Celtic FC Women are in Montrose for domestic action again as they search for silverware in the Sky Sports Cup…
Last time out in the league, the Ghirls won 4-2 at Links Park, with Saoirse Noonan bagging a hat-trick. There was a slight scare from the hosts as they pulled back two in the second half but Elena Sadiku’s side stayed strong to ensure three points were brought back down the road.
That game came just days before the first of two Champions League round two match against FK Vorskla Poltava so Celtic minds were clearly on that upcoming challenge. Today it’s all about getting minds focused on the domestic challenges after the amazing buzz of qualifying for the last 16 of the Champions League, going into Group B and facing Chelsea, Real Madrid and FC Twente home and away between October and December.
Celtic were knocked out of the Sky Sports Cup (ie the League Cup) in the semi-finals last season, with rivals theRangers progressing thanks to a 95th-minute Rio Hardy penalty conversion. They beat Partick Thistle in the final at Tynecastle, but the Celts will be hoping that will be them this year as the Scottish champions look to become the dominant force in the women’s game in Scotland.
Team News
Chloe Logan, Chloe Craig and Luana Muñoz remain out of the ruling. Craig is out for the rest of the season, but Muñoz will likely be returning in the near future. Expect quite a bit of squad rotation today after the incredible efforts put in against the Ukrainian Champions on Thursday night. And there’s a huge match against theRangers in the SWPL1 on Thursday night at Broadwood, so one eye will be on that too.
No pre-match comments about this cup tie as Elena told the players in the dressing room after the historic 2-0 win on Thursday night that they had the day off on Friday. The Celtic manager was away early the next morning to attend the UEFA HQ for the Women’s Champions League draw.
The players trained on Saturday and will be focused on getting a result today.
Match Officials
Jamie McCunnie is the referee at Links Park, with Liam Duncan and Craig Ritchie supporting him. No VAR to rob Celtic of perfectly good goals, as happened at McDiarmid Park yesterday for the men’s team.
Kick-off Time
Montrose vs Celtic FC Women kicks off at 1pm tomorrow at Links Park, Montrose.
Where to Watch
Score Prediction
I’m hoping that after some European action, the Ghirls will be confident enough to have a big, dominant showing of themselves domestically.
Montrose 0 – 5 Celtic.
🟢⚪️ Kicking off our #SkySportsCup campaign 🏆
🆚 Montrose
⌚️ 1pm
🏟️ Links Park
🏆 Sky Sports Cup
🎟️ Tickets available online | https://t.co/u35WbEhKYF#MONCEL | #CelticFC🍀 pic.twitter.com/PV3Purybv6— Celtic FC Women (@CelticFCWomen) September 29, 2024
Jessica Elliott
‼️ ICYMI | We will face Chelsea, Real Madrid and FC Twente in the #UWCL group stages after being drawn in Group B earlier today!
Full fixture details to follow in due course 🔜💫#CelticFC🍀
— Celtic FC Women (@CelticFCWomen) September 27, 2024
By the way, did you check out our incredible photo gallery from Thursday night? Here’s another chance…