GLASGOW CITY v CELTIC - S.W.P.L. - Thursday 27th November 2008

City Crash To Celtic

Glasgow City lost 2-1 to Celtic tonight at Glasgow Green in what was a very disappointing game for the hosts.

City went into this match full of confidence having comfortably seen off Celtic last month in the League Cup, but were guilty of perhaps too much complacency in this match, with Celtic starting the much stronger side.

City’s line up was changed slightly due to the absence of first team regulars Emma Fernon and Suzanne Lappin, with Jill Paterson moved to left back and Clare Gemmell into midfield. However, the new line up barely had time to settle with Celtic hitting their first goal within the five minutes. A deep corner to the back post found Jo Love in space and the Scotland midfielder got her knee to the ball and managed to steer it over the line.

City responded soon after when a cut back to just outside the box was hit brilliantly by Jill Paterson and her shot sailed past Claire Johnstone in the Celtic net. However, Paterson’s effort proved to be a rare moment for the home side as their normal play and composure left them entirely for the first 45 minutes.

Celtic then took the lead midway through the first half courtesy of a penalty from former City player Leanne Crichton, after City’s Leeanne Campbell was judged to have fouled Celtic’s Christie Murray in the box.

Half time 1-2.

The second half saw an entirely different Glasgow City as the home team gradually began to look more like themselves. City’s pressure in the second half for the equaliser gained momentum when Celtic full-back Julie Ferguson was sent off for a second bookable offence with 30 minutes still left on the clock.

However, heroics from the Celtic rearguard kept City at bay as the visitors held on to their lead to pick up all three points.

City Boss Peter Caulfield was very disappointed. He said, “That was the worst first 45 minutes I have ever seen from a Glasgow City side in the nine years I have been Manager. Thankfully we picked it up considerably in the second half, but by then Celtic had something to fight for and hold on to. However, tonight has been and gone and we need to now focus on Boroughmuir on Sunday. We have only played seven games so far, so we still have a lot of football left and we will just take it one game at a time.

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Celtic Ladies Triumph Over Reigning Champions

Celtic Ladies turned over the league champions on their own ground on Thursday night with a well-deserved 2-1 victory over local rivals, Glasgow City. Despite finishing the match with only 10 players, the Hoops made it six league wins on the bounce and ensured they remain at the Premier League’s summit during the winter break.

Leanne Crichton scored the winner from the penalty spot after City’s Jill Paterson cancelled out Jo Love’s opener in an entertaining first-half, dominated by the Hoops. And the Celts showed their mettle to see the game out after Julie Ferguson was dismissed following two bookings in quick succession, the first for a dubious, hand ball.

Celtic got off to a flying start and they took the lead with only five minutes on the clock. An excellent cross swung in from the right by Ferguson, was turned in by Love, who continued her superb, recent, scoring record. But City responded quickly and got themselves level again three minutes later. No-one picked Paterson up from a throw-in, deep in the Celtic half, and she had time to control and volley in from 25 yards.

The visitors settled down and began to impose themselves on the game and City struggled to cope at times, being hemmed in their own half for the most part. Jenny Beattie almost put the Hoops in front again, when the defender’s header had to be cleared off the line. They got their just rewards for their excellent play on 23 minutes, though, when Christie Murray was felled in the box, and Crichton kept her composure to convert the spot-kick.

Beattie then went close again when she got on the end of another pin-point delivery from Lauren MacMillan, but her header went over the bar this time, to the relief of the City defence. Their play merited more, but Celtic had to be content with a slender 2-1 half-time lead. But they continued to dominate in the second half and threatened to kill the game off early. The ball broke to MacMillan just inside the Glasgow box, but the midfielder shot over the bar. Murray then tried an over-head kick when she got on the end of a fine, sweeping, Celtic attack, but her effort proved too ambitious, causing the keeper no trouble.

Celtic were then harshly reduced to 10 players after Ferguson’s second yellow of the evening, which risked allowing City back into the game, but the closest they came was with a Rachel Corsie, glancing header which went wide of goal. The Hoops almost clinched a third goal in the dying minutes, when Livingston spilled substitute Julia Scott’s effort, but the keeper recovered to collect at the second attempt. And despite a late flurry of attacks by the home side, the Celts held out to seal the vital three points, inflicting the first defeat of the current campaign on the reigning champions.

There was not a failure in the Celtic team, and coach Robert Docherty said after the match: “I thought our first half performance was tremendous, especially with the number of chances we created and I thought we thoroughly deserved our lead. “Obviously with the sending off we had to re-group and change a few things tactically, but the players handled it well and we’re absolutely delighted with the win.”

Mandy Mair

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