Super Falcons defender shrugs off competition from Al Nassr stars to win first major award in Saudi Arabia

Super Falcons defender Ashleigh Plumptre has won the October Player of The Month award in the Saudi Arabia Women’s League, Soccernet reports.

Plumptre just sealed her transfer to Saudo Arabia-based Al Ittihad in the summer following the expiration of her contract at English side Leicester City.

The versatile 25-year-old wasted no time in blending into the team, as she scored a hattrick on her competitive debut for Al Ittihad when they played hosts to Eastern Flames in their opening game of the 2023/24 Saudi Arabian Women’s League.

Following that game, Al Ittihad have played three more, winning two of those and drawing once. Plumptre played a big role in those results, as she averaged 84 minutes per game. Her side also kept three clean sheets in their four games.

Following the results, Plumptre was nominated for the Player of the Month award in the Saudi Women’s League.

Then, on Thursday, the league confirmed that Plumptre had won the award, beating off competition from Al Nassr stars Lina Busaha and Clara Luvanga.

The winner of the award was decided via an X(formerly Twitter) poll. Plumptre pulled 54% of the votes, Luvanga had 41%, while Busaha had 6%.