Blundell and Skinner up for Women’s Super League awards
Manchester United are represented among the shortlists for two of the Women’s Super League awards for February.
United played two league games in February, with a dominant performance against Everton only enough for a point, before the Reds got back to winning ways with a memorable triumph at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium last Sunday.
While it is only a small sample size of games, the efforts of full-back Hannah Blundell and head coach Marc Skinner have been recognised in their respective award categories. Scroll down for the details and find out how you can help them to win…
PLAYER OF THE MONTH – HANNAH BLUNDELL
Our no.6 represents United on a six-player shortlist for the division’s second Player of the Month of 2023.
Playing at left-back, Hannah played an important role in helping ensure we kept a clean sheet against Everton in our first game of the month, while also being a threat going forward, as the Reds tallied up 25 attempts on the afternoon. In the second half, her incisive through ball to Leah Galton created one of United’s biggest chances of the game, when Ella Toone struck the base of the post. Then, shortly after, the defender got herself into a position to be on the end of an attack, seeing a curling effort at goal saved by Courtney Brosnan, as the visitors kept the deadlock intact throughout the 90 minutes.
A week later, Blundell helped Skinner’s side pick up all three points at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. She was again one to watch going forward, with license to roam, while also playing her part at the other end. In the final 10 minutes, with United reduced to a player less following Toone’s red card, Blundell was part of a defensive effort that kept Spurs out, holding on to our 2-1 lead and ensuring we returned to the top of the WSL table.
Also on the list is Kirsty Hanson, on loan from United at Aston Villa. The winger's one goal and three assists in just two matches during an unbeaten month for the Villans has earned her a nomination.
Blundell and Hanson are up against Bethany England (Tottenham Hotspur), Chloe Kelly (Manchester City), Janina Leitzig (Leicester City) and Jordan Nobbs (Aston Villa).
You can vote for Hannah to win the February Player of the Month prize here.
MANAGER OF THE MONTH – MARC SKINNER
Following another unbeaten month in the league, Skinner is up for the latest Manager of the Month award, alongside Aston Villa’s Carla Ward and Manchester City’s Gareth Taylor.
His side were dominant in the opening fixture of the month against Everton at Leigh Sports Village, but couldn’t quite take a chance to go ahead and seal a deserved three points from Leigh Sports Village. “They stopped us scoring, that’s the reality of the game,” our head coach said to MUTV post-match. “We had 25 opportunities, we didn’t get as many as we want on target, but we had good chances. It’s down to us, it’s down to our accountability, as coaches, as players, to make sure we take the moments and make the moments.”
The Reds did make the most of the key moments seven days later at Tottenham, triumphing 2-1 to return to the summit of the league table. After Galton’s goal opened the scoring for United, Skinner’s side were pegged back by Bethany England’s equaliser, but showed the character and fight to respond almost immediately, and force an ultimately decisive own goal. Despite playing with a player less in the closing stages, the team’s resilient efforts were enough to get over the line and ensure an important victory before the international break.
You can vote for Marc to win the February Manager of the Month accolade here.
You have until 10:00 GMT on Monday (20 February) morning to get your votes in for our United representatives.
Good luck and congratulations, Hannah and Marc!