Celtic sink City in crucial game: Celtic 3-1 Glasgow City
Celtic Women claimed three massive points at Celtic Park last night as they produced a spectacular second-half performance to pick up a 3-1 win over top of the table, Glasgow City.
The game also set a new record for attendance at an SWPL game with 9,553 fans inside the stadium for the hugely important title fight fixture.
The first chance of the night went to Glasgow City as Jenna Clark glanced a header just over the bar from the edge of the six-yard box. Priscilla Chinchilla then picked up the ball at the halfway line and drove into the box for City but couldn’t steer her shot on target.
Jacynta Galabadaarachchi had Celtic’s first major chance of the game when she struck the ball from outside the box but her effort sailed just wide of the post.
City then grabbed the opener at the other end as Lauren Davidson received the ball after a poor defensive effort from Chloe Craig, before driving into the box and sending the ball over Pamela Tajoner.
Lisa Robertson suffered an injury in the process of City’s goal which led to her being subbed off for Kit Loferski.
The Ghirls did well to shut out City’s attack as they quickly cut off any offensive moves from the oranges. However, sloppy passing in possession led to a stalemate in the attacking third for both sides.
Celtic maintained offensive pressure throughout the remainder of the first half with Jacynta and Amy Gallacher putting efforts on target for the hoops.
The second half saw a complete swing in momentum as Celtic took control of the game.
A free kick from Jacynta caused a goal-mouth scramble which forced City ‘keeper Lee Gibson to make a fantastic reaction save to keep it out of the net.
Celtic kept asking questions of the Glasgow goalie and it paid off as Natasha Flint drilled a low, first-time shot into the bottom corner to level the game just after the hour mark.
Flint then came close to giving the hoops the lead when she broke one-on-one with Gibson, but the City goalie was quick to cut out the shot.
It wasn’t long before Celtic found the lead as a corner from Jacynta was fired into the net by a Claire O’Riordan header, taking a deflection in the process.
The goal sent Celtic’s manager Fran Alonso ballistic as he burst down the touchline in celebration before being shown a yellow card.
Kit Loferski increased the hosts’ advantage as she was on the end of a perfect long ball, allowing her to coolly slot the ball under Gibson.
Flint tried her luck from distance in the closing minutes of the game as she smacked the ball from 30 yards out. The ball struck the bar with Maria McAneny attempting with the header, but she was cut short by the linesman’s flag.
Celtic closed out the tie with a 3-1 victory in a huge step in the title race as they now sit just two points behind City in the standings with two games to go.
The Ghirls enjoyed their post-match celebrations with the fans after the game, but none more than Alonso who was bouncing around the Parkhead pitch celebrating the win.
Alonso reflected on the game as he said: “It was a game of two halves. We were extremely disappointed with our first-half performance. It was so unlike us.
“I thought that the fans were incredible, just out of this world and the girls were a little intimidated with the atmosphere.
“The goal came away from us giving the ball away easily, that’s not us. We went into halftime devastated. Then some very strong words were said at half-time. Obviously, I’ll skip the swearing, but the summary was that I told the girls ‘We don’t deserve to play here, we always demand to play at Celtic Park and then when we get the opportunity, we play like that. These 9,000 fans are giving up their night to come and support us and they haven’t shut up for 45 minutes and this is how we are playing. We don’t belong here.’ The reaction to that was excellent. I regret saying it a little now but obviously, it was needed. I’m just extremely proud.”
He then got emotional as he said: “For me as a manager, today I feel like the luckiest in the world. We made 9,000 people happy here today and many more watching at home. That’s what we play football for, that’s what means the world to us.”
The Spaniard commented on his celebrations after the second goal as he said: “It’s my favourite moment of the game. I did obviously get booked and I apologise for that.
“If they didn’t stop me, I probably would have run all the way into the crowd. When you’re losing a game, you have so much going on in your head so when that second goal went in, it was just pure happiness and pride for me.”