Ashleigh Plumptre makes scoring return from seven-month injury for Al-Ittihad

By Oyediji Oluwaseun Babatunde

Nigeria defender Ashleigh Plumptre scored a goal during her team’s 13-1 thrashing of Jeddah in the Round of 16 on Saturday.

In her second match for Saudi Arabian side Al-Ittihad since returning from seven-month long injury on the sidelines, Plumptre’s return was more than just a comeback.

Apart from scoring a goal, the Super Falcons defender provided three assists during the match.

Goals from Seba Tawfiq (brace), Lili Iskandar (hat trick), Leticia Nunes (hat trick), and Lana Abdulrazak (hat trick) were a handful in lifting Al-Ittihad to a comprehensive win.

Plumptre scored the fifth goal of the game while Raneem Al-Sharif and Fatimah Mansour added goals to the rout.

Abla Bensenouci scored Jeddah’s consolation goal in the 65th minute of play.

Last weekend, she returned to action in a league match.

She is expected to be part of Justine Madugu’s side which will face Algeria in Lagos during the next window.

Oluwaseun Oyediji

Oluwaseun Babatunde Oyediji is a multi-media sports journalist with over 10 years experience in Information Communication Technology (ICT), women's football, and beach soccer reportage.The prolific writer is the Media Assistant to Nigeria Beach Soccer League and Africa Beach Soccer Union as well as contributor on Nigeria Women Football League (NWFL) website.He has covered multiple national and international football tournaments including Championship of African Nations (CHAN 2020), CAF Women's Champions League (2023), and Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON 2023).Since 2021, Oyediji has covered the NWFL Premiership especially the season ending Super Six Playoffs.A member of Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN), Ogun state chapter is also the image maker of the Remo Sports Development Council under the leadership of Chief Falilat Ogunkoya and David Osuolale.

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