It was a day of combined fortunes for host establishment, the University of Jos (UNIJOS), as their female and male hockey groups produced contrasting ends in the continued twenty seventh Nigerian College Video games (NUGA).
The UNIJOS feminine hockey workforce discovered their spark once more with a hard-fought 1–0 victory over the College of Maiduguri (UNIMAID), because of a third-quarter strike from Pleasure Ebene. The win not solely restored pleasure after their earlier defeat to UNIBEN but in addition reignited their marketing campaign on house soil.
Captain Shittu Aminat admitted that the workforce had a gradual begin as a result of a numerical drawback within the opening levels.
“Most of our gamers didn’t come on time, we began with eight inside, however had a full workforce by the second quarter,” she revealed. “There have been nonetheless lapses, however we tried our greatest. We’re stronger than the opponent we met yesterday; it was just a few errors in defence which we corrected at this time.”
Her management and Ebene’s match-winner finally steadied the UNIJOS ship, turning a chaotic starting right into a composed end.
Nonetheless, the script flipped within the males’s division, the place UNIMAID earned a measure of revenge by narrowly defeating UNIJOS 1–0. The outcome served as redemption for the Maiduguri aspect, who have been coming off a humbling 5–1 loss to Tai Solarin federal College of Schooling (TASFUED).
UNIMAID captain Jibrin Buba attributed their success to improved defensive group and renewed focus.
“We corrected our defence line. The UNIJOS workforce was not powerful, although we didn’t excellent our objective technique — we may have scored extra,” he stated with a smile of aid.
For UNIJOS, whose males had earlier edged Bayero College, Kano (BUK) 1–0, the defeat was a wake-up name.
Captain Obed Nannim praised UNIMAID’s preparation however vowed that his workforce remained within the medal hunt.
“They skilled extra and had higher gear. However we’re nonetheless optimistic — something can occur. We’re aiming for gold,” he stated.
Because the hockey competitors intensifies, each UNIJOS sides stay in rivalry, with the ladies exhibiting renewed confidence and the boys decided to bounce again. The house crowd, in the meantime, continues to offer the additional push — proof that on the NUGA Video games, each objective counts and each mistake issues.
