PL 2 : Why Nigeria-eligible defender missed Brighton's 4-goal thriller v Chelsea 

Chelsea dropped a two-goal lead to draw 2-2 with Brighton & Hove in a Premier League 2 clash staged at the Amex Elite Football Performance Centre on Sunday evening. 

As for team news, no player of Nigerian descent featured for both teams. Fullback Derrick Abu was a non-playing substitute for the Blues, while Seagulls central defender Odeluga Offiah missed out completely from the matchday squad. 

The Nigeria-eligible youngster has not figured for Brighton & Hove at all levels since October 8 when he was in action for 85 minutes in a 3-3 draw against Manchester United. 

Allnigeriasoccer.com understands that Offiah is still recovering from injury and the game against Chelsea came too soon for him. 

Chelsea thought they had three points in the bag after strikes from Mason Burstow and Omari Hutchinson saw them establish a two-goal lead three minutes into the second half. 

Luca Barrington got the Seagulls back in the game when he curled home from the edge of the box in the 76th minute before Imari Samuels found the back of the net from eight yards out to make it 2-2 with one minute of normal time left. 

Offiah has made one appearance for Brighton's first team this season, against Forest Green Rovers in the League Cup, and has played seven times for the development squad in all competitions. 

Ifeanyi Emmanuel 

Copyright ANS

All rights reserved. This material, and other digital content on this website, may not be reproduced, published, rewritten or redistributed in whole or in part without prior express written permission from allnigeriasoccer.com