Scottish Women's Football

Amy Canavan
BBC Sport Scotland

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When Scott Booth returned to Aberdeen in October, this time as head coach of the women's team, he set his sights high of challenging the top sides.

Having just left Glasgow City, he was realistic and said it would take time. But the Dons are already on the cusp of history.

On Sunday, they will leave the Granite City for Hampden for the first time.

A Scottish Cup semi-final against holders Rangers awaits, and albeit a daunting prospect, the excitement has been palpable since their spot was secured.

With five wins in their past seven games, Booth's side make the trip to the southside of Glasgow in good form and crucially, with nothing to lose.

All the pressure is on treble-chasing Rangers, who comfortably tucked the League Cup into the cabinet last month when they demolished Hibs.

However, Grant Scott's side got revenge in the SWPL at the weekend and leapfrogged Jo Potter's team to regain top spot.

Though in the bottom half of the table, Aberdeen picked up a morale-boosting 5-2 win against Queen's Park, which relegated the Spiders in the process.

There are no cobwebs to brush off for Booth's side, they have the freedom of the national stadium to enjoy their debut.

And they may just dare to dream...

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Scotland and Glasgow City forward Fiona Brown is to retire at the end of the season at age 30.

Brown has not played since suffering an cruciate ligament injury for a fourth time in her career a year ago.

Brown, who rejoined City in January last year, has won three SWPL titles, two Scottish Cups and two League Cups across her two spells.

She has 61 Scotland caps, scoring twice, and has also played for Celtic and Swedish sides Eskilstuna United and Rosengard, where she won three league titles and two domestic cups.

Announcing her retirement, Brown said: "The risk is that I could easily get injured again and with my body type and history, I can't afford to do that as there is not much more that could be done.

"If you had told me when I was younger what I would achieve despite everything that has happened I would be genuinely chuffed.

"To all the team-mates, coaches, staff and fans I have spent my time with throughout my career, from my time as young player breaking through, to playing with Glasgow City, in Sweden and with the Scotland national team, thank you for your support, you have all been a part of my journey."

Brown hopes to make a final appearance this season as City chase the SWPL title and Women's Scottish Cup.

On this week's episode of Behind the Goals, Rachel Corsie and Leanne Crichton dissect the latest twists in the thrilling SWPL title race.

They are also joined by Motherwell assistant Colin Crichton, who is aiming to get one over his sister Leanne in this weekend's Scottish Women's Cup semi-final against Glasgow City.

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Jane Lewis
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

Jennifer Currie (Partick Thistle): Made some crucial saves in important win over Spartans as Thistle move closer to sealing their place in the top flight for next season.

Emma Brownlie (Hearts): Played a captain's role in the draw with Glasgow City. Defended well at key moments, especially in the second half when City piled on the pressure.

Samantha van Diemen (Glasgow City): Made a vital block early on as Hearts started well. Was solid defensively for the rest of the match, dealing with any danger with ease.

Stacey Papadopoulos (Hibs): Won the ball brilliantly and executed her strike well from distance. Her goal sealed a significant win over Rangers as Hibs reclaimed top spot.

Hayley Lauder (Glasgow City): Her delivery from corners was on point all afternoon. Time after time she sent in inch-perfect balls, but frustratingly for her, there were no takers.

Jade McLaren (Montrose): Scored the only goal to seal a huge win for her side as they fight on against relegation. With five games left, they're now only five points adrift of ninth spot.

Eva Thomson (Aberdeen): Continued her fine run of scoring form with another two, helping her side move further away from the relegation battle.

Lisa Robertson (Hearts): Whether it was breaking up play, getting back to cover or setting up attacks, Robertson was at the heart of everything good about her side, especially in the first half.

Maria McAneny (Celtic): Three points was vital for Celtic to keep their title hopes alive. She showed a bit of magic with a superbly taken free-kick to score what could be an important goal for her side.

Tiree Burchill (Partick Thistle): She's finding her confidence in front of goal, that's now three goals in her last three games. That one was an important one as it surely means Thistle are safe.

Kathleen McGovern (Hibs): Got Hibs off the mark and set the tone for the game. Showed terrific determination to get her head to the ball first. Another influential performance.

Watch highlights of Sunday's SWPL top-six fixtures as Hearts face Glasgow City, Motherwell meet Celtic, and Hibs go up against Rangers.

Watch highlights of Sunday's SWPL bottom-six fixtures as Aberdeen meet Queen's Park, Dundee Utd face Montrose, and Patrick Thistle go up against Spartans.

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Dundee United managed Suzy Shepard: "I don't think there was too much in the game, there was not a lot of football played. It was pretty much a back to front battle which we knew it would be.

"In my opinion I don't think there could have been a fairer result but I don't think we've reached the levels that we've played.

Montrose manager Craig Feroz: "As you expect from a derby day it was a bit tense to start with, some good challenges, very tight, but I think the second half we dictated.

We dominated and we had maybe seven or eight chances to finish the game. I think we deserved the result.

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Aberdeen head coach Scott Booth: "It was an interesting game. We started the game really well, in the first 25 minutes I thought we played some really good football.

"It was difficult for Queen's Park to cope with the movement and the incisive style that we played in that phase of the game.

"The second half was a bit messier but we were still in control in the main and I'm delighted to get the three points."

Queen's Park head coach Iain Robinson: "I thought we were very, very poor, especially in the first half. Not making tackles or looking to be the better player, things we're not going to get away with at this level.

"We were lacking organisation and communication, we didn't deserve anything from the game and that's what happened."

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Partick Thistle assistant manager Ross Stormonth: "I'm delighted with the result, we managed to build on Wednesday night, that's three wins in a row.

"We were good without creating a lot of chances but I thought we probably deserved it overall."

Spartans manager Jack Beesley: "It was an oppurtunity to build on what we've been doing, but we just didn't make enough right decisions with or without the ball in the second half and that probably gave them the ascendancy.

"To win four out of our first five, if you'd offered me that before the split we'd probably take it but it's just disappointing the way the first defeat had come around."

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Hibs head coach Grant Scott: "It's an important three points, puts us back to the top which is an unbelievable achievement to be involved in this title race at this point.

"Credit to the players and the support and staff, we've put on a good show and dealt with a really difficult opponent very well.

"I'm happy with where we are. We're going to try, that's all I can guarantee. It's one game at a time, we can't get too far ahead of ourselves."

Rangers manager Jo Potter: "I'm really disappointed, we didn't deserve anything from that game.

"Hibs were better than us all over the park, they physically out-battled us, which is really, really disappointing.

"It's really disappointing to not get anything from the game, but we didn't deserve a thing."

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Motherwell manager Paul Brownlee: "It was a strong performance from the girls, they gave us absolutely everything in the game.

"Application wise they were first class even towards the end, it's been a tough week for us in terms of physical output and what the players have went through this week.

"I thought they gave us absolutely everything in the game and towards the end of the game they were chasing it, trying to get themselves back in and it's the biggest compliment I can give them."

Celtic manager Elena Sadiku: "I don't think it was the best performance but we came here to get three points and that's exactly what we did.

"For me after coming from bad results lately, I think we need to play for our pride and what we actually want to do this season.

"It's all about us, and we can't focus on other teams, we have to focus on how we can perform well and how we can win all our of games."

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Glasgow City head coach Leanne Ross: "I felt like we started the game really slowly, we lacked a lot of energy in the first half, we looked tired.

"I know it's a three-game-week but you can see from the response that I got in the second half that we still did have the energy.

"It's unacceptable for us to turn up and expect to win a game at a place like Oriam against a team like Hearts and not play in the first 45 minutes."

Hearts head coach Eva Olid: "If we look at the first half, it's a missed opportunity for the chances that we missed, some clear chances, but if I look at the second half, I think that could be a good point because it's a demanding week.

"In the second half you can feel that the players were tired and they defended so good, in the first half we played football, in the second it was defensive and not what we wanted but we played two games this week apart from this one."

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The PFA Scotland Women's Premier League Team of the Year has been revealed and Glasgow City and Hibernian have dominated.

Hibs' goalkeeper Erin Clachers makes the team, with a back-four made up of Emma Lawton (the only Celtic player selected), who has seven goals and six assists this season, alongside City's Samantha Van Diemen, Rangers' Leah Eddie and Hearts' 17-year-old defender, who has seven assists, Erin Husband.

Rangers' Kirsty MacLean lines up in midfield alongside Hearts' Eilidh Shore and City's Aleigh Gambone, who has seven assists for the season.

Eilidh Adams has scored 21 goals for Hibs and she makes the front three alongside Rangers' Katie Wilkinson who has recorded 32 goals and nine assists. Rounding out the front three is City's Brenna Lovera, who has scored 15 times.

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The latest twist in the SWPL saw Rangers head to the top of the table with a 2-1 victory over fellow title contenders Glasgow City on Wednesday night.

Rangers failed to capitalise last weekend after Hibs were beaten by Edinburgh rivals Hearts, allowing City to swoop in and take top spot.

But City's defeat to Rangers midweek, coupled with Hibs' goalless draw against Celtic, dropped City back to third and sent Rangers to the summit as the top flight table reshuffled again.

As things stand, Jo Potter's side are top on 62 points, Hibs are behind them on 61 and City are just one adrift on 60 points in third.

On Sunday Grant Scott's side host the league leaders knowing the winner is heading top of the table while the loser could slip to third spot (depending on the result in City's game against Hearts).

Hibs have only been beaten once by Rangers this season and that was a disappointing 5-0 defeat in the SWPL Cup final not so long ago - the Edinburgh club won the previous meeting 3-0 and the match before that ended all square at 1-1.

Since the cup final Hibs have won one of their three league outings (one draw and one defeat) while Rangers are unbeaten and Sunday is the next opportunity for these two to showcase their title credentials.

How to follow on BBC

The game between Hibernian and Rangers is live on BBC Alba which you can watch on the BBC Sport Scotland website and app, as well as on BBC iPlayer. It kicks off at 16:10 BST.

Hearts v Glasgow City is the early game and you'll be able to follow all the action live on the BBC Sport Scotland website and app when it kicks off at 13:00 BST. There will also be live text commentary of all of Sunday's matches there too.