Rangers Women have maintained their undefeated start to the SWPL season after defeating Celtic in a thrilling Old Firm match that saw five goals.
After Celtic twice overcame deficits at New Douglas Park, the Rangers Women finally prevailed with a spectacular Chelsea Cornet goal in a contest that had everything.
After mockingly cheering the Rangers penalty kick in the second half, Celtic manager Elena Sadiku was also sent off during the game. Rangers now sit atop the SWPL standings, two points ahead of second-place Glasgow City, who will return to the top if they defeat Queen’s Park this afternoon.
Rangers is four points ahead of Celtic in fourth place, while Heart of Midlothian, in third place, may tie Rangers on points if they defeat Hibs later today.
Rangers Women win a thrilling match against Celtic in the Old Firm. Rio Hardy’s deflected effort just over three minutes after kickoff gave Rangers the lead early in the match at New Douglas Park.
However, Caitlin Hayes found herself unmarked at the back post to nudge in an equaliser just before halftime, allowing Celtic to retaliate.
After Celtic defender Shannon McGregor fouled Charlie Devlin in the box in the second half, Rangers were controversially given a penalty. Katie Wilkinson made no mistake with a low driven strike from 12 yards out to decisively put away the spot-kick.
Elena Sadiku, the Swedish coach of Celtic, was sent to the stands for mockingly cheering the referee after the penalty was awarded. With about 25 minutes remaining, Celtic would find an extra gear when Saoirse Ronan scored a spectacular long-range free-kick to cut the deficit to 2-2.
The game-winning moment, however, was yet to come as Chelsea Cornet of Rangers won a tense battle with a stunning effort. After leaping on a weak clearance from Celtic goalkeeper Kelsey Daugherty, Cornet volleyed a shot into the net after flicking the ball over Celtic defender Bruna Lourenço. The fact that Cornet was returning from a ten-week injury layoff for the Old Firm match added to the goal’s impressiveness.
In order to secure all three points, Rangers custodian Jenna Fife made a spectacular stop in the closing seconds of the match. The Rangers manager orders Celtic to ignore the penalty call.
Jo Potter, the manager of Rangers Women, declared herself “delighted” with her team’s performance at the end. The 40-year-old former England international is certain that Rangers were the superior team the entire time. Potter also shared her thoughts on the penalty call, arguing that the Gers should finally get the “rub of the green.”
At full time, Potter told Sky Sports, “We’re delighted.” “Today, we believe we were the superior team.”I believe we demonstrated that for the most part. At halftime, we were down 1-1, which I felt was unfortunate. We believed we had good control over the game. However, there weren’t any panic stations. We needed to keep playing our way, in my opinion. “It’s a beautiful strike to win the game for us, and big moments from big players and Chelsea recovering from injury.” “I haven’t seen the penalty return, but in my opinion, we’ve seen a lot of people oppose us, and perhaps even fewer oppose us.
Sometimes we feel like we should get a little more credit. “I thought the challenge was reckless, and we’re working hard in those moments to be able to play and play through the box.” “From my perspective, I believe it was a penalty because I didn’t believe she was in control.”
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