The Chief Medical Director (CMD) cup, is a football competition involving different departments and occupations resident or particular to the University College Hospital. It is one of the most looked-forward to events every year. For ease of identification and planning of the CMD cup, departments or occupations are grouped, tasked with forming a team, and are given a team name. With two groups that consists of 4 teams each, this edition was kicked-off on 26th October, 2022, and for over 2 weeks since the competition began, teams continue to slug it out among themselves for the ultimate prize. Amongst these teams is the great Alexander Brown Hall football team (with team name Ajayi FC) placed in group A termed the “Group of Death”. This formidable team is coached by Mr. Sheriff Adejumo.
On Friday, 28th October, Ajayi FC played her first game of the competition and lost by two goals to Owosekun FC. The Alexander Brown Hall football team did not look as formidable, as they struggled to find their feet in this game. The loss was shocking as they went into the match as favourites. The first goal was scored, about 15 minutes into the game, by Omo-Ola who played for Skippo FC in the recently concluded ABH league. Owosekun FC’s second goal came at the closing minutes of the second half as a defensive error gifted them the ball just outside the box. This game left several questions in the mind of ABH supporters as they wondered if the team would make it out of the group.
The second group game had Ajayi FC face Shenjobi FC who won their first group game. The team went into the game knowing that a loss meant that their chances of qualifying from the group would be almost zero. This game saw significant changes to the starting lineup, with players like Awwal, David, Abdulbasit, Maleek and Charles finding their way into the team. The team, however, completely dominated the game and were rewarded with a goal barely 5 minutes into the game. The goalscorer, David, went on to score two more goals in the first-half, putting Ajayi FC comfortably ahead going into halftime. The team succeeded in adding to their goal tally with Chinedu, coming on in the second half to put the game way out of reach for the opponents. The match was not without defensive slips as a bad tackle in the penalty box led to Shenjobi FC scoring from the penalty spot. Despite the game ending 4-1, Ajayi FC had the opportunity to score several more but sadly the attackers could not convert a number of gilt-edged chances. Regardless, this match brought smiles to the faces of players and fans alike.
ABH’s final match for the group stage holds tomorrow, Wednesday, 9th November. A win or a draw will be enough to seal a semifinal spot for the team. However, their opponents, Ilesanmi FC who have just 1 point, need a win to qualify and will definitely be coming for blood. We keep our fingers crossed as we wait to see if Coach Sheriff Adejumo can replicate his success with Stampede United and lead the team to victory.
