It’s good to be back! Celtic FC Women return to SWPL1 action this afternoon following the international break to face Partick Thistle at Petershill Park, and a team against whom Celtic arguably put in their most complete team performance of the season when defeating their city rivals 7-0 back in January.
Celtic come into this tie in good form with three wins in their last five league fixtures, meanwhile Thistle, currently lying third bottom of the SWPL1 table, haven’t registered a win in their last five league outings.
In theory that should all point to a comfortable win for Fran Alonso’s side this afternoon, yet Thistle, although a work in progress, are a good side and one Fran Alonso admits, speaking to Celticfc.com, his team won’t be taking lightly this afternoon.
“Like they’ve been all season, I expect them to be a very tough team to beat. They’re well-organised, very physical, aggressive and very good team. We won’t take any game lightly anyway, but for us it’s about getting better with each game.
“We have our game tasks which we try to beat and we try to be better than we have been. Last time against them we were outstanding, but I know we will have to be at our best. Individual tasks for each game keep the girls focused on that game alone, and we look to focus on the performance rather than the result.
“With every single game task, the goal is always to be better than our season average or against that team, and it gives us something to review afterwards.”
Since somewhat unluckily losing out to Glasgow City last month Celtic have responded as they often do after a disappointing result. The Hoops have scored 12 goals and conceded just once in their last three games culminating in a 2-0 Scottish Cup win over Aberdeen, a win which saw the Hoops reach the Scottish Cup semi-final and the now very real possibility of a domestic cup double this season, following the League Cup triumph over Glasgow City in December.
Although today’s league match perhaps lacks significance with regards to a to a now extinguished title challenge, the Celtic players will know they have to be in top form to persuade Alonso their inclusion in the Scottish Cup is warranted. As such anyone from the Thistle camp expecting a Celtic side going through the motions today is likely to be disappointed. These Celtic players have only this afternoon’s match at Petershill and next weekend’s visit to New Douglas Park to face Hamilton Accies left as opportunities to stake a claim for the Cup Semi-Final with Hearts to be played at the Falkirk Stadium on 1 May.
Sarah Harkes speaking for The Celtic FC Women players is more than happy to be getting back to action this afternoon in a match that will inevitably be overshadowed by the big game at Hampden.
“It was basically just keeping up our rhythm, our touches of the ball and making sure we were keeping up the momentum,” The Celtic midfielder explained how the players not away on International dutyhave been ticking over, “so even with girls away we were doing a lot of possession, maintaining our fitness and our health as it’s been a long season.
“We’ve had a few big games and there’s five or six weeks left now, so before that last push it’s nice to get a little bit of a break for some of us. Of course, the girls that were away didn’t get a break but it came at a great time.”
On facing fellow Scottish Cup semi-finalists Partick Thistle today, Harkes told Colette Carr from the Celtic FC media team: “You can never take any of the teams in this league for granted. They all have great quality and there are quite a few former Celtic players in that team, so we know first-hand how good some of them are, and we need to make sure we go out and give out our all.
“All of our league games are still so important. Of course, there is a gap but we still have a lot to fight for and want to make sure we finish our league games strong and have great results.
“You never know what could happen in the league, too. Other teams could drop points and we could keep climbing the ladder, so it’s about making sure we have good performances and getting the wins and then taking that performance into cup games.”
Today’s game kicks off at 1pm at Petershill Park and tickets priced £7 for adults, with kids going free can be purchased on the gate this afternoon with both cash and card payment options available.
Today’s match with Partick Thistle is an important match for a Celtic side looking to build on excellent recent form and maintain momentum as they look to a domestic cup double this season. As such you can expect entertaining football and goals to spare for your £7 entry fee this afternoon at Petershill park as Celtic FC Women set about putting on a show!
COYGIG
Niall J
We’re back!🙋♀️🥳
🏆 Scottish Women’s Premier League 1
🆚 Partick Thistle
🏟 Petershill Park
🕐 1pm
📺 https://t.co/8IeFBxp144
🎟 £7/free pay at the gate
#SWPL1 | #PARCEL | #COYGIG pic.twitter.com/6DsZhqqb4Y— Celtic FC Women (@CelticFCWomen) April 17, 2022
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— Celtic FC Women (@CelticFCWomen) April 16, 2022
