Left-back Boniface inspires Chelsea to comeback win against Southampton U18s with goal and assist

Chelsea U18s ended their fixtures in 2023 with a dramatic 3-2 victory over Southampton at the Cobham Training Ground on Tuesday afternoon.

Coach Hassan Sulaiman named two Nigeria-eligible players in the starting XI which were Somto Boniface and Chinonso Chibueze and had one on the bench in Saheed Olagunju.

It was the away side that would draw the first blood in the 19th minute when an unmarked Josh Pitts headed the ball into the net, six yards from goal.

An own goal from Travis Akomeah doubled  Southampton’s lead and the young Blues were unable to reduce the deficit before the end of the first half.

Akomeah atoned for his earlier own goal by helping Chelsea pull one back in the 82nd minute before substitute Rio Ngumoha restored parity with an emphatic strike from close range after he was teed up by Boniface.

Shim Mheuka thought he had gotten the winning goal when he headed the ball into an empty net but was flagged for offside.

It was Boniface who would hand Sulaiman’s side the maximum points in the 9th minute of the stoppage time with a powerful shot past Southampton goalkeeper, Dylan Moody.

The 17-year-old left-back has now recorded 2 goals in the U18 Premier League this campaign, with both coming in two of the past 3 games.

The win moves Chelsea to third position in the U18 Premier League Southern Section with 21 points from 9 games and with 2 games in hand.

Abdulkareem Abdulhamid

Photo Credit: chelseafc.com

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