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By Alexis Monteith 

Jamaican footballer Khadija ‘Bunny’ Shaw and Jamaican track icon Usain Bolt provided a moment of comedy for their fans on social media when Bolt delivered a less-than-glowing appraisal of another record-breaking accomplishment by Shaw for Manchester City Women.

It came after City’s 5-0 rout of West Ham at the Joie Stadium on Sunday, April 21, where Bolt and Reggae Boyz legend Ricardo Gardner were in attendance, witnessing a brace of goals from Shaw in the Women’s Super League (WSL) clash.  

With her two first-half goals, Shaw became the first player in history to register a goal involvement in 10 consecutive WSL appearances, scoring 9 goals and making an assist in the record-breaking 10-game run.

And what did Bolt think of Shaw’s performance on the day? The two compatriots are known to be friends and Shaw was eager to hear Bolt’s opinion, but she was not prepared for the unexpectedly hilarious moment it would provoke.

“How me gwaan, today? (how did I do today)” Shaw asked the sprint legend after the game.

Bolt playfully hesitated for a moment before responding, “You gwaan alright (you did alright).”

The legendary athlete’s reply sparked an outburst of laughter from Shaw as she screamed “What?” in stunned disbelief at his underwhelming assessment.

Shaw and Bolt shared the jovial scene in a pair of lighthearted videos on their Instagram accounts featuring the playful interaction between the two.

The Jamaican striker went on to challenge Bolt to rate her two goals but the charismatic celebrity only delivered more tough love.

“Hear why me say you gwaan alright (listen to why I said you did alright),” Bolt explained. “A four goal we did a work pon (we were aiming for four goals and you give me two.) So, you gwaan alright. Come on, now.”

Shaw would have been well within her rights to protest the high bar set by her friend considering she was substituted at half-time with an ankle injury, leaving her no more time to add to her goal tally. 

But as the Reggae Girl was laughing with Bolt at his verdict, social media accounts were highlighting her personal milestones achieved in this game. Her tally of WSL goals since arriving in England in 2021 now stands at 50, a feat she has accomplished in just 57 games, the second-fastest pace in league history.

After scoring 21 goals this season the footballer is also one goal away from equalling the WSL record of 22 goals scored in a single WSL season, achieved by Rachel Daly last season and Vivianne Miedema in the 2018/19 season.

2024 has already seen Shaw become Manchester City Women’s all-time record scorer in the WSL, a landmark she reached in January when she surpassed the 39 goals scored by former City midfielder, Georgia Stanway. Later, in March, she overtook another Stanway record of 67 goals across all competitions for the club.

Shaw’s brace of goals on Sunday were the second and third goals scored by Manchester City Women in their 5-0 win over West Ham.

It was Leila Ouahabi who scored the first only 24 seconds into the first half when she stormed into the penalty area to meet a Jess Park cutback, side-footing the ball into West Ham’s net.

Two and a half minutes later, with West Ham still reeling, Shaw chested down a cross from Laurel Hemp and booted the ball on the bounce, scoring from just outside the six-yard box.

The chaos of the first two goals coming early and in quick succession would settle for only 20 minutes until the Jamaican again met a Lauren Hemp cross, but this time with her head, directing it into the top right-hand corner of the net.

With Shaw exiting the game at half-time due to injury, City began the second half with substitute Chloe Kelly assuming the striker’s role. It would not be until the 81st minute of the game that City would resume scoring. 

Mary Fowler made a short pass across the face of goal which found Laura Blindkilde Brown who made no mistake with her shot from close range. It was the 20-year-old’s first goal for Manchester City since joining the club in January from Aston Villa.

The final nail in the coffin for West Ham came in the 86th minute when player of the match Jess Park received the ball in the opponents’ half of the centre circle. The 22-year-old immediately beat a West Ham player and dribbled straight down the middle of midfield to the edge of the penalty box where she fired the ball hard and low into the bottom left-hand corner of the net.

The win took Manchester City Women to the top of the WSL with 49 points, three more than their closest title rivals Chelsea who have a game in hand. They also have a goal difference of 42, three better than Chelsea’s 39.

Commenting after the game, Manchester City Women’s head coach Gareth Taylor shed some light on Shaw’s substitution following her injury.

“At half-time, we were toying with the idea of doing it anyway if she did have an issue,” he said. “And then we just spoke to the medical team. They said we need to do it. But Chloe, I thought, came on and did well, caused problems in their backline and hopefully Bunny is going to be ok,” she said.

Shaw was seen on crutches after her substitution, wearing a protective boot over her injured foot. It was clear, however, as seen from her laughter around Bolt and friends on her social media, that she was in good spirits despite not having yet received a more comprehensive assessment of her injury.

Manchester City Women will next face Bristol City away from home on April 28.