It's been a memorable month so far for Fran Kirby and the Reading and England Women's starlet deserves all the accolades she gets, according to her manager Jayne Ludlow.
The young forward scored on her international debut as England beat Sweden 4-0 in Hartlepool earlier in August, and continued the month with a hat-trick as Reading beat Watford by the same scoreline on Sunday.
And boss Ludlow still feels Kirby and the Royals are capable of producing a whole lot more.
Watford 0-4 Reading
FA WSL 2
Sunday 10 August 2014
Broadwater, Berkhamsted
Attendance: 212
She said: "We did what we needed to do and we worked really hard, even though at many points in the game I’ve seen us play a lot better.
"There was some great finishing from the girls – they pressed really hard and worked really hard, especially Fran who will obviously take the applause."
Reading controlled the match with Kirby taking her season’s tally to 16 goals in just 13 games.
The Royals are now third in The FA Women’s Super League 2 table and, while Ludlow was impressed with the win, she wasn’t overly satisfied with the performance.
"They all worked very hard but I’ve seen every single one of them play better. Fran, of course, is doing really well.
"But she’s just one of quite a few in our group who, this season, have shocked a few people with their performances in a good way."
Kirby fired Reading into an early lead when she let fly from 25 yards and saw her shot rocket into the top corner.
Fran Kirby celebrates her first England goal earlier this month
She made the game safe for the visitors by scoring her second goal with 20 minutes left, when she finished calmly after being put through by Lauren Bruton.
The visitors were then gifted a third goal as Lauren Davey's clearance, following a Cally Rowell back pass, was blocked by Bruton who rolled into an empty net.
And there was still time for Kirby to complete her hat-trick in stoppage time as she caught Hollie Wride in possession before clinically stroking the ball into the bottom corner.
Watford boss John Salomon said: "We played well in stages and we dealt quite well with their threats in the first half.
"Maybe 4-0 wasn’t a fair reflection of the game but we’ve made some mistakes that have cost us goals and we have to pay the penalty for that.
"If the third goal had gone in our favour then the emphasis of the game changes but unfortunately that hasn’t happened for us.
"We’re missing Kate Natkiel at the moment and that’s a big loss to us in terms of our attacking threat as she’s been outstanding this season but she will be back for our next game."
