Making just her 21st appearance in Green and White, Saoirse Noonan continued her impressive start to life in the Hoops by grabbing her third hat-trick of the season on Sunday. The Irish forward has been a hit since arriving in the summer, scoring so important goals in domestic and European action. Playing her part in a 5-1 victory on Sunday afternoon against Montrose, the striker took her early tally to 18 goals in all competitions of the season so far. Picking up all three points on their return to league duties, the Celts were made to work for victory in the SWPL. However, after pulling themselves level in a quick response to falling behind, there was only one direction which the match was going in. And after playing a major role in the victory, Noonan spoke to Celtic TV to reflect upon the performance. After rectifying their mistakes in the first half, the 25-year-old was delighted to be in amongst the goals once more, taking home another match ball. She said: “Yeah, I think in the first half we kind of tried to force things a little bit maybe. We weren’t learning from our mistakes, and we kept making the same ones. “But I think we got the goal to get the score back equal at a good time. We showed good character for that. “That allowed us to go in at half time, regroup. From there, we sorted our mistakes out, and I think we put in a really good second half performance and showed what we are capable of. “It’s always nice to score as a striker,” Noonan continued. “At the end of the day, that is part of my job. But credit has to go to all the girls. “They played some fantastic crosses and deliveries. Lucy’s (Ashworth-Clifford) delivery, I’d have been shocked if I had missed that. ‘But some of our passing was brilliant, and we maybe could have had another few goals.’ “Their goalkeeper pulled off some brilliant saves from Maria (McAneny), and we also hit the post. But I’m just delighted to get that hat-trick.”Sunday’s win over Montrose sees the Ghirls head into the final international break of 2024 with three points. It has been a hectic November schedule for Elena Sadiku and her squad, with important league, cup and Champions League matches to contend with. With a short gap between the Hoops’ next outing in the Scottish Cup on December 8, Noonan insists that the squad will continue to work hard during the international break, with more huge games on the horizon. She said: “We have had some huge matches, but it’s been exciting. We knew that this was going to be a hectic schedule. “This was kind of the last game of that hectic schedule, for a while anyway. “So, we didn’t want to go out and be upset about performances and stuff, because it’s not like we can change it come Wednesday like usual. “We have to wait a few days for our next game now. So, we’ll go into the international break with confidence high. “We’ll train hard, and then get back running in the Scottish Cup when we get back in December.”FixturesCeltic Women Vs. Montrose Women – Sun, Nov 24th 2024, 16:30
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