Celtic FC Women draw 2021 to a close as they entertain Motherwell at the Penny Cars Stadium this afternoon, and what a year it has been.
A win against a resurgent ‘Well side would of course be the ideal way to sign off a year where we saw the third nag, in an apparent two horse race, take the SWPL1 title race to the final day as well as completing a Green and Whitewash of a ridiculously expensively assembled rival, including a win over that same rival at Celtic Park, before qualifying for the Champions League and subsequently performing so well against a superbly talented and experienced Levante side that the opponents were dead on their feet and resorting to sheer gamesmanship and skulduggery to get themselves over the line.
And if that wasn’t enough the Celts also went about winning the first trophy in a decade, and the first as a professional club, as the Hoops overcame Scottish Football’s dominant force Glasgow City by a solitary goal but with a thrilling performance that intimated a changing of the guard may be occurring as Kelly Clark lifted the SWPL Cup at Firhill last weekend.
It has been a momentous year for this group of players and coaching staff, one each and every player at the club and some who have since moved on – and may well be regretting that decision – should be immensely proud of. Both their achievements and the style in which it has been achieved is a credit to Celtic and has been done in a manner entirely befitting of the history of the club they have represented.
As with any achievement at Celtic, the show moves on to the next game but the advantage for this Celtic team is with one last push, three points and hopefully a few goals to boot today, the players can head into a winter break and no football until the Scottish Cup comes around on 9 January.
No matter the result today it will be a well-earned rest for Alonso and his players, but a victory this afternoon can help ensure the Celts head into 2022 and the second stage of the season ready to kick on as they did at the start of this year and set a course for a league title challenge once again. And with the taste of champagne from a League Cup trophy still easily recalled, the thirst for more silverware will surely spur this team on after the Bells have rung in the new year.
Celtic currently lie five points off theRangers and three points off Glasgow City who sit second in the table, but such a gap is far from insurmountable for a Celtic team who regularly take care of the former and now have the monkey off the back when it comes to the latter. However, no-one needs to point out any further slip ups against the lesser lights in the top flight would make that task harder than it needs to be.
It was promising therefore to hear Fran Alonso outline in his media conference, attended somewhat disappointingly by only The Celtic Star and The Cynic, that the players were rewarded with two days off then driven hard in training alongside the overriding message broadcast to all and sundry to stay humble. Very much a feet back on the ground message then from Fran Alonso, alongside the impression the manager feels the League Cup win is just the beginning of the journey not a final destination.
The Celts face an opponent who have pushed themselves into fifth in the table, have lost only twice in their last five games and both those defeats came against the top two in the table. That’s enough for the Hoops to be wary of a young side making great strides under Paul Brownlie and Leanne Crichton and who will know exactly what is required to be competitive in the top flight.
Add to the mix our ex-striker London Pollard in the Motherwell ranks, somewhat surprisingly allowed to leave Celtic on a permanent basis last month, and they’ll have a striker of great promise, with an eye for goal and one who has previously scored against Celtic while playing for Forfar Farmington.
Yet young Pollard will be facing a different side this time around. She’s unlikely to get much change out of Celtic’s back three of Shorts, Clarke and Cup Final goalscorer Caitlin Hayes. And with Charlie Wellings un-droppable up front, Pollard may get it reaffirmed as to why it was going to be a hard task to dislodge Wellings from this Celtic team. Indeed, having had a week off from the hitting the back of the net habit, you can almost guarantee Charlie Wellings will be making up for lost time this afternoon as she looks to add to her incredible 15 goal haul already this season.
If there is any complaint to be had from this incredible week, it is that this afternoon’s game, live on BBC i-Player and the BBC Sport Website and kicking off at 2PM, clashes with the men’s game also against Motherwell today.
There has been a great deal of interest built up with the glory of that League Cup win. It was a chance to have some who filled 3645 seats at Firhill for the final to be enticed back to another game, and more who may have had their interest piqued by that wonderful performance to consider taking in a match, or even just tuning in on TV.
Having this tie clash with this afternoon’s game at Celtic Park seems an opportunity lost. It’s a minor complaint but there is nothing like a cup winning Celtic side to promote the women’s game amongst our own support, it’s worrying to think that some of that traction may have been lost.
But what better way to get the spotlight back on to the League Cup winners -has a nice ring to it doesn’t it? – than victory over Motherwell this afternoon and bring to a close a monumental year for Fran Alonso and this incredible Celtic team with a much-needed league win and a springboard into a 2022 title challenge.
COYGIG!
Niall J
READ THIS…Fran Alonso on Celtic’s “Perfect Day” – “Best game we’ve ever played and the most important one”
