Three teams that played in the 2021 Higher Institutions Football League (HiFL) Super Four have crashed out of this year’s competition. Defending champions, UNIMAID Desert Warriors, first runner-up AAUA Luminaries and fourth place FUTMINNA Transformers could only watch as fans of their opponents danced to the victory songs. HiFL, organized by Pace Sports with support from StanbicIBTC, Bold, LIRS and Indomie is in its fourth active season.
In Lagos, AAUA Luminaries from Adekunle Ajasin University could not overturn their 2-0 home loss when they took on LASU Blazers as they lost by 2-1 in a thrilling encounter at the Lagos State University Sports Complex.
The Akungba Boys took the game to their opponent from the start hitting the first shot on target in the 10th minute through Daodu Maten. The Luminaries dominated the first half but could not breakdown the Blazer’s defence.
The Luminaries eventual broke the deadlock in the 47th minute when Samuel Oyetola pounced on a loose ball from a missed clearance by the Blazer defenders. The goal from the Luminaries jolted the Blazers to change from their defensive formation to a more attacking formation. The Blazer’s effort eventually yielded a result when Daniel Odufejo nodded in a loose ball in the 55th minute after an error from the Luminaries’ goalkeeper Opeyemi Oladele.
The Blazers finally put paid to the Luminaries’ quest in the competition with a ferocious shot from the StanbicIBTC Man-of-the-match Subair Yahya in the 86th minute and won the tie with a 4-1 goal aggregate.