Birthday boy Ezenwata nets brace for Chelsea youth in seven-goal thriller against Fulham
Birthday boy Ezenwata nets brace for Chelsea youth in seven-goal thriller against Fulham
Tri-national forward Chizaram Ezenwata was in impressive form in the U18 Premier League on Saturday afternoon, scoring twice for Chelsea.
However, his goals counted for little as Chelsea suffered a 4-3 defeat to Fulham at Motspur Park, despite racing into a two-goal lead inside the opening 20 minutes.
After Nicoll-Jazuli opened the scoring in the 13th minute, Ezenwata, who celebrates his 18th birthday today, Saturday, September 5, gave himself the perfect birthday present by tapping the ball into the net to level the scores.
Leo Hamilton pulled one back for Fulham in first-half stoppage time, reducing the deficit to 2-1 at the break.
Aidan Evans then brought the hosts level in the 51st minute before Tarrell Cavell completed Fulham's turnaround five minutes later with a superb finish to put the Cottagers 3-2 ahead.
Ezenwata restored parity from the penalty spot with 15 minutes remaining, completing his brace and setting up a dramatic finish.
However, Cavell had the final say, scoring his second of the afternoon in the 82nd minute to secure a 4-3 victory for Fulham.
Ezenwata has now scored four goals in four appearances for Chelsea's youth teams this season, with one goal each in the EFL Trophy and Premier League 2, in addition to his two-goal haul in the U18 Premier League.
An England U19 international, Ezenwata is also eligible to represent Nigeria and Cameroon through his father and mother respectively.
Ifeanyi Emmanuel
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