The excitement was palpable, the lions were riled up, the showdown was imminent. Under a cloudy Friday sky Zik Hall sneezed…
It was the second fixture of the Inter-Hall football competition. Zik Hall was set to face Kuti Hall in an already decided match by Zikites. With a nailed coffin, trumpets blaring and the crowd thronging, defeat was out of the option.
At the blare of the whistle, the Zik Hall team side demonstrated an unmatched eagerness to win already. With quick-feeted moves, the attack moved clinically against Kuti’s goal and the first goal of the clash was produced by Jamiu, the stocky full-back, with a powerful blast of his foot. Zikites were aglow.
The pressure mounted with Kuti’s strong counters to secure an early equalizer when a free kick by a team member of the hall of fame deflected off Zik’s goalie to hit the crossbar.
The attack headed by skillful Skinny was fully ramped. Swift ball serves off Afo’s foot got our attackers into the box and secured a 2nd goal for Zik hall in the second quarter of the first half. Thanks to the errors of Kuti’s discombobulated defense line which led to the own goal.
Unfortunately, Skinny had to come off the field after sustaining an injury, minutes before the end of the first half.
The second segment began swiftly but sour for Zik hall when the Baluba lions conceded a penalty in the 31st minute. Kuti hall had their say after converting the penalty into a 2:1 score line.
In the 35th minute Kuti hall had a close call when Afo directed a freekick straight at the goal but Kuti’s No. 1 made good of it. Zik hall, however, came close to conceding an equalizer in the 46th minute, when a Kutite got the ball past Zik’s goalie only to hit the bar to disappointing cries from Kuti supporters. While the match grew more tensed, Kuti’s attacks were continually foiled by unrelenting displays of Zik’s defensive synergy until the final whistle. Zik hall had won and the field was swamped.
Speaking on the team’s performance, Zik hall’s coach, Kester commented that, “I strongly feel our win today was resultant of our attitude. The mentality the team carries is a cracker! The Boys are hungry for the cup and we hope to God that we eventually get to lift the trophy. Today’s win is strongly attributed to the team’s mentality.”
Though it might be thought that both sides were evenly matched, Kester noted frankly that, “It doesn’t matter what people say. Whether or not Zik won narrowly, the two teams being evenly matched, we set out on a journey into the competition with the aim of getting all three points attainable in matches and we’ve done just that. We should be proud of a win no matter the scoreline.”
Zik Hall will face the winner between Tedder Hall and ABH. In the spirit of Zikism, victory is sure.
