UEFA Women’s Champions League Tuesday, October 08, 2024New Douglas Park CELTIC…0 FC TWENTE…2 (van Dooren 44, 85) Celtic FC Women slipped to an unfortunate opening night defeat in the UEFA Women’s Champions League as they lost out 2-0 against FC Twente. Despite putting in a performance to be proud of on the night, goals at the end of either half from Kayleigh van Dooren settled the scoring as the Dutch side took the three points home. It was another historic night for the Ghirls as they opened up their UWCL group stage campaign in what was a first-ever for the club. And it started off brightly in the opening 45 minutes, particularly straight from the off as Celtic went on the front foot. Morgan Cross was once again a bright spark in her first European outing for the Hoops, and her pace won an early corner for the Celts. The resulting set piece was sent into the box, but was well defended by the visitors. It wouldn’t be the final opportunity of the half though. During the first half, the Dutch side enjoyed spells of possession, but Elena Sadiku’s side were doing well to stand firm and battle in the middle of the pitch. Kelsey Daugherty was forced into a handful of saves, but it was mostly comfortable for the Celtic shot-stopper. The Ghirls did look to retaliate with some chances of their own as Murphy Agnew looked to hook an Emma Lawton delivery goalward, but she could only hit the side-netting. As the first half approached the closing stages, the Celts were hit with a frustrating blow as FC Twente opened the scoring through Kayleigh van Dooren, who dinked the ball over Daugherty, giving her no chance. With just a matter of minutes left in the first half, the Ghirls almost produced an instant response. A corner was floated towards the head of Caitlin Hayes, before being well blocked off and eventually cleared away as the whistle blew for half time. The Ghirls’ efforts continued well into the second half as they looked to bounce back from the disappointment of falling behind so late in the first half. With a number of half chances from set pieces, the Hoops best chance of the second 45 fell the way of Murphy Agnew. After some good play down the right, the American just couldn’t turn the ball home at the front post. The Celts continued to push throughout the half, pressing and troubling the Dutch champions. However, the game was settled late on as van Dooren smashed home her second of the night to seal all three points. It would have ultimately been a frustrating night for Sadiku and her squad, who can be proud of their efforts in their first ever European group stage outing. There will be plenty for the Ghirls to learn and take from as they get set for matchday two in the UWCL against Real Madrid next Thursday. However, first up is a return to SWPL action on Sunday as they travel to take on Hearts in the capital. CELTIC: Daugherty, Hayes, Clark, Bruna, Lawton, Barclais (McAneny 77), Ross (S. Carstens 86), McGregor, Cross, Agnew (Smith 86), Noonan (M. Carstens 77) Subs: Logan, Rodgers, Richardson, Cavanagh, Ashworth-Clifford, LuanaFixturesCeltic FC Women Vs. FC Twente Women – Tue, Oct 8th 2024, 20:00
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