Celtic 1 v Forfar Farmington 0
Forfar travelled to Lennoxtown wary of a free scoring Celtic team who put
nine past Aberdeen in their last match. Celtic with the lion's share of
possession dominated this game from start to finish and should in normal
circumstances have been out of sight by half time. However, a combination of
resolute Forfar defending, lead by the outstanding Fiona McNicoll in goal,
and a catalogue of squandered chances on Celtic's part meant Forfar always
had the slim chance of stealing a point from this fixture.
From
the outset Forfar made it clear with a 4-5-1 formation that their intention
was not to play their usual expansive football but to make it as difficult
as possible for Celtic to break them down, hoping a counter attack might
grab them a goal.
Forfar will not want
to adopt these tactics on a regular basis but they did manage to largely
blunt Celtic's attack which towards the end of the game had clearly begun to
run out of ideas.
Celtic took the lead in the 7th minute, Clare Gemmell scoring
from within the six-yard box following a corner. From this point on both
teams were camped in Forfar's half for much of the remainder of the half.
Pauline Hammill and Hayley Cunningham brought out some outstanding saves
from Fiona McNicoll who was in inspirational form. Cunningham, Celtic's most
dangerous player in the first half, saw a number of shots either saved or
fired wide. Clare Garrett’s excellent last-ditch tackle to deny Suzanne
Malone a clear scoring opportunity typified Forfar's determination to thwart
Celtic.
Half
Time 1-0
The
second half, like the first, was a continuance of Celtic's dominance,
McNicoll saving well from a Hammill shot and Beattie header. Hammill with
quick feet and thinking looked to have scored in the 75th minute
only to she her neat chip hit the crossbar.
Forfar were made to
chase down opponents constantly, Celtic regularly switching play and taking
play wide. It is a testament to Forfar's fitness that in the last 10 minutes
they appeared the fresher of the two sides.
The
welcomed introduction of Claire Sturrock, returning after a long-term
injury, and Rhona Gordon both made an impact and brought some needed
freshness to the Forfar team.
Emma Percy’s late
attempted long distance lob was Forfar's only real attempt on goal
throughout the match.
Celtic were clearly disappointed and frustrated with Forfar's defensive
attitude, but will need to get used to breaking down visiting sides who have
different agendas.
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another win for the ladies
CELTIC Ladies made it two wins out of two in the
Premier League with a 1-0 win over Forfar Farmington at Lennoxtown on Sunday.
Claire Gemmell scored the only goal of the game to maintain their 100 percent
record and keep the Hoops tied at the top of the table with defending champions,
Glasgow City.
The Celts came bursting out of the blocks and the game was only seven minutes
old when Gemmell grabbed her third goal in two games from midfield.
She was set up nicely by Pauline Hammill, thanks to some quick thinking by pair.
Celtic were awarded a free-kick on the right and while the Forfar defence were
anticipating a high cross into the box, Hammill spotted the darting run of
Gemmell, who tapped in from six yards.
Five minutes later, Jenny Beattie’s long, cross-field pass found Murray who
expertly chipped the
onrushing keeper, but the ball bounced agonisingly wide.
McNicoll in the Forfar goal breathed a sigh of relief, but the Celtic onslaught
was only just beginning, with Hammill clipping over a cross to Cunningham at the
back post, but the Forfar stopper saved well from point-blank range.
The Scotland Under-19 keeper was in inspired form as Hammill found out in the
25th minute.
The Celtic forward coolly lifted the ball over her opponent’s head and volleyed
a goal-bound shot, but McNicoll palmed the ball behind.
Celtic had the ball in the net for the second time in the match from the
resulting corner, only for the referee to blow for a free-kick to the visitors.
Christie Murray was adjudged to have pushed her marker before getting her head
on the ball and nodding home.
It was one-way traffic as the Hoops looked to kill the game off before the
interval and the best chance to do so came eight minutes from the break, when
Jacqui Seagrave headed over from Becky Stokes’ cross.
The Hoops were in command and the only surprise was how slender their lead was.
But they kept up the momentum after the break and continued their barrage of the
Forfar goal. But McNicoll also took over where she left off before the
break and continued to thwart the Hoops’ attacks.
Ten minutes after the restart she blocked a swerving James’ shot. Then she
recovered well to save Hammill’s effort after her poor kick-out.
The bar was the saviour next for the visitors, as Crichton played a great ball
forward to Hammill, but her superb chip rebounded down off the crossbar and
somehow stayed out.
Then the dreaded breakaway came with only 10 minutes of the match remaining.
Forfar broke out well and almost caught the home defence cold, but Webster’s
shot sailed over the bar.
Celtic boss, Brian Delaney, was delighted at the three points, despite his side
passing up a host of chances.
He said: “We’re pleased with the performance and with the chances that we
created.
“Forfar were organised and compact and credit to the opposition goalkeeper, who
was inspired today.
“But we had lots of possession, we bossed the game and we’re naturally delighted
with the three points.”
Mandy Mair
