Ghirls suffer defeat in the capital

SWPL Wednesday, May 14, 2025Meadowbank Stadium HIBERNIAN…4 (Grant 5, McGovern 17, 26, Adams 50) CELTIC…2 (Noonan 43, Bruna 79)   Celtic FC Women suffered defeat in the penultimate fixture of the campaign, losing out 4-2 against Hibernian. After falling three behind inside half an hour, Saoirse Noonan look to try and force a way back into things by pulling one back. However, the home side restored their three-goal lead at the beginning of the half, with Bruna’s second half strike being little more than a consolation goal for the Hoops. Heading to the capital for the final away match of the campaign, Elena Sadiku made three changes to her side from Sunday’s defeat. In came Lisa Rodgers, Morgan Cross and Abi Harrison, in place of Kelsey Daugherty, Lucy Ashworth-Clifford and Murphy Agnew. With the Hoops trying to finish off the season as strong as possible, in their final away visit of the 2024/25 campaign. However, the match got off to the worst possible start for the Celts, who conceded the opener just five minutes into the game. A free kick on the left-hand side by Ciara Grant snuck in at the front post to give the hosts an early advantage in the game. As the Ghirls looked to respond, Abi Harrison got the Hoops’ first shot off on target of the game, but it was comfortably held by the goalkeeper. But things went from bad to worse for Sadiku and her squad as the home side grabbed two quick fire goals to extend their advantage. Two well taken goals from Kathleen McGovern seen the home side make the score 3-0 just before the half hour mark. With Celtic needing to quickly find a goal if they had any hopes of getting back into the match, Morgan Cross was unfortunate to see an effort tipped over the crossbar. From the resulting corner, Kelly Clark then also seen a header come off the crossbar as her header came within inches of finding the back of the net. Just before the break, Celtic did find one goal back as Saoirse Noonan reduced the deficit to two goals. Chasing down a long ball over the top, the forward remained composed before tucking the ball underneath the on-rushing goalkeeper. Heading into the second half, the Celtic boss made two changes to her side at the break, introducing both Bruna and Kit Loferski. However, it was a poor start to the half once more as Hibs extended their lead to three once again through Eilidh Adams. The Hibs number nine found the far bottom corner with a finish from the corner of the area to make the score 4-1. It was certainly a long way back for the Hoops now, with three goals standing between them and anything from the match. Although the Ghirls did pull one more back through Bruna Lourenco with just over ten minutes remaining, it was little too late as the home side took home all three points. CELTIC: Rodgers, Lawton (Dawson 90+4), Clark, Barclais, Smith (Bruna 46), Cross (Ashworth-Clifford 65), Momo (Cavanagh 65), McAneny, Gallacher, Harrison (Loferski 46), Noonan Subs: Daugherty, M. Carstens, Agnew  FixturesHibernian Women Vs. Celtic Women – Wed, May 14th 2025, 18:00