Celtic close the gap on top spot: Heart of Midlothian Women 1 – 2 Celtic Women
Fran Alonso’s Celtic travelled to the Oriam Sports Complex in Edinburgh to face Hearts Women in the SWPFL, and it was the Ghirls who took the three points back to Glasgow.
The first half was full of action with both teams fighting for control of the game. Celtic had a big chance in the 14th minute with Menglu finding the back of the net after Amy Gallagher put her through on goal. However, it was ruled offside and the score remained level.
Shortly before the half-hour mark, Celtic finally got the breakthrough they deserved. Gallagher was through on goal and unselfishly laid the ball in the path of Jacynta, who took a heavy touch past the centre halves and tapped the ball over the line from a yard out.
Two minutes later, goal scorer Jacynta turned provider and found Menglu, who hit home the second goal of the afternoon.
After taking the lead into the break, Celtic had a weaker start to the second half, with Hearts getting a goal with Jenny Smith pulling one back for her side in the 49th minute.
As Celtic looked to regain their two-goal lead, they were called into defensive action with a great goal line clearance from club captain Kelly Clark denying Hearts an equaliser from a free-kick.
The Ghirls continued to defend strongly as they saw out the rest of the game, keeping their lead and earning all three points.
It was a massive result for Alonso’s side as league leaders Glasgow City and Rangers both dropped points in a 0-0 clash between the sides. This means Celtic are now sitting comfortably ahead of Rangers in second place and shortened the gap between them and Glasgow City to three points.