By: Yusuf Rahmon
The department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering emerged as champions of the Faculty of Technology Survival Cup after defeating Agricultural Engineering 4-1 in the final of the competition on Tuesday March 5.
It is a common saying that football is not predictable but the journey of Electrical and Electronics Engineering to glory in the just concluded Masters Cup is not common. Any second-year student of the Faculty of Technology will agree that the Electrical Engineering team was never close to being a favourite at the dawn of the tournament. However, the team soon proved everyone wrong after trashing Food Technology 6 nil in their opening match.
They went on to finish the group stage unbeaten, following a goalless draw with Agricultural Engineering and a 1-0 victory over Industrial Production Engineering. In the semis, Electrical Engineering faced the red-hot Petroleum Engineering and staged one of the greatest comebacks in the history of the tournament. Petroleum Engineering were two goals up at halftime but Electrical Engineering struck twice in less than a minute to push the match into penalties. The latter comfortably won the shootout to book a place in the final against Agric. Engineering.
The final match between Electrical Engineering and Agric. Engineering was more of a lacklustre encounter and one would have wondered how the two teams got to the finals. From the kickoff, both teams were hesitant to attack and the tempo was way below what was expected of a final match. It was a clash marred by few missed opportunities and lots of misplaced passes, leaving their supporters tired and continuously craving for excitement that never really occurred.
As the clock ticked towards full-time, none of the teams could break the deadlock although Agric. Engineering could have grabbed the victory. Finally, it was time for the penalty shootout which appears to be a fitting conclusion to a match that had lacked flair and dynamism.
Shockingly, Electrical Engineering staged a similar feat to what was seen against Petroleum Engineering in the semis, slotting in all their kicks while Agric. Engineering failed to replicate the precision they showed to eliminate Civil Engineering in the semis.
It ended 4-1 in favour of Electrical Engineering, thus crowning them as the new champions of the Masters Cup. It now remains to be seen whether the current 100 level Electrical Engineering students can show the same resilience and defend the title next session.
