Top three dominate SWPL team of the week after big winspublished at 11:12 1 April
11:12 1 April
Amy Canavan BBC Sport Scotland
Lee Gibson (Glasgow City): The Scotland shot-stopper headed into the international break with a fine performance in a big win for Leanne Ross' side.
Nothing she could do for Saoirse Noonan's exquisite finish, but Gibson did come up with a big block with her boot and coped well with Celtic's second-half pressure.
Lauren Doran-Barr (Hibernian): The full-back is a consistent, solid performer for league leaders Hibs and her showing against her old side Motherwell was no different.
Offered a calmness at the back alongside a somewhat inexperienced defence.
Linzi Taylor (Hibernian): Speaking of an inexperienced defence... Taylor would surely rather be further forward, but she put in another performance out ofnposition for Grant Scott's side.
She excelled marauding forward, offering support to the midfield and getting stuck into tackles.
Kimberley Smit (Glasgow City): The centre-half fired a potentially priceless shot on goal late on against Celtic, which, after a wee deflection, found the net.
Up until that late goal she commanded the backline well and dealt with the hard-to-handle Noonan.
Nicola Docherty (Rangers): Unsurprisingly, the Rangers supporter starred on the big Ibrox pitch and relished the space that often opened up in front of her.
Linked up really well with Brogan Hay throughout the big win over Hearts.
Brogan Hay (Rangers): So good I've swapped her on to the opposite flank. It really was Hay's day on Sunday and she rightfully earned praise from head coach Jo Potter.
Two goals and an assist. Not a bad day at the office.
Hannah Jordan (Spartans): Has to be attracting attention from top-six clubs. The 20-year-old has had a superb season for Jack Beesley's side and played a crucial part in what could prove to be a top-flight status-saving comeback against Montrose.
Abby Callaghan (Queen's Park): Some way to mark your 100th appearance for the club.
The midfielder's finish in the 91st minute appeared to salvage a draw, but the Spiders went one better and found another late winner against Dundee United - just their third SWPL victory.
Abbie Ferguson (Hibernian): A bundle of energy up and down the right wing for Hibs at K-Park. Skinned many a Motherwell player in an enthusiastic performance.
Brenna Lovera (Glasgow City): The City forward had no right to open the scoring from where she did on Friday night, but it shows, when fit, she's one of the best finishers in the division.
Rio Hardy (Rangers): Has been forced to settle for substitute appearances of late, including in last week's SWPL Cup final win, but grabbed the opportunity from the start with both hands. A cracking double at Ibrox.
Motherwell 0-3 Hibs: What the managers saidpublished at 13:17 31 March
13:17 31 March
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Hibernian head coach Grant Scott: "I still think we've got a performance level to go, but Motherwell are a really good opponent for us, really difficult. They play some good stuff, so for us to come and get a clean sheet and the goals, delighted to win the match.
"People often say the timing of goals can change games, and that was massive for us. We know we're good at the back; apart from last week we don't really lose a lot of goals, so it gave us a real bounce of confidence to see this one through.
"I think when we get our noses in front, we are a good team.
"We're still dreaming a wee bit about where we are, and we're just taking it day by day. I think this period of the season you'll see all the top teams having to rotate their squads, we're heavily reliant on a set number of players in our squad, so to be able to give them a rest to today to freshen the others areas up, it was a real bonues, but we'll need them all.
"There will be talk, we'll just take it game by game."
Motherwell head coach Paul Brownlie: "It was a difficult one and a sore one [first goal] to take at that stage in the game, there probably wasn't much in the game.
"No, you don't get an explanation [on amount of first-half added time]. Very frustrating.
"I thought they players were good, even though we lost 3-0 against a good quality team who are sitting top of the league, there are a lot of positives to take."
Celtic 1-2 Glasgow City: What did the manager say?published at 00:03 29 March
00:03 29 March
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Celtic head coach Elena Sadiku: "The [small] margins in the game cost us.
"Brenna Lovera scores a goal that is not a shot, and then the set play, again, a situation where we can't clear the ball.
"I said it to the players, I'm proud of how they fought tonight and how they bounced back in the performance-wise.
"We fought really hard to get the goal in. We created some half chances that we need to deal with better. I don't think that Glasgow City is a lot in our box, to be fair.
"But it's just this season and these last games, it's just been post-out. It just feels like we need some luck, like we need something just to give us something in terms of margins.
"It's so harsh, it hurts so much, but I said to the players, I was really proud of how they took the tactical changes and how they fought so hard for each other.
"It's never beyond our reach. I think it's still eight games left, there's 24 points to play for. I said to the girls, we have an international break now, we have training tomorrow morning.
"We're going to fight hard because we can't surrender.
"We need to keep going and we need to keep pushing hard and that's what exactly we're going to do against Rangers.
"We're going to show up as a team again and we're going to fight really hard for those three points."
Celtic 1-2 Glasgow City: What did the manager say?published at 23:52 28 March
23:52 28 March
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Glasgow City head coach Leanne Ross: "The most pleasing part for me is that Celtic had pegged us back in the second half and we showed a bit of character.
"To make sure that when Celtic were on top within the game, that we've defended really well, we've limited their chances, and we've stayed in the game and then gave ourselves that platform to then go and score the winning goal.
"So that's probably the most pleasing thing for me because in seasons gone by, we've maybe come and performed like that and ended up dropping points.
"We know that Celtic are a good team, they've got good players, they're well prepared. We know that they're going to come out in that second half because they're behind and throw everything at us.
"So we spoke about it at half-time, we were ready for it. They've scored a good goal, we can probably defend better as you can any time that you can see the goal.
"I'm just really pleased that we've dug in and we've seen it out and come away with three points.
"It's going to be the same every game from here on in. They're going to be difficult, there's going to be points that are dropped everywhere. So we had to make sure that we came here and done our job tonight so that we can now sit back on Sunday and see what happens in the other games.
"That's probably the important thing, when you play first, you get the points so that you're not falling further behind when the other teams go and play.
"The top of the table is where we want to be. We were really disappointed with the result against Hibs. We thought we'd performed well enough to at least get a point in that game. We thought we were actually the better team in all honesty.
"We've learned our lessons from it and we've come here and put on the performance that we wanted to tonight to win the game."
City 'delighted' to be back on top - Lovera published at 21:51 28 March
21:51 28 March
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Image caption,
Brenna Lovera scored the opening goal in City's 2-1 victory
Glasgow City striker Brenna Lovera says her side will take wins any way they come as they edged Celtic 2-1 on Friday night.
Lovera scored the opening goal at New Douglas Park before Celtic levelled through Saoirse Noonan in the second half.
City won it with just four minutes of the 90 to play when Kimberley Smit's shot was deflected into the back of the Celtic net by Abi Harrison.
Leanne Ross' side sit top of the table, joint on points with Hibs but boasting a superior goal difference, before the Edinburgh side face Motherwell on Sunday.
"It was a little bit of a smash and grab at the end but we'll take what we can get," Lovera said.
"Moving out wide gives me a bit more freedom to drive at people and I love doing that.
"I was a little disappointed with my last two performances but I thought as a team we came out and put in a really good performance.
"We're delighted to be back at the top of the table and putting pressure on other teams."
Scotland playing long game in bid to narrow gap to elite published at 17:12 27 March
17:12 27 March
Martin Dowden BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter
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Image caption,
Scotland face a tough Nations League A double-header against Germany in April
Scotland interim head coach Michael McArdle insists the experience of playing elite sides is the only way for the national team to narrow the gap to the top.
Germany lie in wait in early April at Tannadice in the first of a double-header in Nations League A.
The Germans are ranked second in Europe and third in the world rankings, clearly presenting a formidable test as Scotland seek their first points after beginning the group with defeats by Austria and Netherlands.
"Testing yourself against the best, especially for our younger players, it's perfect for us to play and see those benchmarks.
"You see the difference between League B and League A. You'll get 30% to 50% less chances in and around the box. The opposition will have more against you and it's about that clinical action on both boxes.
"The only way we're going to progress to the highest level is playing them more often."
Recent results suggest Scotland will struggle to avoid dropping down to League B after this cycle but McArdle insists if that happens, they will be better equipped to deliver at that level.
"Absolutely, you've got to be accountable to that and that pressure is always a reward for how well you're doing," he added.
"If that was the outcome, then you have to then use that to dominate within, but also that's the last cycle before the [Euro] play-offs. Obviously, opportunity for qualification. So it's about hitting rhythm at that point as well."
McArdle on Cuthbert return, 'perfect opposition' & fine marginspublished at 12:32 27 March
12:32 27 March
Martin Dowden BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter
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Scotland interim head coach Michael McArdle has been speaking with the media after announcing his squad for the upcoming Nations League double-header against Germany.
Here are the key points:
Erin Cuthbert, Amy Rodgers and Sandy MacIver replace Mia McAulay, Eilidh Shore and Erin Clachers. McArdle is delighted to welcome back the "significant experience" of Chelsea midfielder Cuthbert in particular.
He believes Germany offer the "perfect opposition" being ranked second in Europe and third in the world and also having 30 players represented across the Champions League quarter-finals as he looks to test Scotland "against the best".
Despite Scotland narrowly losing their opening two fixtures away to Austria and at home to Netherlands, McArdle was "proud" of the performances and adds: "Fine margins, it's that both boxes again and you see the difference between League B and League A. You'll get 30% to 50% less chances in and around the box."
McArdle pointed to Caroline Weir and Cuthbert as crucial to the development of younger players in the squad given their elite experience at Champions League level.
He also insisted that if Scotland do drop into League B after this cycle they should be in a stronger position as a result of these games.
On his future and interim role, McArdle, who was appointed in January, says: "It's been clear from the start that they would update me if anything changed. So the process is ongoing and we've planned for this to be ongoing as well."
SWPL chair Galbraith to depart in summerpublished at 10:42 27 March
10:42 27 March
The chair of the SWPL, Mary Galbraith, will leave her role at the end of the season.
Galbraith has held the position since 2022 and oversaw the "transformational growth of the organisation", including establishing new competitions and sponsorship deals.
Galbraith said: "It has been a privilege to lead the SWPL during its formative years.
"We have achieved significant growth and established strong foundations which will serve the SWPL for years to come.
"I feel that now is the right time to hand over the reins as the organisation enters the next phase in its development."
'Governing bodies haven't grown women's game well enough'published at 18:54 26 March
18:54 26 March
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Image caption,
A crowd of just over 4,000 watched the SWPL Cup final at Fir Park on Saturday
Governing bodies have failed to capitalise on "key moments" to grow Scottish women's football, says Arsenal captain Kim Little.
The former Scotland midfielder told the BBC's Behind the Goals podcast that the national team's qualification for the 2019 Women's World Cup was one such missed opportunity.
A crowd of just over 4,000 watched Rangers beat Hibernian at Fir Park in the SWPL Cup final on Saturday.
The following day in England, Newcastle defeated Sunderland 1-0 in front of a record crowd of 38,502 for a Women's Championship game
"There are key moments in my career for the national team, qualifying for the 2019 World Cup and the Euros before that, where we didn't use the time well," Little said.
"[Moments] where we are on the big stage at big tournaments, then in the aftermath driving grassroots, the community side and marketing around our games.
"As a player I felt there could have been more done from governing bodies, marketing and commercial, to really drive that side of the game on because that's a huge part of sport."
Little delighted by Weir's success in Spainpublished at 13:54 25 March
13:54 25 March
Media caption,
Arsenal's Kim Little speaks to Leanne Crichton and Rachel Corsie about facing fellow Scot Caroline Weir in the UWCL this season.
Scottish Cup semi-final dates, times & TV coverage confirmedpublished at 17:44 24 March
17:44 24 March
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Record-winners Glasgow City will have their Scottish Cup semi-final with Motherwell next month televised live on BBC One Scotland.
Nine-time winners City return to Hampden Park on Saturday, 26 April for a 12:15 BST kick-off against Paul Brownlie's 2023 semi-finalists.
The following day, holders Rangers - who lifted the SWPL Cup on Saturday - face Hampden debutants Aberdeen. The 14:10 kick-off will be live on BBC ALBA.
Leanne Ross' City were taken to extra-time by last year's finalists Hearts, having already defeated reigning league champions Celtic in the previous round.
Motherwell comfortably saw off second tier Boroughmuir Thistle to secure their second trip to the Hampden.
Jo Potter's Rangers, who have their attention now on a domestic treble having ruthlessly swept by Hibs at Fir Park in the first cup final of the season, defeated The Spartans while Scott Booth's Dons beat St Johnstone to book a maiden trip to the national stadium.