Fran Alonso’s Celtic side negotiated the toughest of the three matches for the title contenders as the SWPL1 played out the final round of matches before the split. Playing Hibs at Meadowbank Stadium in front of a decent crowd, first half set-play goals from Amy Gallacher and Caitlin Hayes earned Celtic the three points and set the Hoops up for the big matches that will now come thick and fast, starting with another trip to Edinburgh next Sunday to play Hearts in the Scottish Cup quarter-final.
AMY GALLACHER GIVES CELTIC AN EARLY LEAD AT MEADOWBANK AGAINST HIBS…
⚽TADHAL⚽@CelticFCWomen take an early lead at Meadowbank 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼#SWPL pic.twitter.com/t4RPktSzo0
— BBC ALBA (@bbcalba) March 12, 2023
That 2-0 win today guaranteed Celtic second spot going into the split where the top six will play each other home and away. Current champions theRangers remain a point adrift of Celtic after their 6-0 home win against Hamilton Accies while leaders Glasgow City, as we anticipated earlier today on The Celtic Star, used their top versus bottom fixture against hapless Glasgow Women to catch up with Celtic’s hitherto superior goal-difference as they try to cover every base in their pursuit of the title. That one ended in a scoreline of Glasgow City 11 (eleven) Glasgow Women 0.
These results leave the SWPL1 table looking like this…
CAITLIN HAYES IS A HUGE THREAT AT CORNERS AND ONCE AGAIN SHE FINDS THE BACK OF THE NET FOR CELTIC AGAINST HIBS TO MAKE IT 2-0…
⚽ABAIR TADHAL DO CELTIC ⚽
Celtic double their lead from the corner!#SWPL | @CelticFCWomen pic.twitter.com/9S0MDaH383
— BBC ALBA (@bbcalba) March 12, 2023
Hearts beat Spartans 2-0 to end any chance that the visitors had of making the top six but it didn’t matter as Partick Thistle were in pole position going into today’s fixtures knowing that a win guaranteed them a top six finish. The Jags duly delivered with a 1-0 win away at Dundee United that rendered Motherwell’s impressive 3-1 win at Aberdeen insufficient to secure that top six spot as they needed Thistle to drop points.
THIS IS WHAT MAKING THE TOP SIX MEANS TO PARTICK THISTLE…
🎶 When you call on me… pic.twitter.com/eaHBA9Xu3q
— Partick Thistle Women’s FC (@ThistleWFC) March 12, 2023
So it’s Glasgow City, Celtic, theRangers, Hearts, Hibs and Partick Thistle and with three sides looking to win the title it’s going to be very interesting to see what happens. It’s also worth pointing out that there are two Champions League places up for grabs so one of the three will miss out completely.
“THE MOST IMPORTANT THING WAS THE THREE POINTS,” FRAN ALONSO…
Fran Alonso reckoned today saw a very professional performance from his side and noted that both goals came from set-plays. The Celtic manager knows that Hibs are a difficult team to playa against, saying that he was well aware of the threat that they pose in the counter. The Celtic manager felt his side controlled the game quite well, limiting Hibs to a couple of chances in the first half and in the second 45 minutes there was little threat to the Celtic goal.
“I thought we were comfortable. We didn’t create as much as we normally do but the most important thing was the three points and a clean sheet away from home, so I am delighted with the win and the three points,” Fran Alonso said.
Watch Fran Alonso’s post-match interview on Celtic TV below…
🗣 “We’ve finished the regular season before the split with an outstanding record.”
Celtic manager Fran Alonso spoke after his side returned to winning ways 🙌
⚫️0-2🍀#HIBCEL | #SWPL | #COYGIG pic.twitter.com/R6JTtAlkWD
— Celtic FC Women (@CelticFCWomen) March 12, 2023
Also worth noting that one of thistles best players is our loanee so cant play against us 😉
Wasn’t she released then joined Thistle?
No i dont think so , she hasnt played against us so to the best of my knowledge she is only loaned and well regarded by Fran , but i could be wrong .
Sorry i should say I’m talking about Abbie Ferguson and your maybe thinking of another player who was released and joined Thistle , 😉