Son of ex-Gombe United star denied hat-trick by the woodwork on competitive debut for Chelsea U18s 

Chizzy Ezenwata, son of former Gombe United star Ndubuisi Ezenwata, enhanced his burgeoning reputation with another brilliant individual performance for Chelsea U18s on Saturday afternoon.

On the opening day of the U18 Premier League season, the schoolboy striker netted a brace on his competitive debut for Chelsea U18s in a 5-2 defeat to Brighton & Hove at Cobham Training Centre in Surrey.

He was handed his competitive debut after catching the eye during pre-season preparations, with goals against Wolverhampton Wanderers and Manchester United in friendly matches. 

Against Brighton & Hove this afternoon, Ezenwata was on the brink of scoring a first half hat-trick but saw his header come off the woodwork in the 35th minute.

Apart from Chizzy, Chelsea U18s' Nigerian head coach Hassan Sulaiman handed starting berths to two other players of Nigerian descent, Tayo Subuloye and Saheed Olagunju who are both central defenders.

The Seagulls established a two-goal lead inside twenty one minutes through Joe Belmont and Tyler Silsby but Ezenwata halved the deficit with a poacher's finish midway through the first half. 

Aidan West restored Brighton's two-goal advantage in the 37th minute, but Ezenwata struck in the 45th minute to help Chelsea reduce the arrears again. 

In the second half, goals from Shane Nti and Ronnie Gorman sealed a comfortable win for the visitors. 

Born in England, Ezenwata is also eligible to play for the Young Lions and Cameroon's national team through his Cameroonian mother. 

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