As the hostilities began on Wednesday in the maiden edition of the much anticipated Higher Institutions Football League (HIFL), the University of Lagos (Unilag) was held to a 1-1 draw by the University of Benin (Uniben).
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the HIFL packaged by Pace Sports and Entertainment in partnerships with Nigeria University Games (NUGA) kicked off at the Unilag Sports Centre. on Wednesday.
The first game of the 30-match competition saw Unilag held by the visiting Uniben to a one-goal thriller. Unilag got the first goal through the man of the match, Odu Robert, in the 28th minute.
Though UNILAG team struggled to impress the home crowd with a clear determination to secure their best result during the encounter, the Uniben counterparts came out much stronger.
However with UNIBEN adopting the same approach, it made an entertaining match which paid off when Ikechukwu Okoro stunned the homers in the 51st minute.
The goal conceded was the one for UNILAG’s boys heads to drop in after defensive sloppiness that caused the equaliser which they failed to recover from.
Unilag thereafter struggled to cope with Uniben’s numerous attacks, but their attitude was sloppy after many chances to pull the game level off the visitors and snuffed out their hopes.
As the game tends to injury time, Alli Baloguns clever chip was miraculously cleared off the line by resolute Beckley Peters before he also headed wide from good positions as Unilag pressed.
The game was, however, an “unwanted result” for Unilag team who had boasted of a good showing during a pre-match interview.
However in some respects, it was also a game too far from the control of Unilag boys after the disappointing balance in front of goal which was to the advantage of Benin boys.
Speaking earlier on the importance of the competition which will see 16 universities play 30 matches among themselves, the Chief Executive Officer of Pace Sports, Sola Fijabi, described it as yet another record set in football.
“This is another face in the history of football in Nigeria because we are in an era where the true sportsmen, footballers will emerge to reshape the game in Nigeria.
“We have had it in the past when great footballers were discovered in our tertiary institutions in Nigeria like Segun Odegbami, Christian Chukwu and others.
“This is a time to fully combine footballers who are students with the professionals to provide the real blend of football artistry we need.
“Combining football with education is a great gain for the country and we expect to see the new generation of footballers who will turn things around for the country, ” he said.
Fijabi said he was happy to be the brain behind the football fiesta among the scholars which he noted would provide a good avenue for better trained sportsmen.
“I am happy to be part of this because we are creating a paradigm shift to well-informed sportsmen now. The footballers are real students with no lesser skills to the professionals if not better.
“I also appreciate our sponsors, Stanbic IBTC and others for believing in us,” he said.
Earlier, the Vice Chancellor of Unilag, Prof. Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, said he looked forward to a competitive game between his boys and the visitors, adding that the university was ready for the NUGA games.
“I hope that we see an entertaining match which I hope my team will win, but more than that, we are looking forward to the NUGA Games in 2019 which I promise will be the best ever.
“About 21 years ago when we hosted same NUGA games and West African University Games, it was regarded as the best and by God’s grace 2019 will not be an exception,” he said.