Celtic FC Women this evening take on Hibs under the lights at the Excelsior Stadium in Airdrie, with three crucial points up for grabs.
After a victory in our first away day of the campaign last weekend against Aberdeen, Elena Sadiku’s side sit in third place, behind today’s opponents and theRangers. With only goal difference separating the three sides, a victory for either side tonight could result in one team falling away for now at least.
Celtic have already beaten Glasgow City and if the Ghirls win this evening that will be two of the top sides played and defeated while theRangers continue their series of early season games against all the lower level sides in the SWPL. They play Dundee United this weekend.
Hibs continued their winning start to the season as well with a 5-0 victory over Motherwell on Sunday. Kathleen McGovern added to her tally for the season with her first hat trick for the Hibees, and she’s a player that the Celts will need to keep quiet.
Speaking to the media, including The Celtic Star, before the clash, Elena Sadiku said: “I would say [Hibs] have changed a bit of how they play. The challenge is their team. Every time we play against Hibs, they always challenge us in different ways. Grant [Scott] can sometimes do some changes that maybe we didn’t expect.
“I think they’re a great team and we need to be aware of, obviously, they’ve been doing really well. But hopefully we can give them another challenge than what they’ve faced so far.
“It’s about the players being confident and enjoying the game. I feel like they support each other and they back each other in every situation. If they do that, I know that we’re going to bring a big challenge to Hibs and that’s what we need to do,” the Celtic manager said.
Celtic Player’s View
Mathilde Carstens also spoke to the media on Thursday, in the days following her netting her first goal in the Hoops. The Danish star said: “It was amazing to get the first goal. It’s something I’ve been thinking a lot about. So it was a huge relief to get the first one.
“I don’t know what I was thinking, I was just in the moment. I know that when Murphy [Agnew] is playing, we can do those one-twos and then, it just sort of happened. I’m a really technical player that likes to be creative, create chances for others but also myself.
Previewing tonight’s game, she said: “I think that [training]has been really good. It’s some of the best training that we’ve had in a long time, so it’s been really good preparation for this game.”
“[Elena] is a big reason why I chose to come here,” Carstens went on. “So I’m just enjoying working with her and being back [working with her], so it’s really nice.”
“I feel that [the Scottish Women’s Premier League]has been better than what I had heard,” Carstens added.
“There’s still a big gap between the teams but I feel that every game is hard in different ways. It’s also hard to play against teams that are really low, and to play against teams that are really intense. I feel that every game is hard.”
Celtic Team News
Kit Loferski in action against Hibs on the day Celtic won the league
Luana Munoz isn’t likely to return, with Elena saying in the press conference that there were no updates on any players returning from injury. This means that Chloe Logan will also remain out, while Amy Richardson and Kit Loferski are back in the running. The latter made her return against the Dons so will likely take her place on the team sheet again tonight.
Match Officials
Mark Daly is the referee for Celtic vs Hibs game this evening. Gary Robertson and Jack Arbuckle will assist him. And once again a reminder that there’s currently no VAR in the SWPL.
Kick-off Time
Celtic FC Women vs Hibs kicks off at 7:35pm under the lights at the Excelsior Stadium, Airdrie.
Where to Watch
Tonight match will be broadcast live on BBC Alba for those who can’t attend, great Friday night entertainment as you wait for transfer news coming through in the last few hours before the window closes at 11pm.
The Celtic Star Score Predictions
I’m going for 2-1 to the Celts. Hibernian have been too good and clinical this season not to score, in my opinion, and if I had to predict, I’d say that the scorer will be McGovern. I think the players will take Sadiku’s disappointment over not scoring more on board and really push to get over the line here though. Maybe even another Amy Gallacher winner on the cards…?
Our editor is more optimistic and reckons this will be the best Celtic performance of the season with the Ghirls really putting on a show with a 3-0 win with Angew, Hayes and Gallacher getting the Celtic goals.
Enjoy the match!
COYGIG!
Jessica Elliott
The Celtic Pools Weekly Lottery is still only £1 each week and you could win up to £25,000! All net proceeds donated to the Celtic Academy. Join today and you will receive this Champions League Bobble Hat!
We’ve got Majic, Stan and the King of Japan – Gordon Strachan’s first season at Celtic
Read the story of Gordon Strachan’s eventual first season as Celtic manager in Matt Corr’s outstanding best seller on Celtic Star Books…Majic, Stan and the King of Japan tells the inside story of a remarkable and successful season at Celtic. Order your copy for only £10 plus postage by clicking on the image below…
