Celtic FC Women were held to a draw by Hibernian under the lights at the Excelsior Stadium as neither side could find the net, in what was a poor overall show from the Scottish Champions after a promising start…
It was indeed a good start to the match as Murphy Agnew put in the work, breaking through into Hibs’ final third on more than one occasion. Balls were being put in the area but there was no breakthrough to be found in the opening stages despite hard work from the Celts.
As the game approached the half-hour mark, Chloe Craig almost fashioned a decent chance as she tried to put the ball across goal. It was claimed by the goalkeeper and the visitors tried their luck up the other end shortly after, with it missing the post by a few inches.
Caitlin Hayes started to get more involved as we tried to open the scoring, getting out on the wing to try and swing it in for a lurking attacker. Nothing paid off as we approached half-time though and it was a stalemate going into the break.
And up the other end, she got involved in defensive actions as the second half got underway, denying the visitors the opener with a headed clearance on the goal line five minutes in, to deny Hibs the lead.
Celtic almost found the opener shortly after as with 53 minutes gone, Amy Gallacher latched onto a loose ball after a defensive mistake. The goalkeeper managed to recover just in time to deny Gallacher the opener.
Kit Loferski came on with 65 minutes gone and immediately, Celtic looked like they could score, with the forward getting in good positions, using her pace to threaten Hibs. She almost managed to beat the goalkeeper to a loose ball but again, Erin Clachers would recover just in time.
The best chance of the game was also created by her. With just five minutes left to play, she cut back Hayes in the box and the defender took a shot. Her low effort was well saved by the goalkeeper though.
And that would prove to be the last good chance of the game, with little to speak of in the six minutes of injury time.
Not the best day or performance for Elena Sadiku’s side, indeed the performance should be setting off alarm bells. The policy or rotating the squad isn’t really paying dividends and surely the manager should settle on her strongest eleven then leave it to the rest of the squad to earn a starting spot through their work on the training pitch and also when coming off the bench.
Dropping points outside of the ‘big three’ games can prove costly. A goalless draw against Motherwell in the season before last and theRangers dropping points against Hearts last season in the post split fixtures probably were the decisive moments in those titles going elsewhere. Hibs though went into the game last night with their own 100% record this season and they certainly had the best chances in the second half to win the game.
Hibs certainly did more than enough to merit their point against a Celtic team that was clearly off it on the night.
The Celtic team will hope to recover from the disappointment quickly as on Wednesday, the squad travel to Lithuania to face KuPS in the Women’s Champions League. That’s an important tie that could really test this squad, especially if the strongest eleven don’t start.
Kit Loferski surely must start?
Here’s Elena Sadlku’s post match assessment on Celtic TV.
Some comments from Celtic supporters on the match…
“All us in the first half, a lot more even in the second half. I know Hibs’ start was even better than ours, but we don’t get many slip ups in this league. Has to be the last slip or we need to beat the top teams home and away. Hayes (as always), Ashworth-Clifford and Loferski stood out. Has Kit been injured? Surprised she didn’t start, her pace (and to a lesser extent her touch) is different level.”
“Good result for Hibs, not for us. The most important thing for the SWPL is more competitive teams, I hate losing but I won’t complain about a challenge. The league needs more parity. Great interview coach! In Elena we trust!”
“Thought they worked hard and created several good chances and another day Caitlin’s header drops in or Murphy’s shot hits the post and goes in or Mathilde keeps her shot lower and beats the goalie Still early in season and the season doesn’t really get going until they split in to top 6 and bottom 6. Couple good games in Lithuania and we are through to 2nd round of Champions league qualifiers which at this stage of season is probably a bigger target.”
“Why didn’t they leave on Agnew to play upfront with Loferski, both of them have pace to get in behind? Amy Gallacher doesn’t look the same player this season.”
“Sorry Elena, I was there and I wasn’t impressed at all. Hibs seemed more up for it, they were tactically better all over the pitch. We can’t handle that high press, our defenders are slow and unimaginative (except Hayes). Smith was rotten tonight, Carstens was being bypassed all night, Amy G had a poor/frustrating game, Agnew is not a starter. M Carstens was head and shoulders best player on the pitch. Subbing Ross (was solid) instead of Amy didn’t make sense and leaving Smith on didn’t help. That was not a championship winning team/performance tonight, not by any stretch of the imagination. However, I will say Hibs looked much better than they did last season, long may that continue as it can only be good for the women’s game in Scotland.”
“Going backwards here. Why is Noonan sitting on the bench when we’re chasing a goal?! We’re never winning this league (or any other trophy) if we go on like this.”
Jessica Elliott
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That performance was really poor. The team looks weaker than last season especially in midfield where Hibs actually bullied them. Unless they get the finger out it could be a fruitless season.
Great analysis – the team selection and subs were confusing. It looked as though we could play for an extra 90 mins and still not score.