Top striker
Shaw ends season as top scorer in French League
Published:Sunday | June 6, 2021 | 12:13 AMRobert Bailey - Sunday Gleaner Writer
Reggae Girlz striker Khadija Shaw ended her campaign in the Feminine Division 1, France’s top-flight women’s league, as the top scorer in the competition this season, with 22 goals, after scoring in Bordeaux’s loss to Guingamp yesterday.
The 24-year-old Shaw, who entered yesterday’s final round of matches tied on 21 goals with Paris Saint Germain’s (PSG) Marie-Antoinette Katoto, scored in her team’s 4-2 defeat to claim sole ownership of the Golden Boot award after Katoto failed to get a goal for this year’s champions in their 3-0 win over Dijon on Friday.
PSG finished atop the standings with 62 points, one ahead of Lyon, while Bordeaux ended in a distant third with 44 points.
National senior women’s head coach Hubert Busby Jr said he was not surprised by Shaw’s achievements, pointing out that she has proven this season that she is among the world’s best female strikers.
“It is obviously a fantastic achievement for her to end the season as the top scorer in the French League,” said Busby Jr, who said he was surprised that the Jamaican striker was not selected in the French League’s team of the year.
“I am still shocked as to why she was not selected in the French League’s team of the year because she has proven that she is among the best players in the division,” he stated.
“This goes to show that she has a great season in the French League and she has helped her team to secure Champions League football for next season and she will continue to move from strength to strength,” Busby Jr added.
FIRST GOLDEN BOOT FOR CLUB
Shaw is the first player from Bordeaux to win the Golden Boot award. It is also the first time in a decade that the award was won by a player who does not represent powerhouses Lyon or PSG.
Shaw, whose two-year contract with Bordeaux is set to expire this summer, will sit out the Reggae Girlz’s upcoming international friendlies against Nigeria and World Champions the United States, as she has been given time off to sort out her future.
The Reggae Girlz will face Nigeria on June 10 and the United States on June 13 with both matches set to be played in Houston, Texas.
Meanwhile, Shaw’s performances in the national team and with Bordeaux have attracted the attention of a number of top clubs in Europe, with Manchester City reportedly leading the race for the Jamaican’s signature, according to recent reports.