By: Oluwademilade Ogunleye
The third quarterfinal fixture of the day featured a date between the finalists of the last two editions of the Faculty of Technology’s Deans Cup, the departments of Civil Engineering and Industrial and Production Engineering (IPE). In a tense and tactical stalemate that failed to produce goals in regular time, Civil Engineering got the victory over IPE in a dramatic penalty shootout to secure a spot in the semi-finals of the tournament. The match kicked off at 4:42pm and saw both teams struggle to find their attacking rhythm despite flashes of brilliance on both sides.
The game lacked tempo from the onset as both teams cautiously felt their way into the game. Civil’s Heskeyman attempted to break the early deadlock with a bold long range shot in the second minute, but the ball sailed over the bar. Minutes after, Kenneth’s delivery from a corner kick and freekick seconds later created potential danger but a lack of connection in the final third kept the scoreline goalless. This meant that both sides went into halftime goalless lacking the cutting edge to find a goal.
The second half saw IPE come out with renewed energy, pressing for the opener. Kenneth continued to pull the strings, but Civil Engineering’s backline, led by Heskeyman, remained impenetrable. There was a brief stoppage in the 29th minute of the second half due to an injury on an IPE player. Despite some late pressure from IPE, the match headed into penalties after a goalless 60 minutes.
For the penalty shootout, Civil Engineering held their own, converting three of their five penalties, while IPE faltered with two crucial misses and a save by the Civil Engineering Goalkeeper proving decisive. Bukunmi’s opening miss for IPE, followed by Pamilerin’s skyed effort left IPE’s chances for qualification hopeless.
Despite a goalless 60 minutes, Civil Engineering’s composure during the penalty shootout was the difference maker and the team would have Goalkeeper, Tewo, to thank for saving them.
For IPE, it was a painful exit, one marked by missed chances when it mattered the most. Civil Engineering would now join the departments of Petroleum Engineering and Human Kinetics in the semi-finals.
