Save the date, Celtic FC Women have been drawn against theRangers in the semi-finals of the Sky Sports Cup! And the timing of this Glasgow Derby semi-final is ideal as it will be the first big match of 2024 for Celtic supporters to attend.
The game will be played on Sunday 21 January and that’s the weekend that the mens game comes back with the Scottish Cup fourth round. As far as the Scottish Premiership is concerned Brendan’s side will play St Mirren in Paisley on 2 January before the shutdown comes in and the next game after that is against Ross County on Saturday 27 January.
So for football starved Hoops fans, Fran Alonso’s side taking on theRangers in the semi-final of the Sky Sports Cup will provide a tantalising opportunity to get along and support the Ghirls who have treble ambitions this season, hopefully the Bhoys will not be playing on the same day as this Sky Sports Cup semi-final.
In the last five matches between the two sides, Celtic have won twice, theRangers have won twice, with one tie ending in a 1-1 draw. So, this will undoubtedly be an exciting clash as we look to beat our city rivals and make up for what happened last time we faced them.
We will be hoping to push theRangers aside and reach the final as we have done extremely well thus far in the competition. We breezed past Hamilton Accies with a 6-0 victory at their home ground in the second round. In the quarter-final stage, we advanced to the semis with a 3-0 victory against reigning SWPL1 league champions, Glasgow City.
Now, we will face theRangers at home as we look to take our place in the final, which will be played at Tynecastle in March 2024.
The official Celtic FC website lists the Excelsior Stadium in Airdrie as the venue for this semi-final, presumably as Celtic were first out of the hat this morning. However if one of the home grounds at Celtic Park or Ibrox is not being used that weekend for the men’s Scottish Cup, then why not play the match there?
If Celtic do make it past theRangers, we would be facing either Partick Thistle or Hibernian in the final.
Both Sky Sports Cup semi-final ties will take place on the afternoon of Sunday, January 21st. Full fixture details will be confirmed in due course.
Jessica Elliott
