Chelsea icon John Obi Mikel captained Stoke City for the first time in a competitive match as they were held to a 2-2 draw by Barnsley in a Championship game at the Bet365 Stadium on Wednesday night.

The former Nigeria international was handed the captain’s armband in a pre-season win against Leeds United last month.

With Sam Clucas and Ryan Shawcross not available for selection due to injury, manager Michael O’Neill gave Mikel extra responsibility by making him skipper against the Tykes.

The Potters number 13 formed part of a midfield four alongside Tommy Smith, Josh Tymon and Thompson.

Elliot Simões opened the scoring for Barnsley after 14 minutes, Tyrese Campbell fired beyond goalkeeper Jack Walton to make it 1-1 at minute 44 but the visitors replied almost immediately, Dominik Frieser the scorer.

Three minutes into the second half, Tommy Smith brought Stoke City level with a left-footed shot from the center of the box.

Mikel made his sixth appearance for the Potters in the Championship tonight and has gone the distance in all the matches, while he put in a 90-minute shift vs Aston Villa in the League Cup this month.

Stoke City, who are tenth in the table with nine points, return to action on Saturday when they face Brentford.

Allnigeriasoccer