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.