So close for gallant Ghirls

UEFA Women’s Champions League
Wednesday, November 13, 2024
Celtic Park

CELTIC…1

(Agnew 22)

CHELSEA…2

(Hemano 28, Lawrence 32)

Celtic FC Women suffered a narrow defeat to the hands of Chelsea on Wednesday bught, on what was a proud night at Paradise.

Making more history at Celtic Park, the Ghirls were unfortunate to lose out against the WSL Champions, who took home three points on their travels to Glasgow.

Despite Murphy Agnew’s opener, a quick-fire first-half double inflicted defeat upon Elena Sadiku’s side, who can take plenty from their performance.

Heading into matchday three of the UEFA Women’s Champions League, it was another hugely exciting night with the Ghirls taking on last season’s semi-finalists.

With performances and confidence continuing to grow in the competition, the Hoops looked to make their mark on proceedings.

Despite the visitors dominating large spells of possession, the Hoops intent was clear, forcing some early mistakes from the Chelsea backline.

And ultimately, it was Celtic who would take an early lead through Agnew, scoring the opener on 22 minutes.

Following a superb pass around the corner from Amy Gallacher, the American forward remained calm to slot the ball home.

Not only did it hand the Celts the advantage in the first half, but it also marked a first ever group stage goal in the competition for the Ghirls.

The Hoops quickly looked to build on that and catch Chelsea slacking. However, that lead unfortunately didn’t last long.

The visitors quickly levelled up the scoring just six minutes later, with a cutback being slammed home by Maika Hemano inside the area.

The turnaround was quickly complete too as Ashley Lawerence produced a similar finish to hand Chelsea a 2-1 lead.

It could have been easy for Celtic to let their heads drop. However, that certainly wasn’t the case, with Sadiku’s side continuing to fight well into the second half.

Of course, with the quality on display for this Chelsea side, which included three half-time changes, the Celtic defence had busy periods during the half.

Kelsey Daugherty was also forced into a handful of smart stops, denying a third for the away side.

As the half grew older, the confidence seemed to continue to grow for Celtic. All that was missing, was the final ball or touch in the final third of the Chelsea half.

The Ghirls were almost handed a lifeline in stoppage time of the second 45 minutes after Aggie Beever-Jones was given her marching orders for a late challenge on substitute, Colette Cavanagh.

But the Hoops didn’t have enough time to create further opportunities, with Chelsea taking home the win.

Although it ended in defeat, it was certainly another proud evening at Paradise, with Celtic producing a superb performance against one of the best club sides in the world at this moment in time.

The busy action continues this week as Sadiku and her squad gear up for another huge outing as they take on Rangers in the Glasgow derby this Sunday at New Douglas Park.

CELTIC: Daugherty, Lawton, Clark, Bruna (Hayes 60), Barclais, Smith, Ashworth-Clifford. (McAneny 90+1), Ross (Cavanagh 70), McGregor, Gallacher (Noonan 70), Agnew (Cross 70)

Subs: Logan, Rodgers, Richardson, S Carstens, M Carstens, Luana.

Fixtures

Celtic Women Vs. Chelsea Women - Wed, Nov 13th 2024, 20:00 Final score: 1 - 2