SUBEB thrashes LASTMA 4-1 to win Lagos HOS Cup

In a what spectators described as “brilliant fashion”, the Lagos State Universal Basic Education (SUBEB) and Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives (MOA) on Monday emerged champions of the 2018 male and female categories respectively of the 13th Lagos State Head of Service (HoS) Cup.

The match played at the Agege Stadium SUBEB thrashing the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) 4-1 in a thrilling encounter.

En-route to the finals, SUBEB, back to back winners and three-time champions, 2012, 2013 and 2017, defeated Health Commission 2-0 in the round of 32, then trounced LAGESC 4-1 in the round of 16.

SUBEB then defeated the State Treasury Office by a lone goal in the quarter-finals and went on to beat Lagos State Internal Revenue (LIRS) by also by a lone goal in the semi-finals.

In the female category, Esther Emaowodia of the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) made history in the competition scoring an astonishing 12 goals.

She also scored a brace in the in finals to help her ministry win the competition defeating Lagos State Sports Commission (LSSC).

The win for MOA, however, put an end to the five-year dominance of the State Universal Basic Education from 2013 to 2017. MOA also defeated the later in the semi-finals 5-2 via penalties.

En route to becoming the champions, MOA walloped Ministry of Wealth Creation 5-0 in the round of 16 and dusted Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) 3-1 in the quarter-finals.

The Man-of-the Match and the competitions Highest Goalscorer with 12 goals, Emaowodia, said that the team deserved to be champions after defeating the defending champions.

“We deserved to be champions after defeating the defending champions in the semi-finals. We are proud of our achievement because it is a team’s effort not individual.

“I will borrow a saying that I have made before and that is that “if you want to be a champion, you must beat the champion. For us to be the champions we have defeated the champions.

“This competition is good for us and has increased the unity among us across board, so it is not just about winning it is about friendship and unity,” she said.

Earlier, the Head of Service, Lagos State, Mrs Folasade Adesoye, said the 2018 edition of the competition was unique because there were compulsory medical examination for all the participating players.

“This year’s edition is unique as it is the only one the current Head of Service will superintend during her tenure. Therefore, she directed that the event should be upgraded and more elaborate.

“Also, all participating players were presented for a mandatory medical examination and issued medical certificate of fitness to ensure that they are physically fit. We also made sure that only the qualified participated.

“This year’s HoS competition has transited from its traditional approach to more pragmatic innovations which has further added glamour to it. It has also increased passion and interest by MDAs.

“Unlike previous editions, a record number of Local Government Areas and Local Council Development Areas (LGAs/LCDAs) participated in this years edition with 72 MDAs registered for the competition,” she said.

Dignitaries at the finals are LSSC Chairman, Kweku Tandoh, Director-General of LSSC, Babatunde Bank-Anthony, and the Permanent Secretary, Public Service Office, Olusegun Ajbade among others.