Super Falcons and Al-Ittihad Ladies full-back, Ashleigh Megan Plumptre, has received praise from Justin Madugu following her impressive WAFCON 2024 campaign, Soccernet.ng reports.
The former Leicester City defender has started all but one of Nigeria’s games in Morocco, playing 90 minutes whenever she’s included in the starting line-up.
Plumptre was also included in the WAFCON 2024 Group Stage XI alongside her teammate, Rasheedat Ajibade.
Nigerians have grown fond of the England-born Super Falcons, popularly chanting ‘oyinbo’ whenever Plumptre is on the ball, which translates to the fair one.
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Away from the praise of the fans, Super Falcons coach, Justin Madugu also praised Plumptre for embodying what it means to wear the Nigerian jersey.
“She [Ashleigh Plumptre] really deserves to be in the team of the group stage because we did marvelously well in the games that she featured,” the 61-year-old said in an interview with CAFOnline.
“She was very outstanding defensively and offensively. The performance is there for everyone to see.
“She really did very well and I quite appreciate her performance and being part of the team for the group stage.”
“With every game, she keeps improving and generally as ateam, our expectation is that we want to do well.
“We want to win. That is what we are here for and will be going for.
“Of course, she is very important to the team. She is an important member of the team.
“Looking at the role she played in both games she played, she really brought a lot to the team.
“She was quite outstanding. We expect that she will maintain such performance, standard, and even probably do better than what she did in both games,” Coach Madugu concluded.
Plumptre will be hoping she lifts her maiden silverware with the Nigerian team on Saturday when the Super Falcons lock horns against Morocco at the Stade Olympique de Rabat in Rabat.
