Celtic FC Women drew their Champions League campaign to a close with a second defeat in three days as they went down 3-2 in Trondheim, Norway to as vastly experienced FC Minsk after extra time.
Full-time and we bow out of our first ever Champions League campaign with a tight defeat against a vastly experienced side.#UWCL | #MINCEL | #COYGIG pic.twitter.com/2iemF6ZpOY
— Celtic FC Women (@CelticFCWomen) August 21, 2021
Whilst the result yesterday would have been disappointing for Fran Alonso and his team, as would the narrow 2-1 defeat to Spanish side Levante on Wednesday night, there has to be a realisation within the squad that both performances probably deserved more than the team got for their exhaustive efforts.
Against Levante the Celts played against a team as good as I’ve seen in women’s football outside of the latter stages of the Champions League, a team that for a twenty-minute period at the start of each half were a pleasure to watch as they played as a very tight well-versed unit and executed their gameplan as if the attacking players in particular had a second sense as to where each other would be at any given moment and in any particular scenario.
At one point for Celtic, it looked like a heavy defeat would be on the cards. Instead, Fran Alonso made the tactical adjustments to counter Levante and Celtic’s own strengths came to the fore. The high pressing game unsettled the opposition, forced errors, conceded free kicks and Alonso’s well worked set piece routines bore fruit, not only from a Caitlin Hayes wonder goal but also from a host of other chances that didn’t quite fall for the team.
The pleasure was mine! Thank you for your amazing support, we felt it both days! 🍀💪
Hopefully we meet again!!
Mon the hoops!!— Fran Alonso (@FranAlonsoFA) August 21, 2021
Yes, Chloe Logan’s top-class performance between the sticks kept Celtic in the game at times but the way this Celtic team imposed their own strengths on the opposition and in the end had them resorting to gamesmanship and skulduggery just to get over the line is something this Celtic team need to bank and build on for the domestic season ahead. After all, if they can compete with a team as good as Levante, and make no mistake they deserved a shot at extra time at least for their efforts, then the likes of Glasgow City and theRangers should hold no fear.
As such let’s have no more underdog nonsense when it comes to a Celtic title challenge this season. Celtic deserve to be on the Champions League stage and next time they need to ensure they qualify as league title winners and take the advantages that brings in terms of the route to the group stages. In recent years Glasgow City have made the last 32 and the quarter finals, Celtic need to aim just as high because they are just as good and getting better.
Yesterday’s 3-2 defeat to FC Minsk may have been a sobering result for the Hoops desperate as they would have been for that first Champions League win but it should be countered by the fact Celtic had expelled a great deal of energy just three days before against Levante, they were also playing a vastly experienced Champions League outfit having competed in the tournament seventeen times, and the fact the match went to extra time was simply a final exhaustive hurdle the Hoops couldn’t quite negotiate.
There were plenty of positives to take, Charlie Wellings looks a good all-round striker and one who leads the line well, is not only a goal threat but is a player who presses well from the front and in transition pulls defenders into areas they’d rather not go, once teammates get fully up to speed on the gaps this creates for other attacking players the rewards will follow.
And then there is Izzy Atkinson. The leap in Atkinson’s development since last season is incredible. Atkinson was a major influence on proceedings against the Spaniards and yesterday against Minsk her break from deep to set up the goal that levelled the games was simply outstanding. The speed was impressive enough but the control of the ball was equally important and what can you say about the delivery – outstanding.
WHAT. A. GOAL. 😍
🍀 Izzy Atkinson with an incredible solo run who squares it to Rachel Donaldson to equalise for @CelticFCWomen #MINCEL pic.twitter.com/1p1DjuuSlj
— Premier Sports (@PremierSportsTV) August 21, 2021
The biggest take-away and an area domestically that Celtic will be able to take advantage of is Celtic’s high press will force the opposition to concede possession in areas they’d rather not. From there Celtic’s set piece routines will rock domestic opposition. Atkinson brings an excellent free kick and corner kick delivery threat to the team and from there the likes of Caitlin Hayes, Kelly Clark, Chloe Craig and many more are aggressive in the way the attack the ball. Hayes has already score two Champions league goals after she scored Celtic’s second yesterday, and in truth could have had more had a little for luck landed on the side of the Hoops. There are clearly goals to be had from this approach in the season ahead.
Let’s not suggest Celtic are the finished article just yet, there are clear issues that need to be addressed. Playing on the counter attack has suited the team of late however against domestic opposition they will have to impose themselves on the opposition who will sit in a low block and insist Celtic find a way through.
Already the dominant midfielders of last season, particularly Lisa Robertson protecting the defence and starting attacks and Anna Filbey running beyond the strikers have been missed. Tyler Toland has come in to the side but the creativity and control of midfield areas is a work in progress. Toland hasn’t quite clicked just yet, but it is early days and Sarah Teegarden isn’t impacting proceedings as much as we’d like to see. Of course, understandings and partnerships take time to progress but if Celtic are going to dominate the midfield areas at home there will need to be more offered from those tasked with winning the ball and those with threading it through the gaps.
Celtic start their SWPL1 campaign away to newly promoted Aberdeen in two weeks’ time, from there all roads will lead to a League title and another shot at Champions League football. This time around whilst the results will leave the Celts and Fran Alonso disappointed it must be countered, after a good night’s sleep, with the belief this team deserved to be in this competition, competed more than admirably and deserved something more tangible than a slap on the back for their exceptional efforts.
Celtic have a defensive line and goalkeeper good enough to win a title, they have attacking players who can create and a striker more than capable of converting those chances. In midfield they just need to find the right balance to replace the loss of important players. If they do that, this team is not an underdog, they are bona fide title challengers and will be back in the Champions League next season as domestic Champions. When they do, they can draw on the positives of the performances in Trondheim this year and get their just rewards.
Here’s Fran Alonso talking about the Champions League experience…
🎙️ The manager reacts to today’s close loss in the #ChampionsLeague against #FCMinsk#UWCL | #MINCEL | #COYGIG pic.twitter.com/se6g0dH9vf
— Celtic FC Women (@CelticFCWomen) August 21, 2021
Niall J
