Manchester United and Scotland’s Kirsty Hanson Landmark goal and international success in a special month
SEPTEMBER HAS been a very busy month for me.
We kicked off the league against Reading, it was live on Sky Sports and there were fans back for the first time since before the pandemic hit.
It was a night to remember as I scored the opening goal which went down in history as the first Women’s Super League goal scored live on Sky Sports.
I finished off a great bit of play with a first time finish with the outside of my foot, I still don’t know how I did it. I also got player of the match which topped off a great night.
I was buzzing for days after that!
The following week we played Leicester at the King Power Stadium and we ended up winning 3-1. It took us a while to get into this game and we missed a lot of chances, which was frustrating, but it was our first away game and another important three points.
Straight after the game I travelled to Edinburgh to meet up for my 10-day Scotland camp for two World Cup qualifier games, in Budapest, against Hungary and another at Hampden, Glasgow, taking on Faroe Islands.
Leading up to the game in Hungary we had a few meetings about the aims of camp and we also met our new manager Pedro [Martinez Losa]. We had a few recovery sessions for the players that played at the weekend and then training on the pitch.
The game in Hungary was tough and I played 60 minutes. It is always an honour playing for your country and we won, which was a great start to our new campaign.
A few days later we played at Hampden against Faroe Islands and in front of fans, which was special for me as I’ve never played in front of fans for Scotland.
My mum, dad and grandad came and it was amazing for them to finally watch me live in a Scotland shirt. I think they were so proud, which is the best feeling. We won that game comfortably to finish off a great 10 days. The next camp is in a month so hopefully I get selected again but the hard work must continue at club.
I had two days off after the camp finished, spending time with my mum and dad before going straight back to training with Manchester United. I’d missed the girls and staff, it was great to be back.
We had a couple of days to prepare for the game against league champions, Chelsea and unfortunately they won 6-1 but the score doesn’t reflect how we played.
We made some mistakes that a clinical Chelsea side punished us for and as gutting as it was to lose in that way, we can’t dwell on it too much as it’s still early days in the league.
The most important thing is to stick together as a team and treat it as a learning curve to help us bounce back stronger.
October is looking set to be busy with league games, an added cup game and another international break coming up, so hopefully there will be more wins and positive news to tell you about!