Trending
You are at:»»A dominant display in 3-0 win at Aberdeen but Celtic still lacking a ruthless streak in front of goal
Celtic FC Women

A dominant display in 3-0 win at Aberdeen but Celtic still lacking a ruthless streak in front of goal

By No Comments
Celtic's last visit to Balmoral Stadium, Aberdeen, Scotland on 5 September 2021. Photo Stephen Dobson PSI

Fran Alonso asked for a return of the pre-winter break performances from his Celtic side as they headed north to face Aberdeen yesterday – and his players answered his call, as the Hoops defeated Aberdeen 3-0 at The Balmoral Stadium to banish the ghosts of the previous weekend’s Glasgow Derby defeat and set down a marker for the remainder of the season.

Celtic played well and dominated this encounter from start to finish, however, if Fran Alonso would have had any criticism in the midst of a superb performance it is likely Celtic’s 3-0 win didn’t truly reflect their dominance.

Really it should have been more goals, and looked likely to be so, especially when Charlie Wellings tapped in Celtic’s opener after only eight minutes. Instead, Celtic had to wait until the 53rd minute for Jacynta to score the Hoops second, and injury time before Tegan Bowie rounded things off. Yet despite the wait to kill Aberdeen off, Celtic entirely dominated an in-form Aberdeen side.

The return of Charlie Wellings after a period of injury has been a welcome one of late, and yesterday Wellings’ movement off the ball and tireless work-rate appeared to return, as it looked like 100% fitness had been regained by Celtic’s top scorer, although her 25th goal of the season was possibly the easiest of the lot, as after good work from Mengyu Shen, Jacynta should have scored but couldn’t force the ball home, and instead it landed at the feet of Wellings who added the finishing touch.

Celtic had further first half chances but a mixture of bad fortune and perhaps a lack of confidence in front of goal saw Wellings and Jacynta both pass up chances to score, as did Olivia Chance and Mengyu Shen as the Hoops went into the half-time break with a solitary goal to show for their otherwise impressive efforts, particularly the incessant pressing from the front which Aberdeen struggled to cope with.

Celtic started the second half strongly and should have doubled their lead when Chloe Craig momentarily lost her poise and put the ball past the post when it seemed easier to score, but withing four minutes the Hoops were 2-0 up and Jacynta got the goal her play deserved, as a rather fortunate looped effort landed in the net with Meach in the Aberdeen goal looking lost.

Charlie Wellings then struck the post a minute later, before Chloe Craig decided to give the crossbar a similar workout to the posts, as her header struck the bar. And with cross balls causing panic in the Aberdeen defence, Cheyenne Shorts was also unlucky not to score as her effort cleared the crossbar.

In the end it took until injury time for the Dons defence to be breached again, as Tegan Bowie struck a 91st minute drive, following a perfectly weighted Izzy Atkinson pass into her path, to at least give the scoreline some sort of reflection as to the Hoops complete dominance at the Balmoral Stadium.

This performance is bound to have pleased Fran Alonso, particularly as the teams meet again in the Scottish Cup next month, with the Hoops looking to complete a domestic cup double, following the landing of the League Cup in December.

And this win should mend some dented confidence for the Hoops following a Glasgow Derby defeat, as next time out Fran Alonso and his team head for Petershill Park to face Glasgow City and a game the Hoops simply have to win to have even an outside chance of claiming runners up spot in SWPL1 – and with it Champions League qualification for a second successive season.

Here’s the Aberdeen manager’s post match thoughts and the home side’s match report.

And the last word to Fran Alonso…

More Stories / Celtic FC Women
Paradise Awaits: “The atmosphere that the fans created was sensational,” Amy Gallacher
Partick Thistle 0-5 Celtic FC Women – Doubles from Agnew and the Goal Machine
Caitlin Hayes and Tash Flint give Celtic FC Women the look of Champions

About Author

As a Bellshill Bhoy I was taken to my first Celtic game in the summer of 1987. It was Billy McNeill’s return to Celtic Park as manager and Celtic lost 5-1 to Arsenal . I thought I was a jinx, I think my Grandfather might have thought the same. It was the finest gift anyone ever gave me when he walked me through Parkhead's gates.

Related Posts

Comments are closed.