Ashleigh Plumptre got in the mix and scored one of Al Ittihad’s goals in their 5-0 thrashing of Al Riyadh in the Saudi Women’s Cup.
Plumptre has been in a dazzling form since her move to Saudi Arabia, putting in top-class performances, adding goals as well.
The 25 years old was again at it against Riyadh in the Women’s Cup match when she netted the opener for Ittihad, and paved way for other goals.
The Nigerian defender scored on the 34th minute on the run of play before further strikes by Salma Amani, Leighanne Robe and a brace from Layla Islandar wrapped up the comfortable win.
The huge success sees Plumptre and her team advance to the semifinals of the Cup competition in a superb fashion.
Since signing for the Saudi club in September, the ex-Leicester City left-back has shown that defenders can score too, despite their position.
She announced her arrival in the Saudi Arabia women’s top flight league with a hat-trick against Eastern Flames in October.
She also netted thrice as the Jeddah based outfit edged out rivals Al Ahli 6-2 in December to raise her goals stock to six in the league.
Back home in Nigeria, Plumptre has won the hearts of football fans with her performances so far for the Super Falcons.
She earned her first national-level call up in February 2022, starting in a 2-0 win over Côte d’Ivoire in a Women’s Africa Cup of Nations qualifier.
She was instrumental as Nigeria reached the last 16 of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, losing via penalties to eventual runner-up England.
