Shaw grabs WSL Player of the Month award

LONDON, England (CMC):

Jamaica Women’s striker Khadija ‘Bunny’ Shaw said she was looking forward to the remaining matches in the Women’s Super League (WSL) after winning the Player of the Month award for December.

It was the first time that Shaw, who celebrates her 26th birthday on January 31, had claimed the prize this season and comes after she was named the Manchester City Women’s Player of the Month for the same period.

“I am happy to win the award for the first time this year,” she said in an article appearing on Man City website. “December was a great month for us a team, and I am grateful to everyone who voted.

“We’re getting into a really important part of the season now, so winning both our games in December has given us a big boost. Hopefully we can continue our strong form until the end of the season so we can make our fans happy.”

Shaw fended off tough competition from Man City teammate Lauren Hemp, Taylor Hinds of Liverpool, Lena Petermann of Leicester City, Ella Toone of Manchester United, and Barbora Votikova of Tottenham Hotspur.

She netted a hat-trick in a 4-1 win against Everton at the end of last year, and she maintained her position as the League’s leading scorer so far this term with nine goals in as many matches.

Her treble followed a strong display in a 2-1 win against Aston Villa, where the Man City Women came from a goal down to collect three points at the Joie Stadium.

Shaw reserved her best for the match against the Toffees, as Everton are known, when she extinguished the disappointment of missing an early penalty to break the deadlock with a sublime chip past goalkeeper Courtney Brosnan.

She then doubled her and City’s tally at Walton Hall Park with a driven shot into the bottom corner before Jill Roord extended the visitors’ lead further.

Following the interval, Shaw collected the match ball when heading home in the 65th minute – which also signalled a perfect hat-trick.