SWPL round-up: Rangers put seven past Hibernian while Celtic and Glasgow City win
A roundup of the Scottish Women’s Premier League as Rangers hammer Hibernian at Ibrox, while Celtic and Glasgow City pick up away wins and Hearts produce a dramatic win over Spartans.
Rangers 7-0 Hibernian
Rangers produced a dominant performance in the ScottishPower Women’s Premier League on their return to Ibrox.
It took the home side just over half an hour to find the opener as Kirsty Howat charged into the bottom corner from long range. Rio Hardy doubled his lead soon after and Howat secured his second place before the break.
After narrowly winning 1-0 against Hibernian in their last encounter in May, Rangers showed their goalscoring ability under Jo Potter as Kathryn Hill, Megan Bell and two more goals from Howat gave them a resounding victory. Howat moves to 12 league goals this season, just one behind Hardy.
Howat told RangersTV after the match that “she loves scoring goals and to do it here at Ibrox is really special.”
Rangers face a tough test against Celtic on Sunday, live on Sky Sports, as they look to defeat Celtic, who are currently the only team with a 100 per cent record.
Grant Scott, who said he was “a bit embarrassed” by the result to Hibs TV, hopes his side can bounce back at home to Hamilton Accies.
Partick Thistle 0-3 Celtic
Celtic remain top of the league and continue their 100 per cent start after a hard-fought victory against Partick Thistle.
After an abnormally calm start to the match for Celtic, due to the determination of the Jags in defense, Paula Partido finally broke the deadlock just before the half-hour mark. Colette Cavanagh passed the ball towards the Spanish winger who took a touch before throwing the ball towards the goal. Megan Cunningham, on loan from Rangers and after an exceptional performance last Sunday against Hibs, will have been disappointed not to have stopped the efforts.
It took Celtic until the 67th minute to double their advantage through Murphy Agnew before three points were secured seven minutes later as Chloe Craig sent the ball into the net from inside the area.
Celtic will look to move five points clear of their title rivals if they can defeat Rangers on Sunday, live on Sky Sports. The Jags drop a place in the table as they face a tricky away test against Aberdeen.
Aberdeen 2-3 Glasgow City
Glasgow City head coach Leanne Ross described their performance as “nowhere near good enough” as Aberdeen came close to producing the shock of the season.
City won every game against Aberdeen last season, including a 7-0 league victory at the Balmoral Stadium, and looked on the right track when Brenna Lovera put them ahead after 24 minutes.
After a disappointing midweek result in the UEFA Women’s Champions League, the Dons perhaps smelled an opportunity to capitalize and were level before the break. Eva Thomson found the equalizer and just two minutes after the restart Hannah Stewart gave them the lead.
Hopes of a result were short-lived, however, as Lovera made it 2-2 four minutes later and Kinga Kozak restored City’s lead in the 52nd minute. The Polish international doubles her league tally for the season and deservedly finds the winner on her birthday.
Glasgow City travel to Norway for the UEFA Women’s Champions League, hoping to pull off a miracle and overturn a 4-0 deficit to become the first Scottish team to reach the group stage. They will next host Montrose in the league while Aberdeen host Partick Thistle.
Spartans 3-4 Heart of Midlothian
Hearts scored with the last kick of the game in a dramatic 4-3 win over Spartans at Ainslie Park to lift them up to fourth.
The Spartans won the last meeting here 2-1 and showed all the signs of another victory by leading 2-0 after 37 minutes thanks to a double from Rebecca Galbraith. The Jambos would close the gap before the break, however, as Park Ye-Eun scored his first goal for the club.
The home side would regain their two-goal lead after 50 minutes as Alana Marshall’s corner came off Georgia Timms and found the back of the net.
It was the last quarter of an hour that completely changed the situation as Timms made up for it with a goal before Olufolasade Adamolekun found the equalizer five minutes from time. Adamolekun would be the hero in the end as ‘Sade’ unselfishly passed the ball across goal by Katie Lockwood before firing home a huge three points.
Hearts head coach Eva Olid described it as the “craziest moment” of her time at the club as she now looks ahead to Motherwell on Sunday. The Spartans will look to overcome a disappointing defeat as they host Dundee United.
Hamilton Academic 1-1 Montrose
Accies and Montrose shared the spoils, leaving them three points apart in the bottom two.
The home side started brightly and opened the scoring through Josi Giard after just two minutes of play. However, Charlotte Gammie equalized four minutes later, with the teams back on level terms at the start of the match.
In a match where there were few clear-cut chances, a draw looked assured before the away team was awarded a penalty at the death. With two goals in her last two games, Aimee Ridgeway came out on top but sent her effort over the bar.
Montrose misses a chance to climb above Dundee United and move out of the relegation play-off spot, but are now just two points behind United as they travel to Glasgow City on Sunday. Accies remain three points behind Montrose Place as they travel to face Hibernian.
Motherwell 6-0 Dundee United
Motherwell rise above Aberdeen and are just two points outside the top six after a thumping victory over Dundee United.
The Women of Steel took an early lead when Gill Inglis’ cross was pushed into the net by Bailley Collins at the far post. It was his first goal for the club since signing from Aberdeen in the summer and gave his side the lead at the break.
In a frantic 15-minute period, Motherwell put United to the sword with five goals. With 60 minutes remaining Joanne Addie doubled their lead with further goals from Inglis, Kayla Jardine and substitute Laura McCartney. Collins would complete his side’s tally as they recorded their biggest league win of the season.
Paul Brownlie’s side will be looking for a similar performance when they travel to Hearts while United will look to bounce back against Spartans.
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