Caitlin Hayes and Tash Flint give Celtic FC Women the look of Champions

Glasgow City 1-2 Celtic FC Women

Celtic FC Women keep the pressure on the Rangers Women with an impressive 2-1 victory over reigning SWPL champions Glasgow City. A loss would have severely dented our title chances but we’re still in a great position to secure the first league title in our history.

Immediately, we looked dangerous on the counter, but goals were yet to come despite good chances for Tash Flint.

Eventually, we found the opener through Caitlin Hayes who powered a header home to give the Celts the lead. It was Lucy Ashworth-Clifford who put the cross in for the defender, once again showing the quality of player we have on our hands.

Tha Hayes air a chur Celtic air thoiseach! ‘B e deagh bhall a-staigh bho Ashworth-Clifford is fhuair Hayes a cheann air.

Ashworth-Clifford finds Hayes at the back post to put Celtic ahead. pic.twitter.com/nQL7we29GH

— BBC ALBA (@bbcalba) March 31, 2024

Celtic FC Women came out searching for more in the second half as we forced Glasgow City into clearing the ball on numerous occasions. We continued to push and eventually found our second of the afternoon, courtesy of goalscoring powerhouse Flint. The forward slashed through the defence and slotted it into the back of the net.

Tadhal! Fhuair Natasha Flint seachad air an loidhne dìon is chur i am ball a-steach gu oisean an lìon.

Natasha Flint gets in behind the defence and slots the ball into the corner of the goal to extend Celtic’s lead. pic.twitter.com/sMtXaAcsLL

— BBC ALBA (@bbcalba) March 31, 2024

We almost had a third as Amy Gallacher’s first-time shot forced goalkeeper Lee Gibson into a brilliant save. And up the other end of the pitch, our defence did well to keep City at bay as Chloe Craig, who made her 300th appearance in the Hoops today, put in a solid shift.

Fìor deagh shabhaileadh bho Lee Gibson airson a’ cumail Glasgow City san geama!

Lee Gibson keeps Glasgow City in the game with a brilliant save. pic.twitter.com/QjTFz5ayrR

— BBC ALBA (@bbcalba) March 31, 2024

As we entered stoppage time, the hosts pulled one back. It wasn’t enough and they couldn’t find an equaliser though and we secured all three points, keeping us firmly in the title race.

A well-deserved win for the Ghirls at the usually troublesome Petershill Park!

Celtic FC Women manager Elena Sadiku spoke to Celtic TV following the important victory. She said: “A great team performance. Great goals from Caitlin and Tash, also a good chance from Amy, a good save from the keeper but overall, I think the team performance is something I’m going to highlight.

“How we defend, how we win our duels, this team has grown so much in my eyes, and I think that other people see it as well. I said it to the girls as well, it’s not only about the starting 11 but it comes down to how we train is how we play, and the players who are sitting on the bench too, this win is something they’ve been contributing to. I’m very pleased and happy about all the players because this is something we do together as a team.

“It’s not easy sometimes to sit on the bench but we keep working hard and preparing the best way for every game. That’s something that makes me happy to see how we fight, how we play football and how intense we can play. That’s something we can keep building on.

“It’s boring to say but this is a total difference from my first two games. The team has grown. We’re showing good confidence, and they are believing in what we do. We just need to keep building, keep working hard and keep improving as a team because in the end, I believe we can do more still.”

????️ “It was a great team performance. That is something that I am always going to highlight because this team has grown so much.”

???? Elena Sadiku reacts to this afternoon’s victory over Glasgow City ⤵️#CITCEL | #SWPL | #COYGIG???? pic.twitter.com/1EdlAgOYaF

— Celtic FC Women (@CelticFCWomen) March 31, 2024

Goalscorer and defensive maestro Caitlin Hayes also spoke after the game. She said: “I think if we’re honest, we dominated from start to finish. There were a few spells that we probably let Glasgow City take momentum from us but overall, I think it was a great team performance. It wasn’t necessarily our best footballing effort but in terms of our fight and desire and passion to win the ball back when we gave it away and to get back in front, I think it was second to none. If we continue like that, we can achieve what this team dreams to achieve.

“It’s always great to give back to the team [with my goal]. Great delivery from Lucy and it was a set piece we had been working on so David will be chuffed that his hard work during the week has come to fruition today. So, like I said, just grateful to give the team the lead and even more thankful to keep a hold of it.

“Two great teams play here [at Petershill Park]but it’s also on a hill so the wind was sometimes against us and sometimes for us. So, like I said, credit to Glasgow City today, they did well but we came out on top.

“I think its ultimately down to momentum and the hard work. You see us on a Sunday, but you don’t see the Monday through Friday and credit to the girls, we’ve worked hard, we’ve fought out every single week and each member of the team is pushing the other to get in the starting squad. Momentum is with us and hopefully, we can keep hold of it over the international break.”

????️ “We dominated from start to finish, and overall I thought it was a great team performance.”

???? Caitlin Hayes also spoke to @CelticTV after scoring the opener in this afternoon’s win at Petershill ⤵️#CITCEL | #SWPL | #COYGIG???? pic.twitter.com/WuFi17Xutj

— Celtic FC Women (@CelticFCWomen) March 31, 2024

A victory in the Glasgow Derby and now, a victory over third-place Glasgow City. What a way to start the split! If we can keep up this momentum, like Caitlin said, over the international break, then we’ll put ourselves in the best position possible to bring silverware to Paradise.

Two games into the spilt Celtic have beaten both theRangers Women and Glasgow City and those two have still to play each other in the first half of the split. That could help Celtic significantly.

And you can watch the Ghirls in action on 14 April when we face off against Partick Thistle at Petershill Park. That game kicks off at 17:10 and it’s certainly going to be an entertaining affair.

For now, we’ll be without Celtic Women over the international break, but a few of our Ghirls have received call-ups for their countries, so be sure to keep an eye out!

Jessica Elliott