• AMACOS executives and players of both teams before kick-off
Olusegun Oke and Efosa Taiwo
The 2017 Pen Cup 2017 football competition kicked off on Friday at the Kola Sorinola Sports Complex, with a thrilling encounter between ND I fulltime and HND II part-time which ended 1-0 in favour of the ‘freshers’.
The opening match was kicked-off by President, Association of Mass Communication Students (AMACOS), Moses Ayodele.
The deciding goal of the game was a well-taken lob from Daniel Akinlolu in the 9th minute.
The ND I team who were dressed in red colours had everything going well for them as their goalkeeper was more or less seen in holiday mood. He was tested only once in the first-half by the opponents, who were clothed in blue colours.
The ND I team wasted numerous chances in the first half while, the HND II team had disappointments written over their faces as they walked into the dug-out for the break.
However, the second-half started in contrast to the first-half after the HND II who made two changes had a rejuvenated performance as they became much more cohesive and dominant in the game. But the freshers showed how resolute they can be in defence and compact they are.
In the 57th minutes, a fight broke out on the pitch between players of both teams. It took the intervention of AMACOS president and the Sports Director, Oluwatobiloba Kehinde to restore normalcy. Play was resumed after about seven minutes.
The match got tensed up in the last 10 minutes of the game as the HND II threw all they had at their counterparts in the search for an equaliser but they failed to find one.
The coach victorious side, Adeniran Adefunubi expressed his partial satisfaction following his team’s 1-0 win. He said his boys could have done more.
Adefunubi also questioned the referee for some of his inappropriate calls during the game.