By: Oluwademilade Ogunleye and Mahbubat Salahudeen
Defending champions, Mellanby Hall suffered a crunching 4-1 defeat in a replay of last seasons Inter-Hall Fresher’s Cup final as Zik Hall orchestrated a scintillating performance at the Old SUB Pitch on Tuesday afternoon.
Despite a 29-minute delay, there was a lot of intensity from both ends, especially from the fans in the stands.
Zik dominated possessions early into the encounter and it was only a matter of time before they broke the deadlock.
Odegard (No, 10) slotted home a resulting penalty — just two minutes into the match – following a handball call against Mellanby.
The momentum remained with Zik as they found the back of the net again in the 6th minute, doubling their lead.
Mellanby struggled to find rhythm, and Zik continued their dominance with another clear chance in the 11th minute, though the effort sailed over the bar.
Just a minute later, Zik extended their advantage with a stunning volley to make it 3–0 into the break. Mellanby showed signs of life after halftime.
With just three minutes in, Ridwan struck a well-placed shot to pull one back, sparking hope for a comeback.
That hope was nearly doubled two minutes later, but a Mellanby effort narrowly missed the target.
Zik responded in kind, earning a free kick in the 39th minute, and would have gone three goals up but it effort goes straight into the hands of the goalkeeper.
Mellanby won a corner kick two minutes later, only to see the shot skied over the bar.
Their momentum took a major hit in the 45th minute when a Mellanby player was red-carded, reducing them to ten men.
Zik capitalized almost immediately, finding the net just one minute later, but it’s ruleld out for offside.
Unfazed, Zik pressed on and finally broke through in the 60th minute.
A defense-splitting pass sent No. 17 one-on-one with Mellanby’s goalkeeper, and he carefully chipped it over to seal the victory at 4–1.
