Scottish Women's Football

Pauline MacDonald
Former Scotland international

I think in terms of the quality of the product, when the SWPL was 12 teams, the distance in quality between the top four and bottom four was so, so big.

So hopefully with the reduction in teams the quality players that were with those teams in 11th and 12th have moved into a ninth or a 10th-placed team and it bridges that gap.

I think in terms of the competitiveness of the league, the 12 teams were too many

When you don't have that depth in squad, that takes its toll on the players.

So with that shift to a 10, and less games, then hopefully the product and the competitiveness of the league actually improves.

At this early stage, Rangers still have to recruit, Celtic still have to recruit, Hibs are going to have Champions League, Glasgow City will have Champions League, I think it's too early to predict, I really do.

I know that Glasgow City have that desire, that willingness, just to get the job done even when things are up against them.

So maybe they are the frontrunner at this moment in time because we know that generally speaking, when you're in the Champions League for teams like Hibernian who maybe don't have that same depth, that can be quite challenging.

But right now, I would say there's five teams in the running and it's about probably who can remain focused and bring that competitive edge week in, week out.

Former Scotland international Pauline MacDonald was talking to BBC Scotland's Charlotte Cohen.

Lisa Rodgers (Celtic): Although the Celtic goalkeeper almost handed a goal to Hearts, she atoned for that error by making a couple of really big saves for her side when Heats were piling on a bit of pressure late in the second half.

Lana Golob (Glasgow City): On her Glasgow City debut she looked very comfortable. Will face bigger tests, but early evidence suggests a solid signing.

Katy Hill (Rangers): Was back from injury to make her 100th appearance for Rangers and marked the occasion with a goal to seal a comfortable win for her side.

Lisa Robertson (Celtic): Played out of position for Celtic against her old side on the opening weekend, showing great versatility. Calm and composed on the ball.

Monica Forsyth (Hearts): Showed great drive for Hearts, especially in the second half, both in creating chances for team-mates and getting herself in good positions.

Erin Rennie (Partick Thistle): Was a real threat for Partick Thistle. Didn't let her head go down when she missed a glorious chance and remained calm when scoring the winner to seal a good victory for Thistle on opening weekend.

Momo Nakao (Celtic): Such a tenacious player for Celtic, she didn't let up all afternoon to try and win the ball. In possession she was full of creativity.

Rosie Livingstone (Hibs): Her two early, quickfire goals for Hibs set the tone. Always full of intent to get forward, driving on and having a shot on goal. Her energy is a real threat.

Morgan Cross (Celtic): Was an impactful player for Celtic, especially in the first half as she made life difficult for Hearts. Great pace and finish for her side's opening goal.

Nicole Kozlova (Glasgow City): Had a strong finish to last season with Glasgow City and looks to be continuing that form with two great finishes on the opening weekend. A real livewire.

Katie Wilkinson (Rangers): Carrying on from last season. The Rangers striker scored an opening day hat-trick and three very different goals - a brilliantly worked free-kick, a penalty and a header to help her side to all three points.

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Hibernian head coach Grant Scott: "We won the title by three points last year and I said to the players before we came out, you just don't know where the most important points will be so our aim was to get the three points and count them up as we go.

"We're in a good place, the squad looks well. We have options now and we're fairly solid at the back. I'm looking forward to seeing the team play this year."

Aberdeen manager Scott Booth: "It was a difficult 90 minutes, we were playing against a really good side.

"We have a lot of new players and a lot of things to learn. It's really important that we learn quickly about the things that didn't go well today.

"It's going to be a long hard season no matter what. We have to have be able to fight for everything because every game is going to be against a team of this standard so we can't be surprised by whatever comes at us."

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Glasgow City manager Leanne Ross: "We scored some really nice goals but there is opportunity there for us to play better and more clinical in the final third.

"The conditions were difficult but we played some good attacking football.

"We were composed, especially in the first half, and really clinical when the opportunities came but in the second half that fell by the wayside and it's something we need to improve going forward in the season.

"It was nice to be in front of home fans and give them a taste of the football we're going to play this season."

Motherwell manager Paul Brownlie: "We started the game on the front foot. The first 12 minutes were really good then there was a 15-minute spell where we switched off and found ourselves 3-0 down, but apart from that I can't really fault the group.

"We spoke at half time about taking better care of the ball and once we tidied it up in the second half, there were points where we looked really comfortable.

"I asked for bravery and character on the ball. I don't think we showed enough character in the first half, we forced too many turnovers.

"We know what we need to do. The game today is not going to define our season, but we need to make sure we are competitive."

Image source, Colin Poultney/SWPL

Hearts boss Eva Olid: "We threw the first 45 minutes in the bin and that is so frustrating as a coach.

"The second half we created chances but we have to have that belief to not stop and make finishes. We were already losing so there was nothing to lose.

"The attitude in the team was good in the second half but we still need to take out chances.

"There were three or four big chances for us that the goalkeeper saved. That is the frustration too when the opposition keeper has a good game and the ball doesn't go in, but that's football and I hope we can from the first half and always play 100% for the full 90 minutes."

Celtic head coach Elena Sadiku: "I'm really proud of the girls, I thought they played the game plan really well.

"We played to our strengths both attacking and defencing-wise. If we defend more in the second half, we're really hard to break.

"I'm happy with the quality we have, you can see that in the performance, but we need to strengthen some positions.

"We need one more centre back and one more offensive player. One player is coming next week and hopefully another just after that.

"It was all about the setting the tone and a mark for who we want to be this season. We need to keep building and developing because this is only the start."

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Montrose manager Craig Feroz: "I thought we were outstanding, especially in the first half.

"The first 10 minutes, we gave them a game and the first goal was brilliant but it's difficult when you go down to 10.

"We've made a few good signing and I thought they were excellent today. We've got everything in our locker to survive again and maybe push on some more."

Rangers manager Leanne Crichton: "The objective was three points coming up to Montrose. We knew it was going to be difficult, they had recruited well and finished strong last season.

"In the first half we caught up in the battle and failed to adjust quick enough, but we managed to get into a really good rhythm in the second half.

"The last couple of weeks have been a whirlwind but it's about doing a job and preparing the team to make sure they're ready.

"The team is really good in terms of the quality we've got. Kathryn Hill made her 100th appearance and she rounded that off with goal. Those moments are nice, especially at the start of the season.

"We'll be looking to add to it in the coming weeks before the transfer window closes and we'll strengthen where we can."

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Hamilton Academical manager Robert Watson: "Football can be cruel.

"We made errors at both ends of the pitch. We should've scored three or four goals.

"It's a cruel way to lose but it's very encouraging in the way we played and how much guts and desire we showed to play on the front foot."

Partick Thistle head coach David Elliot: "We had plenty of chances but they had chances as well.

"You just need to take them, that makes the game a lot easier and you can dictate the tempo, but we didn't take those chances and I wish we had.

"Leaving it to the last minute made a lot of people nervous, myself included."

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Celtic have signed full-back Aislin Streicek and goalkeeper Adelaide Gay.

Elena Sadiku's side open their campaign away to Hearts on Sunday and will have two new arrivals to choose from.

Canadian defender Streicek joined on a two-year deal from Boston College in the US NCAA Division One having come through the Vancouver Whitecaps Academy.

Shot-stopper Gay put pen to paper on a one-year contract and has had spells with Kvarnsvedens IK in Sweden, where she helped secure promotion to the top division and lift the Icelandic Women's Cup in 2017, Klepp IL in Norway as well as with Fortuna Hjorring and Nordsjælland of Denmark.

Robbie Boyle
BBC Scotland

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Aberdeen should be competing with the "top club" just like the men's squad, according to manager Scott Booth.

The Dons currently operate on a hybrid model, with some players part-time and others full-time, but aim to be fully professional within the next few seasons.

Aberdeen missed out on the SWPL top six last season, finishing eighth, yet Booth hopes his team can bridge the gap to the professional sides.

"There is a top five now, and just really the one space for the last top-six position," he said.

"I don't feel like that top five is going to change much over the next few seasons, though we do want to be the ones who can change that.

"It would be a fitting place for Aberdeen to mix it with the rest of those top clubs in Scotland.

"I came to the club to help them go from a part-time programme, to hybrid, to a full-time professional programme.

"We want to be challenging the top teams in Scotland, like we expect the men's team to do. We want the same for the women."

Alfie Robinson
BBC Sport Scotland

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Partick Thistle defender Cheryl McCulloch insists "familiar face" David Elliot has had a smooth transition into his new role as head coach.

Thistle appointed Elliot after Brian Graham joined Scottish Premiership club Falkirk on a one-year contract as a player.

"The good thing with David is he was with the club for a good number of months last year, so it's been a nice soft launch into the season this year," McCulloch said.

"He's been a familiar face from last season, but he's also brought a freshness as well and his own ideas. I'm really excited to see what that brings for us this season."

Thistle finished seventh last season but McCulloch believes the team can rise back up the table in the new campaign.

"There's no doubt we were all really disappointed with last season not getting top six," she said.

"We'd had it the two previous seasons before and it was something that we really wanted to get last season, but I think with that setback, it really brings the hunger for this year.

"We want to come back and we want to cement that top-six place this season.

"There's fewer teams in the league, so the quality will be higher. You're hoping that the games will be a lot closer.

"Certainly for us it will be a lot harder last season, but that's something we're really looking forward to."

Charlotte Cohen
BBC Sport Scotland

Image source, Colin Poultney/Malcolm Mackenzie

The SWPL is back with new faces, a new structure, and new champions Hibs looking to retain their crown.

The action gets under way on Sunday, so here are some things to keep an eye out for in the women's top flight.

New structure

In a bid to make the league more competitive, the number of teams has been reduced from 12 to 10.

After 18 rounds of matches, the league will split into a top six and bottom four, with the clubs in each section playing each other twice.

The team finishing 10th will be relegated, while the second-bottom side will face a relegation play-off against the winners of the SWPL 2 play-off semi-final.

While on paper a 10-team top division should be more competitive, the worry is the quality gap will widen.

For example, last term Motherwell secured their first ever top-six finish - but then lost all 10 post-split games.

The last time Hamilton Accies, who won promotion last season by winning SWPL 2, were in the top flight they finished bottom with just 14 points.

Dundee United fared even worse last term, mustering just seven points to be one of three teams relegated.

New managers

After securing a second successive cup double for Rangers, manager Jo Potter left to take the manager's job at Crystal Palace.

The Ibrox club have turned to Leanne Crichton as the replacement. As a player, the Scotland midfielder was a serial winner with Glasgow City before returning as assistant coach after a spell with Motherwell.

Now Crichton is leading a Rangers team that are desperate to bounce back from their final-day disappointment of letting the league title slip from their grasp.

They're not the only ones with a new face in the dugout. Brian Graham left Partick Thistle this summer and joined promoted Premiership outfit Falkirk to continue his playing career.

Graham has been replaced at Petershill by David Elliot, who has spent the majority of his playing and managerial career with the Glasgow club and will have his first taste of managing in the SWPL when his side travel to Hamilton on Sunday.

New signings

SWPL sides have been busy in the transfer window and there's a couple of interesting signings to look out for.

Aberdeen have been one of the more active teams this summer with one name standing out among the rest.

Goalkeeper Katie Cox joined the Dons from WSL winners Chelsea on a season-long loan deal.

The 19-year-old academy graduate signed her first professional contract last year and although she is yet to make her senior debut, she spent last season as part of the treble-winning side's travelling party.

Rangers fans have been getting excited about Wales international Alice Griffith, who has signed up for two years in Govan.

The midfielder travelled with Wales for the Euros this summer after playing an important part in their qualification campaign.

The arrival of Griffith may bring back memories of fellow Wales international Rachel Rowe, who won the Scottish Cup and and SWPL Cup in a successful spell with Rangers.

How to follow opening day on the BBC

Hearts v Celtic will be live on the BBC Sport Scotland app, website and iPlayer. It kicks off at 13:00 BST on Sunday.

Later, BBC Alba has live coverage of champions Hibernian's home game against Aberdeen. That kicks off at 16:10 and will also be on the BBC Sport Scotland app, website and iPlayer.

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Jade McLaren insists Montrose's togetherness is key as they bid to defy the odds again and survive in the SWPL.

Craig Feroz's side ensured a third straight season in the top flight with a 4-0 win over Dundee United on the final day of last term and midfielder McLaren hopes for a less stressful route to safety in the new campaign, which kicks off on Sunday.

"We always knew it was going to come right down to the last day, and we're a team that don't give up," said McLaren.

"We'll go to the end, it doesn't matter who we're playing, and it was a nervy four minutes after we finished playing on the last day.

"Craig instils it in us, that we fight to the end. Every game we go into is a battlefield, and you leave everything on the pitch. Even if you're getting beat eight or 9-0, you still keep going and don't give up.

"There's just a real togetherness in the team, and everybody wants to fight for each other. Even with the new girls coming in over pre-season, it's how our team is built and what we strive to do.

"It's going to be a lot tougher this year. Our aim is just to stay as far away from relegation as possible. It's been two seasons in a row, and although it's fun, you've just got to hope that we can pick up points and try and stay away from it as best as possible."

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Emma Brownlie is ready to embrace "a great opportunity" as she prepares for her first game with Glasgow City in Sunday's season opener at home to Motherwell.

The 31-year-old defender joined 16-times champions City this summer after three years at Hearts.

Leanne Ross' side are bidding to get back among the trophies after finishing runners-up to Hibs last term.

"It is a great opportunity for me, a new challenge, I felt like I was in a position that I was playing well," said Brownlie.

"I was at a point that I fancied something different, I fancied that new challenge and it seemed to be the right fit.

"It's a club that has had success over the years. Every season they'll go for titles, they'll go for cups and the Champions League. It's good to get back into European football and challenge myself.

"I'm looking forward to it, as players you want all those games, you want those challenges, you want the difficult games, individually and as a squad, we're looking forward to that.

"We are ready, pre-season has been good, there's a lot of new faces in there. I feel like I've known the girls for years, but I've only actually played with a few of them.

"We're very much focused on what we can do. We build a team that can go and challenge. We know that we've got a squad that is going to be competitive."

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Defender Gill Inglis is hopeful Motherwell can make the SWPL top six again this season but says it will be "really difficult".

Motherwell finished in the top six for the first time in their history last term and also reached the Scottish Cup semi-finals.

The new campaign - which kicks off on Sunday - brings a revamped top flight, with 10 teams rather than 12, and the division splitting into a top six and bottom after 18 games.

"Last season was an amazing season for us, if you look back we achieved our aims of getting to the top six," said Inglis, 35.

"It was an incredibly difficult time, you look at the teams that you play against, you look at the finances that they have and everything, but we did really well getting to the top six.

"Now, the aim this season, can we do the same? Again it is going to be really, really difficult for us, but having been there last season, we almost know what it takes.

"You look at the signings that we've made, and we've got that good mix and blend of youth and experience, and it's so important."

Alfie Robinson
BBC Sport Scotland

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After "exceeding expectations" in the "big" games last season, young Hearts defender Carly Girasoli believes her side can pose a real threat for the SWPL title.

A promising campaign ended in disappointment for Girasoli as she ruptured her ACL in September in the 4-0 victory over city rivals Hibs.

After signing a two-year contract extension this summer, Girasoli has high expectations heading into the new campaign with Hearts, who twice beat Hibs and Celtic last season on their way to a fifth-place finish.

"Over the last few years the club has progressed massively and the style of football is great to play," Girasoli, 23, said.

"I think it's a really exciting time to be a part of this club.

"It's about knowing what we have in the dressing room, it's a really special group and now we want to be up there competing and we will.

"I think we exceeded expectations in the big games and surprised a lot of people. But we need to take care of every game because you see how tight it is at the end, sometimes even coming down to goal difference.

"So it's just about keeping those standards all throughout the season."

The former Glasgow City player added: "I think there's a really good balance of young players and experience, it's a really good group.

"The manager [Eva Olid] drives the standards but that's all throughout the team. She's great to play under and I think you can see everything we've been working on coming together, so it's very exciting.

"We want to have a successful season as a team and we know were good enough to be up there challenging."

With the development of women's football over the past few years, the vast majority of the Hearts squad, including Girasoli, are full-time. Something the former London City player feels has allowed for the marked improvement.

"I think it's such a professional environment," she added.

"It's one of the reasons I moved here, I think the facilities we have are some of the best if not the best in the league and that allows us as players to strive to get better every day."