Like everything that has a beginning, the IFUMSA Football League 2023 came to a beautiful ending. The champions have been crowned. 15 games. 6 teams. 1 champion.
When the dust settled, a new king rose. Excelsiors dethroned, Exypnos enthroned! The second edition of the IFUMSA Football League is a wrap. But boy what a tournament that was!
When the director of sports announced the IFL 2.0 tournament and what to expect, few would have envisaged the competition raising the bar above 1.0. Barring shortcomings in areas of publicity, the beautiful football served throughout the competition is up there with the very bests out of IFUMSA. Hattricks, cleansheets, mesmeric football. And a total of 45 goals scored! The general consensus: everybody deserved a medal.
From in-game brawls to first ever triumphs, this is the round-up of IFL 2.0 and how each team fared.
Amateurish Magna
Magna Medicos entered the tournament as the youngest team. Despite a poor outing that saw them record a single point (from a goalless draw again Unicus) throughout the competition, the newbies can look at the positives. With some promising players like Badmus in their ranks, the future looks bright for the youngsters.
Wannabe Tenacious
The college freshers flattered to deceive. They came into the competition as a team to watch out for but the Tenacious we saw had nothing dogged about them. Their only win in the competition came in a 3-1 victory against the part 1 class, Magna Medicos. Given the firepower in their arsenal, going back to the drawing board is the most logical way to go.
Underwhelming Unicus
The Part 3 side ranked lowest in goals scored (2). They struggled against Magna and needed a late goal to secure their win against Tenacious. Disjointed and uncoordinated, the highlight of their campaign perhaps came when the coach’s decision to exclude Ezekiel from his starting XI in a crucial game against Stalwarts raised eyebrows from various quarters. Definitely not the performance they would have been hoping for.
Fallen Stalwarts
Stalwarts opened their campaign with a 6-2 thumping of Magna Medicos only to have their hopes of mounting any title charge dashed when Exypnos put 3 past them. They endured a series of inconsistent performances and a final day trashing at the hands Excelsiors. The once formidable Stalwarts were a shadow of their former self.
Seasoned Excelsiors
The part 6 class were the winners of IFL 1.0. They gave Exypnos a run for their money in the just concluded league. 0-0 the game ended when both teams met in matchweek 1. Sola and his team then went on a 4-game winning streak which culminated in them missing out on the trophy by a goal difference. The veterans scored 13 goals, the most by any team in the tournament! But it was not enough. They will have one final chance to add to their surprisingly scanty trophy cabinet when Wale Okediran Cup comes around.
Champions Exypnos
The Clinical 1 class were without key players coming into the tournament but that wasn’t going to stop them. Against Excelsiors, the champions dominated from the first minute to the last, but found no way past a dauntless Segun. Then they put 3 unreplied goals past Stalwart – their arch rivals. This result was particularly special to Exypnos. A team that had always outclassed them in the past was laid to waste within half an hour. Following dominant displays against the 2 senior-most classes in the faculty, the clinical freshers didn’t stop there. They went a step further winning their remaining games as well as not conceding a single goal throughout the tournament. They were moving like champions and despite a last minute wobble on final day, held on to clinch their first ever trophy as a class. Thoroughly well-deserved.
All eyes will now turn towards the prestigious Wale Okediran Cup.
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