Central Academy star Chelsea (15) is Scotland's senior player of the month

Chelsea receives her trophy from Kerra McKinnie (pic by Malcolm Mackenzie Photography)

Midfielder Chelsea McEachran beat the fellow nominees Suzanne Mulvey (Motherwell), Nina Fitzsimmons (Hamilton Academical), and Katey Turner (Hibernian) to become the first winner of the Scottish Building Society SWPL Player of the Month for 2018.

Just under a thousand public votes were cast for the award with Chelsea picking up over a third of the vote.

Since gaining promotion to Scottish Building Society SWPL 2, Central Girls FA have shown they will be a tough team to beat. Their 3-1 win away to St Johnstone was perhaps the shock of the opening Sunday.

While they’ve lost their last two matches (2-1 at home to Kilmarnock and 3-1 away to Motherwell), those games have been against the current top two teams.

Part of their success and strong performances have been in midfield, where 15 year-old Chelsea has excelled.

Chelsea was presented with her award by Kerra McKinnie, Head of Marketing & Communications for Scottish Building Society, at the Indodrill Stadium in Alloa.

The delighted youngster said: “To have won this award is a huge honour.

"This is a very competitive league and we knew we’d have to battle for every point. It’s really pleasing to have a win under our belts and to be getting such recognition at the same time.

“To have lost our last two matches is disappointing but we’ve certainly not been outclassed against two of the most inform teams.

"We’re in good spirits about the season ahead and are confident of maintaining our Scottish Building Society SWPL 2 status.”

Kerra McKinnie said: “We’d like to say congratulations to Chelsea and Central Girls FA.

"2018 has been a fantastic year for the club and this is further recognition of their hard work.

“This is the first award of the new season and already we’ve seen a really high level of interest. Just under a thousand votes came in, despite us reducing the voting time. We’re delighted to, therefore, see the continued growth in support for the Scottish Building Society SWPL.”