TheRangers goalkeeper Jenna Fife suffered another one of those hilarious Glasgow Derby ‘Wit’s the Goalie Doin’?” moments at Celtic Park on Wednesday night as the super fast Celtic substitute Mariah Lee left the former Hibs keeper stranded way outside her box before completing the brilliant counter attack with a cool and composed finish to win the three points for the Hoops and get Celtic right back into the mix for a Champions League spot.
Celtic’s 24-year-old American star certainly picked the time, the place and the occasion to net her first goal for the Hoops that gives Celtic FC Women a double over the big spending theRangers this season, and claws back the five point gap that on Wednesday’s opponents at least. Glasgow City’s 2-1 win over Hibs in midweek keeps them clear at the top of the SWPL table.
After the game Celtic match-winner Mariah Lee spoke to the official Celtic FC Women website about the ‘amazing’ feeling scoring the winner against theRangers at Celtic Park.
“It’s always fun to score goals and it’s even better to do it on the big stage in the games that are do or die, so it felt good to get to the scoreboard and get my first goal. Probably nothing could beat getting your first goal in Celtic Park, in the derby against Rangers so it was amazing,” she said.
“I was prepared, I’m always looking to come in and make an impact. Playing (the)Rangers in Celtic Park – it doesn’t get any better than that. I had a feeling we were going to pull out a win going into tonight, I knew everyone was going to give it their all and I’m so proud of the team,” Mariah added.
The devastating Celtic counter attack that produced Lee’s marvellous winner also involved Celtic’s 18 year old left back Chloe Warrington, who was also more than pleased with the way the team’s big night in Paradise turned out.
“I can’t really sum it up into words. This is why we play and we came here wanting to put on a performance the way that we did. We came into the game having been ruled out before we’d even played so we came and showed exactly why we shouldn’t be ruled out just yet,” she told Colette Carr.
“In a game like that you just need to remain focused and work hard as a team and when you go up 1-0 at such a late stage in the game you know the pressure will be on, but we showed that we work on that every week. We showed when you’re a team and you fight you’ll get the win.
“We need to take the chances that we get and tonight we did that. I wouldn’t say we had many clear cut chances but we when got the one through on goal it’s about finishing it and Mariah done really well to do that. It’s not about all the chances, but the ones you take,” the teenager stated.
Meanwhile ahead of Celtic FC Women’s next match against Hibs on Sunday, the manager Fran Alonso spoke to the media earlier this afternoon. The Celtic Star was invited to participate but decided against taking part after the Celtic PR/Marketing team decided to patch the site that has supported the women’s game consistently. A club like no other. Still won’t stop us supporting the Ghirls.
Here’s what a very proud and happy Fran Alonso had to say. He speaks about the game brilliantly.
“After a huge win, you need to refocus the team. We’ll treat this game against Hibs as a final and that for me, as a manager, is my main objective. We need to make sure we show the same fight and desire as we showed on Wednesday. Often after a huge game, it’s harder to focus but with the state of mind that the players are in now, I’m sure we’ll have a good game on Sunday,” Fran Alonso.
#SBSSWPL | Who's looking for some more @bbcalba coverage of the @_ScottishBS SWPL 1? 🙋♀️🙋♂️@CelticFCWomen came away 6-2 winners the last time they met @HibernianWomen 🔥
Details for Sunday's match ⬇ pic.twitter.com/Bylxtu66H4
— Scottish Building Society SWPL (@SWPL) April 23, 2021
