Celtic FC Women won the league last season on goal difference and were always ahead on that count due to the brilliant start to the season, scoring high totals in many of the early matches.

This time around under Elena Sadiku the Ghirls look like repeating their high scoring ways, opening their campaign yesterday at Celtic Park against Dundee United with a 9-0 hammering of the Taysiders. That sends out a message to theRangers, Glasgow City, Hearts and Hibs….CATCH US IF YOU CAN!

Here’s the Unique Angle for you to enjoy and there are some brilliant goals and a very special Celtic haircut in there too…

Here are some post match thoughts on some of the players who stood out for The Celtic Star on Saturday afternoon at Paradise…

Twins give Celtic a double debut

It wouldn’t be a good analysis if I first didn’t bring up Signe and Mathilde Carstens.

Supporters would have been over the moon to see them both make the team sheet at Celtic Park yesterday afternoon and what a debut both of them had.

Signe was playing a similar role to what Shen Mengyu did last season, and she played it well. She was a great presence in the midfield and you could tell that the opposition hated being pressed by her.

And of course, it’s not just defence she’s good at, as she proved with her wonder goal. She has a fantastic strike, incredible vision to work chances that other players might have missed and she can hold the ball up well. She’s also a very fast player, which can never be a negative. Safe to say, I felt comfortable whenever Signe was in possession.

Mathilde is the more attacking out of the two and she too had an incredible first competitive game for Celtic.

She is great on the attack and is a skilful dribbler. She can create space by beating her markers and is physically strong when she is required to be, so can get shots off. She had a few good chances today and no doubt she’ll go on to score many for the Celts, as her shooting ability will also prove extremely useful, not only domestically, but on the European stage.

Bruna is exactly what we need

I wasn’t sure what to expect from Bruna Lourenço as I thought Elena would be dead set on the backline of Chloe Craig, Caitlin Hayes and Kelly Clark. It would seem that Clark may now be used as a bench option, as Elena favoured Bruna on flag day.

And the new signing had an incredible game. On the defence, she was solid and slotted into the backline like she has been here for years. At one point, it seemed as though Dundee United were about to be through on goal but she had the pace to quickly sprint back and dispossess the attacker. This is something that we’ve been missing, as it seemed like last season, all it took for an attacker to beat our defensive line was for them to have pace and stamina to burn.

I think having Craig as an option is amazing as she has been a fantastic servant to the club and continues to be an amazing player. I would love to see her slot in, and I’m sure she will. As Elena said, she wants there to be competition for places, and she certainly has them in the backline.

Also… The goal that Bruna scored is one of the best I’ve seen a defender score in-person! If she can do that more throughout the season, she’s more than welcome to…

Maria is one of our own – we want to see her!

Maria McAneny is a player who the supporters want to see more of. They even have a song about it!

Last season, she made 13 appearances for the Celts in the SWPL, with only four of them being starts. She didn’t score in the league but if given more minutes, then there is no doubt that she would hit the back of the net. And she proved that she has that ability today.

When she was subbed on, it didn’t take long for her to get off the mark as she finished the game with a brace. She has that in her locker and is an incredibly talented young player who we’d do well to keep. I wouldn’t be surprised if she moved on if she doesn’t get enough game time under Elena Sadiku this season, so hopefully we can see more of her throughout the campaign.

READ THIS…Celtic 9-0 Dundee United – Ghirls put on a show on Paradise Flag Day

Jessica Elliott