The Postgraduate Diploma (PGD) team played a 4-1 win against the National Diploma One (ND1) as their first leg in the 2025 Provost Cup of the Nigerian Institute of Journalism (NIJ), which was a glimmer of hope.
Recall that the PGD kicked off the tournament on a sad note—back-to-back 4-0 losses to HND1 and Part-time, followed by a 3-0 defeat to ND2.
After playing a 1-1 draw with HND2, the PGD surprised fans at the school’s pitch in Ogba on Wednesday evening, February 12th. They ended with a convincing 4-1 victory, their best performance in the tournament yet.
The match was intense and passionate, with both teams displaying impressive skills and teamwork. However, the PGD team’s experience and strategy ultimately paid off, as they dominated the game and secured the win.
The winning team’s sports director, Shobo Boluwatife, was the star player of the match, netting twice. This brings his total goal count to three in the tournament so far.
The Governor of the ND 1 class, Onwe Emmanuel, scored the lone goal for his team, taking his total goal tally to eight in the tournament. Despite the loss, Emmanuel’s consistent performance has kept his team’s hopes alive in the competition.
In addition to Boluwatife’s goals, Christian Chukwu from the PGD team scored a crucial goal at the dawn of the first half, while Jimsa sealed the win with a goal in the second half.
Speaking with Nijinsight after the match, Christian revealed, “I’m feeling great, to be honest. Scoring that goal in the first half was a huge momentum boost for our team. We knew we had to keep pushing and create more scoring opportunities.”
When asked about the team’s strategy, Christian explained, “We worked on our set pieces and counter-attacks, and it paid off. Our coach made some great tactical decisions, and we executed them well.”
On his part, Jimsa Taylor, the team’s captain, said, “It was an amazing feeling, scoring that goal and knowing it sealed the win for us. The team played incredibly well, and I’m proud to be a part of it.”
“I saw an opportunity to make a run behind the defense, and my teammate played a perfect pass. I just had to finish it off,” he added.
ND1’s Emmanuel said, “I saw the loss coming because my team was unprepared and we underrated them. Although I scored a goal but it wasn’t enough to save my team. We just have to be more prepared.”
The Provost Cup is an annual football competition organized every academic session by the Student Representative Council (SRC) that promotes teamwork, sportsmanship, and healthy competition among students.
It involves teams from all classes, including ND1, ND2, HND1, HND2, PGD, and part-time students. Matches are played in two rounds—a first leg in the first semester and a second leg in the second semester.
Due to the field’s orientation, the tournament is played in an eight-aside format, with each game lasting 60 minutes.
The top four teams on the table then battle it out in the knockout stage, leading up to the grand finale, which is held during Students’ Week to mark Sports Day.
