L)-The Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic), Prof. Chryss Onwuka in a welcome hand-shake with both teams before the commencement of the match

Both teams, UNAAB (Green Jersey) and the visiting Ghanaian team (Blue Jersey) in a group photograph after the match

The University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Football team, last Thursday, January 27, 2011, defeated the visiting team of the University of Education, Winneba, Ashantimampong, Ghana by two goals.

The team, the Ghana Association of Students in Agriculture and Related Sciences which was on excursion to UNAAB, however, requested for the friendly match, for recreation.

In the early minutes of the match, players from both teams gave good accounts of themselves, displaying excellent soccer artistry, but ended the first half of the match goalless.

Midway into the commencement of the second half of the match, UNAAB team was more ambitious, culminating in the first goal through the efforts of Mitchell Schelle, a Postgraduate Liberian student under the UNAAB Foreign African Scholarship (UFASS), who capitalized on a defensive blunder to net in the ball, behind the Ghanaian goalkeeper.

With a goal down, the visitors became more enterprising, with a notable increase of pace, renewed determination and aggressiveness.

However, the UNAAB team was unrelenting, as they kept penetrating the Ghanaians defense with determination to score more goals and increase the advantage.

This determination paid-off just few minutes before full time, as UNAAB, through Tosin Afolabi of the College of Engineering (COLENG), gave UNAAB the deserved second goal to take the match beyond the visiting team.

At a post-match briefing with UNAAB Bulletin, members of the visiting team were elated, as they expressed their delight at the friendly, noting that the match will further enhance bilateral relations, in the area of sports, between their school and UNAAB.

The Association, in its letter of permission earlier addressed to the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Olaiya Balogun, and signed by the President, Manghai Isaac, had expressed interest in visiting UNAAB, to learn more about the educational system in Nigeria and to also promote bilateral relations.

Meanwhile, the University’s Football Team, has stepped-up its campaign for honour at the Zone F of the Pre-NUGA games, to be hosted by UNAAB. The team, will on Wednesday, engage the Police Machine in another friendly.