By Adekunle-Oni Daniel
On Thursday, October 23, 2025, the University of Ibadan male football team, UI pioneers, suffered a 3–0 defeat to the University of Calabar (UNICAL) in the semi-final stage of Monieball 5-a-side football competition.
The match, which took place at the University of Calabar, began with the UI Pioneers playing on a high intensity. Pamilerin took the first shot on goal, which was saved by the UNICAL goalkeeper. Moments later, Heskeyman fired another attempt, which was intercepted by the UNICAL shot-stopper.
Despite dominating possession and creating more scoring chances in the first half, the UI Pioneers failed to convert any of their opportunities. The UNICAL side, meanwhile, committed a series of fouls that drew strong reactions from the fans in the stands.
UNICAL took the lead midway through the first half after UI committed a rule violation, resulting in a penalty. The UNICAL penalty taker made no mistake, slotting the ball home to give his team a 1–0 advantage. UI maintained their attacking approach but couldn’t find a breakthrough before the halftime whistle.
The second half saw UNICAL come out stronger, pressing to extend their lead. UI goalkeeper Olami experienced immense threat as UNICAL broke through the defensive line repeatedly. Despite UI pushing Heskeyman further forward in an effort to change the game, UNICAL capitalized on defensive lapses to score their second goal, a powerful strike that left Olami helpless.
Moments later, UNICAL struck again in similar fashion, exploiting another gap in the UI defense to make it 3–0.
In the closing minutes, the UI Pioneers pressed high and tried to reduce the deficit, but they couldn’t register a single shot on target. The referee’s final whistle confirmed UNICAL’s 3-0 victory and progress to the final
In the other semi-final earlier that day, the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta(FUNAAB) was defeated with a 1-0 loss to the University of Ilorin, eliminating the group top side out of the competition.
The third-place match of the Monie 5-a-side football competition will see UI pioneers face FUNAAB on October 31, 2025, at the Legacy Stadium, Surelere, Lagos.
