UNITECOL Cup: How LASU reigned supreme in intercollegiate Cup

The Lagos State University (LASU) once again affirmed superiority on their terrain on Friday after winning the inaugural UNITECOL Cup following a pulsating 1-0 win over hosts Yaba College of Technology, www.aclsports.com reports.

Star of the competition Elijah Ayeni scored the final’s solitary goal, poking home from close range after the cross bar had denied his teammate’s delicate chip over the goalkeeper. It was indeed a fitting finale for what was an exceptionally organised competition.

Such was the dominance of LASU that they did not concede a single goal throughout the competition, scoring sixteen goals in the process, half of which were scored by Ayeni.

The team went home with the winners prize of N1,000,000 (one million nairas) while beaten finalists YABATECH were rewarded with a sum of N500,000. Third placed side Lagos State University of Education (LASUED) got N250,000 after they defeated Federal College of Education, Akoka 1-0 in the third place playoff.

The grand finale was attended by dignitaries including head coach of newly crowned champions of the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) Daniel Ogunmodede in the company of his wife as well as the team captain Nduka Junior.

All six teams that participated in the competition were given N70,000 each as participation fee while the four semi finalists received N100,000 each.

The UNITEL Cup is a design of 54FootballX and was sponsored by BAMA, under their ‘Nurturing Future Talents’ banner as well as the Bank of Industry. It was also endorsed by the Lagos State Sports Commission (LSSC) and Lagos State Football Association (LSFA) chaired by Hajj Liameed Gaffar.

LASU striker Ayeni was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) for his return of eight goals in four matches while he also picked up the Topscorer’s gong. YabaTech captain Emmanuel Yakubu’s impeccable free kick goal in their semi-final win over FCOE Akoka was overwhelmingly voted as Goal of the Tournament.

Co-founder of 54FootballX, Anyababa Ikem expressed delight at the successful staging of the maiden edition of the competition which he believes surpassed the organisers’ expectations and assures that subsequent editions will even be bigger and more glamorous.