Sky Sports Cup Sunday, October 05, 2025Ainslie Park SPARTANS…1 (McKenna 43) CELTIC…3 (Courter 5, Gallacher 18, 58) Celtic FC Women booked their place in the next round of the Sky Sports Cup, seeing off Spartans in a 3-1 victory. After firing themselves into an early two-goal lead with goals from Grace Courter, and Amy Gallacher, the home side looked to peg the Hoops back. But victory was sealed in the second half as Saoirse Noonan scored the Celts’ to seal a place in the next round. Following a busy start to the season with plenty of league action on their plate, it was a brief break from the SWPL for Celtic. Travelling to Edinburgh, the Ghirls kicked off their Sky Sports Cup campaign, taking on Spartans at Ainslie Park. Elena Sadiku made several changes to her side, bringing the likes of Grace Courter and Sienna McGoldrick in for their first starts. There was also a welcome return for Saoirse Noonan, who was back in the starting line-up having come back from injury last weekend. It was one of the other changes to the side that would have an impact in front of goal early on in the match though as summer signing, Grace Courter scored her first goal for the club. Corners were proving dangerous for the Celts all afternoon and it paid off just five minutes. Amy Gallacher’s delivery fell to the feet of the American defender, who smashed the ball into the back of the net on her left foot. The Celts’ bright start to proceedings continued as Amy Gallacher scored her fifth of the season just 18 minutes into the game. Latching on to a loose ball over the top, the Celtic number seven tucked the ball home into the far corner brilliantly to hand the Ghirls a two-goal advantage. Throughout the first half, Sadiku’s side continued to threaten with Saoirse Noonan aiming to get on the end of a number of dangerous crosses. The most dangerous came from the left as Aislin Streicek sent a ball into the box, but the Irish forward couldn’t hit the target. With very little to lose, the Celts had to be cautious of the threat which Spartans possessed. And just before the break, they were given a warning as the home side pulled a goal back on the counter attack. Coming out for the second half, Celtic maintained their dominance on the ball and looked to try and create further openings. Emma Lawton tried her luck with a shot early in the half, after finding herself in an attacking position. But her shot was blocked off. Just before the hour mark, Celtic regained their two-goal advantage as Noonan got in on the act. Once more, it was a threat from a corner, which was met by the striker, who headed home at the back post. The Ireland internationalist came close to adding to her tally, striking the crossbar with a header, whilst Gallacher also almost scored her second of the day, narrowly missing a chance from a cutback. Ultimately, the Ghirls couldn’t add to their advantage, but a place in the next round was already secured. Sadiku and her squad will discover who they face in the next round this Tuesday, with the focus soon turning back to league action on Sunday as we return home to take on Motherwell.FixturesSpartans FC Women Vs. Celtic FC Women – Sun, Oct 5th 2025, 14:00
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