After missing over three months due to injury, Sam Adekugbe returned to first-team action with Brighton & Hove Albion FC on Saturday.
And he did so in impressive fashion.
Adekugbe drew praise from head coach Chris Hughton after helping The Seagulls claim a 2-0 win over League One side MK Dons in his FA Cup debut. The 21-year-old Canadian played a part in the build-up of Brighton’s first goal and set up a few more chances throughout the match.
“The two young fullbacks both did very well,” Hughton said after the match. “Rob Hunt has trained with the first team more than Sam, but I thought they both put in good 90-minute performances.”
The FA Cup is an annual competition that features 736 teams from the English Football Association. It is the oldest recognized football tournament in the world. Brighton will visit either Lincoln City or Ipswich Town in the fourth round of the competition the weekend of January 27.
In league play, Brighton sit atop the English Football League Championship with 54 points in 24 matches. The top two teams will earn automatic promotion to the English Premier League.
Adekugbe is on loan at Brighton through June 2017.
This was his third appearance with the first team, after appearing in a pair of English Football League Cup victories over Colchester United and Oxford United, against whom Adekugbe scored his first professional goal. He has also spent time with the U-23s.
