The face-off between 2 teams of same origin.

They say the fight between brothers is worse than that between enemies. Well, that was the case during the soccer match between the year 6 and year 5 classes. Originally a single class until the great division by the college administration,
there seemed to be no love lost between these classes but the football match spoke a different tone. The pre match antics were calm and brotherly laced with exchange of pleasantries, hugs, smiles and friendly confrontations, but the actions on the pitch were totally different from that off the pitch. As both teams graced the pitch, it became certain that this was a derby match, one whose balance hung on the pursuit of pride and superiority. The shaking of hands was so serious that it gave the look of a business meeting rather than a friendly competition. So, the match kicked off to the resounding applause of the spectators.

The pace was frantic from the onset, with the year five class so eager to prove a point charging down their year six bros necks like raging bulls. With increasing likely hood of the game been lost in the first fifteen minutes, the yr6 marshaled up a strong defense and like a stable war car, withstood d early assault by the yr5 class. Suddenly the tempo changed, the yr6 seemed in control of the match and the midfield of the yr5 seemed to be collapsing, then the fans of the yr5 class took it upon themselves to cheer their players back into the contest.

The formerly united spectators suddenly divided like the red sea and in a matter of minutes, the yr5 supporters had successfully migrated to the opposite side of the pitch. It was now war both on the pitch and off the pitch. Rejuvenated by the support of their fans, the yr5 players led by their able captain, Randy and the ever present defensive midfielder Nathaniel, pushed their way back to the fore front of the pitch. Then came the crazy tackles, with legs flying all over and bodies landing all over, the match slowly began to resemble that of an Italian league match. It seemed like yr5 were on top again but trust yr6, with born footballers like Smith, Ikenna and Kelly, they turned the match on its head again and tested the yr5 goal keeper (David) time and time again. True to his ever growing pedigree, David kept the yr5 class in the game with some support from his defenders and the yr6 lone striker (Steven) missed a golden chance, you could have sworn he was paid not to score, so the first half ended goalless. It was now left to the coaching crew of the year five (lead by Harold and KC) and the year six (lead by Fache) to conjure up some magic for the second half.

The second half began and it seemed to be a continuation of the first half, tackles here and there, momentum changing like the weather in Port Harcourt and fans trying to muster some brilliance from their players but to no avail. The tackles were so ferocious that one of the best  players in PUMSA by the name of Dan Echems (yr5) had his knee roughly sprained by the gladiator of the yr6 class (Kelly) that he had to be stretched out, and when we thought we had seen the worse, Adoki (yr6) who had hardly been on the pitch for more than a few minutes lunged a deadly two footed tackle on a year five player. It was becoming more physical than ever and it was not long before the year six conceded a penalty for a senseless challenge on the lone striker of the yr5 (valentine). The supporters of the yr5 class started shouting and singing as they thought the match was over, they forgot the saying “don’t count your chickens before your eggs hatch” so, Nathaniel went from hero to zero as he simply passed the ball into the hands of the yr6 keeper and gave the momentum to yr6 who started doing the shouting and singing while the yr5 looked in dismay. With each passing minute, it became certain that the match was heading towards penalty shoot outs, and then came the final whistle.

The penalty shootout  was  a competition between the fans and the players. The booing, the shouting and singing brought life to the shootout. It seemed it was going to last forever as both teams scored their first four shootouts but then the drama started kicking in. yr5 lost their 5th penalty and so the game rested on the shoulders of the yr6 last penalty taker. As he was about to kick the ball, the referee blew his whistle to stop the penalty for reasons best known to him but unfortunately, the year six player still played the penalty, which was caught by the yr5 goalkeeper, so came the climax.

The coaching crews of yr5 refused to allow the yr6 player play the penalty again, saying he had lost it already. The penalty shootout never continued after this as tempers started flying up and down, bringing a brilliant match to a shameful end. Well reports coming to us, say that the year six class have been declared winners of the match. The match truly was a derby match.