized attack and midfield dominance paid off soon after Captain Prime stood well to stroke home a neatly placed volley from a long throw as the veteran defender helped his team double their advantage.
Philosophy had a goal ruled out for a foul on the Mech Engineering keeper but soon got one in legitimately following their persistence.
Prime took advantage of lax marking from the Mech Engineering team and advanced into a wing-back position, where he found LakesJay with a direct pass. The midfielder steadied himself amidst pressure and curled an unstoppable effort past the Mech Engineering keeper to double his tally in the match.
Earlier on Monday, Educational Management ran away with a 2-0 win over Microbiology, as the two defences were firm against attacking moves for the most part of the game.
Rasheed from Educational Management put his team ahead in the opening stages of the game, striking before the defenders could settle in for the game.
Microbiology’s Lummy was everywhere, all at once for his team, but his overall efforts couldn’t produce a goal. By the second half, Educational Management were only happy to sit deep behind, soaking up pressure from the Microbiology attackers and frustrating them with offside traps.
There were several free kicks in the second half, but Microbiology couldn’t take advantage of them to comebacks against the ‘Managers’.
A defensive slip from the Microbiology team caused a break for Educational Management, as Korede rolled a simple finish past the slow-to-react Microbiology goalie.
No matches have ended in a draw so far, as every fixture on Monday ended with a clear winner. Sociology triumphed 2-1 over Wood Products Engineering despite some glimpses of sub-par gameplay from the Sociology team.
Psychology recorded a 3-1 victory over Arabic Studies, as MBBS and IPE ran away with two goals and three points against Adult Education and Chemistry tomorrow.
More SEALS Cup action comes on Tuesday, and Law will be kicking off the day’s fixtures against Economics at 11:00 am.
Subsequent fixtures will also see Animal Science facing off against Physiology at 12:30 pm, Statistics against Geology at 2:00 pm, LARIS against Nursing at 3:30 pm and Classics against Architecture at 5:00 pm at the SUB Pitch
Watch out for more match reviews from us at Made In Africa Sport!
