Ruthless Celtic FC Women showed no mercy to Aberdeen this afternoon as we recorded a heavy 13-0 victory over the visitors, securing a record breaking win that could have an impact at the end of the season in what looks like being a tight title race.
Celtic got off to a flying start seven minutes into the game as Colette Cavanagh found the back of the net Paula Partido, playing on the right, cut back to Amy Gallacher, who couldn’t get her shot off. The ball fell to the feet of Cavanagh, who made no mistake in putting it past the goalkeeper.
Two goals in two minutes for the Celts as Partido crossed into the box for Murphy Agnew, who was waiting at the back post to nod it in from close range. Once again, Partido showed her skill by beating defenders, before crossing into the box for Agnew again, who glanced her header in from the near post.
Partido got her name on the scoresheet next as she got a well-deserved goal. Shen sent a corner into the box and Partido’s fantastic positioning inside the area put her in the perfect position to score her header. Cavanagh was the creator for our fifth as she played a cross into a dangerous area. Natalie Ross took her chance and smashed a header past the goalkeeper.
Ross almost had her second as she was one-on-one with goalkeeper just a few minutes later. She fired into the back of the net, but the flag went up for offside. We were determined to get a sixth before half-time though, as a corner found the head of Chloe Craig, who put it past the keeper for her 10th goal of the season.
After struggling to score in the first half, Amy Gallacher found her scoring boots for the second 45. Five minutes into the second half, Shen Mengyu cut back for Gallacher, who shot directly into the face of an Aberdeen defender. Gallacher pounced on the rebound and made no mistake this time around, putting it into the corner of the net.
With just over an hour gone, Ross got her second of the afternoon. She received the ball on the edge of the box and took her chance, releasing an unstoppable strike past the keeper and into the corner.
Another quickfire attack from Celtic as Murphy secured her hat-trick a minute later. Ross played the ball through the Aberdeen defence, and Agnew got in behind to put it past the goalkeeper with a first-time shot. A brilliant move from Partido allowed Mengyu to play a ball across the face of goal. The play found Gallacher, who tapped it into the net with ease.]
With the intensity still high, a header was swung in and Caitlin Hayes thought she had gotten a goal. An Aberdeen player prevented it from crossing the line, but Celtic were quick to attack again. Agnew found herself one-on-one with the goalkeeper, but she decided to pass to Clare Goldie, who had the easy task of smashing it into the net. A second league goal for the 18-year-old!
After having her header cleared off the line a few minutes earlier, Caitlin Hayes headed in from the back post to get her deserved goal.
And to round off a fantastic performance, Gallacher slotted it into the corner of the net for her hat-trick.
What a game! This is Aberdeen’s heaviest defeat ever in the SWPL, and they would’ve been hoping to put up a fight today as a point at the Excelsior would’ve helped them in their journey to break into the top-half of the table.
Their most dangerous and in-form player, Bayley Hutchison, who Fran Alonso named as a threat in his pre-match press conference, was frustrated with the lack of service she received this afternoon. It seemed as though the Dons were determined to defend, rather than attempt to attack against the Hoops.
Murphy Agnew and Amy Gallacher will both be buzzing after scoring hat-tricks today. Agnew spoke to Celtic TV after the match, saying: “I feel really excited and happy. I always like to contribute to the scoresheet and a first hat-trick is a really big milestone.”
Fran Alonso was very impressed by the performance. He said: “Very impressive. We knew how difficult the opponent could be. To be fair, we prepared very well all week. The girls worked very hard, and very well.
“I’m absolutely delighted. It was a very impressive performance. I don’t think I would be exaggerating if I said it was one of the best this season.”
There is no doubt that this will send a message to other teams in the league. We are a very capable side, and Fran is still looking to improve it. With it looking like a new striker will be coming through the doors in January, I fully believe that we’re going to push on and become more relentless than ever.
Are we on our way to a first SWPL league title? If anyone can do it, this squad can.
At the time of writing, theRangers are currently beating Montrose which means we are still one point behind them in the league table. But don’t let that put you down, because we still have to play them again this season, and I’m sure we’ll enact our revenge.
Oh, and one more thing – let’s never mention my score prediction for Celtic v Aberdeen again…after getting last week’s spot on my luck was never going to last!
Jessica Elliott
