Scottish Women's Football

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Dundee United head coach Suzy Shepherd: "A game of two halves, I don't think there was much between the teams at all.

"The first half I thought we did a lot of good and positive things. The second half we were a little bit flat and a few individual errors cost us today."

Aberdeen manager Scott Booth: "We battled really hard. We wanted to be better in possession than we were today, we worked a lot on that this week and I felt that it just didn't click for us.

I felt like we made some poor decisions in possession and we should have been able to keep the ball better. We talked about that at half-time and I felt like we got a good reaction from the players in the second half. We definitely kept the ball better."

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Spartans head coach Jack Beesley: "Absolutely delighted with the win. We knew how hard a game it was going to be, but I thought the girls were outstanding.

"I think the 3-0 is deserved and overall, it's a really, really positive today.

"Hannah Jordan has been superb all season. She's so selfless in her play so I'm so pleased for her. Three great finishes.

"We're definitely not thinking about top six, but it's important for us to beat the teams around us."

Montrose goalkeeping coach Richard Wallace: "Very disappointing, there wasn't much in it.

"We had a few chances, it was a scrappy game but we've just got to move onto next week and keep going.

"It's a big thing not having the gaffer on the bench."

Watch highlights from the SWPL as Rangers beat Celtic in a five-goal thriller.

Available to UK users only.

Were you at any of the matches on Sunday or following the action from home? Either way we want to hear your views on the weekend's action.

Have your say here, external.

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Sunday marks the second meeting of the season between Edinburgh rivals Hearts and Hibernian.

Grant Scott's Hibs side will be desperate to right the wrongs of the 4-0 loss they suffered at Easter Road earlier this term.

This weekend, it is Hearts' turn to host.

"Disappointment is the only word I can use," Hibs boss Scott said when reflecting on that four-goal defeat.

"We strongly believe we didn't get anywhere close to the level we can and Hearts, to their credit, took full advantage.

"Hopefully we won't see a repeat of that this weekend."

Meanwhile, Hearts will be hoping for a repeat of that game, an occasion manager Eva Olid described as "so special".

"But this time to win here, in our own stadium, would be even more special," she added.

Prior to that meeting in September, the sides had been pretty closely matched.

Last season, Hibs won three of the four games with scorelines of 2-0, 2-1 and 1-0. Hearts won the other match 2-0.

Since then, the pair have made use of one another's squads with considerable back and forth transferring during the summer window.

Kathleen McGovern and Ciara Grant moved from Hearts to Hibs, while Naomi Powell moved in the other direction.

Hearts have had the better start to the season, though, and currently sit third in the top flight, joint on points with Rangers and only one off leaders Glasgow City.

Hibs are currently fifth, four points behind their Edinburgh rivals, three behind Celtic and five off top spot.

They have already taken points off last season's top two having held both Celtic and Rangers to draws so far this season.

They are also in the quarter-finals of the SWPL Cup, where they will face Aberdeen for a spot in the final.

Ones to watch

Eilidh Adams and McGovern have been flying for Hibs in recent games, with the latter netting a hat-trick in a 4-1 cup victory over Partick Thistle.

She was kept pretty quiet last time out, but up against her old club again she is one to keep an eye on.

Hearts have been scoring goals from all over the pitch, but Bayley Hutchison (last season's SWPL top goalscorer) is one to watch.

How to follow on the BBC

The match kicks off at 16:10 GMT and is live on BBC Alba, as well as the BBC Sport website, app and iPlayer.

There will also be live text of coverage of all six Sunday games from 11:50 on the BBC Sport website and app.

And on Monday night, watch all the goals and best of the weekend SWPL action on Sportscene at 19:00 on the BBC Scotland channel.

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Rangers head coach Jo Potter expects more teams to sustain an SWPL title challenge this season and says it is "what the league needed".

Potter's side were pipped to glory on goal difference by Celtic last term, with the Old Firm finishing nine points clear of fellow 'big three' side Glasgow City, while Hearts were a further 19 back in fourth.

But 12 games into the new campaign, Hearts are just a point off leaders City and Hibernian are also still in the mix, with the top five clubs separated by just five points.

As she prepares for Sunday's derby meeting with Celtic, Potter said: "I think after we played City at Ibrox, I said I don't think that it's going to be as widespread as what it has been in previous years.

"You look at Hearts and Hibs and the improvements they've made. We always knew it was going to be a little bit tighter and it's what the league needed in all honesty.

"We needed more teams pushing and and having a say on what this league looks like and the title.

"It's all for the greater good of the league and I think that's why sometimes you've got to look at results and previously dropped points, a couple of points here and there might have been really detrimental, but with people taking points off everyone it's been a lot closer this year.

"There could be a little bit more leeway but we still want to make sure we're doing what we can do and get our noses ahead where we can.

"So it will be tougher this year but I always thought that each team was going to improve."

Martin Dowden
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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Rangers head coach Jo Potter has been speaking with the media before the Old Firm derby away to Celtic in the SWPL on Sunday.

Here are the key points:

• Potter insists there's always an "added edge" when it comes to derby games, adding it "always brings that little more spice to it" and these matches are "the exciting ones".

• She was keen to emphasise "our mentality is always the same. We want to win. We saw last year we slipped up elsewhere and that was our downfall."

• The former England international addressed the tightness of the SWPL table, with five points separating the top five teams: "You look at the improvements Hearts and Hibs have made. It's what the league needed."

• Rangers lost two late goals to draw with Celtic in the last meeting and Potter is keen to remind her players of the things they've done well. "We were our own downfall in that last game." she said. "Hopefully we can go out there and prove we've learned from it."

• Potter insists Celtic's Champions League exertions may present a small opportunity to exploit, but says it will be the same messages regardless: "We've got to try and take every advantage that we can. We need to really make sure we're doubling down on what we can do to punish Celtic and that would be the same if they had not had a midweek game."

• Chelsea Cornet is back and trained fully this week. "She was one our players of the season last year so it's a big boost," Potter explained, reporting a "healthy" looking squad.

Celtic defender Emma Lawton, who joined from part-time side Partick Thistle in September, is loving her Champions League experience and says Elena Sadiku's side "gave a really good account of ourselves" in the 2-1 loss to Chelsea.

We asked for your views after Celtic were beaten 2-1 by Chelsea in the Champions League.

Here's what some of you had to say.

Q: Despite the loss, Celtic women were 10 times better than against Twente. Probably over for this UWCL, but who knows, future contenders?

Robert: Great game for Celtic fans to go up against a great team like Chelsea who are a big side in women's football. Even though we got beat we gave a great show. But it's just the start for good things to come. Playing against the big women's teams can only make us better for the future.

Elaine: Celtic were great in containing Chelsea, a pleasure to be there.

John: Celtic were accomplished in giving Chelsea a run for it. But to be honest I don't know what the Celtic manager is doing by leaving out Caitlin Hayes who, in my opinion, is the best Celtic player.

Davie: So many positives for Celtic. Bringing on Hayes allowed us to press more in the second half, and if the game had gone on another five minutes we'd have got a point at least. Standout for me was Celya Barclais. She's come on leaps and bounds since she came to us.

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Scotland forward and Rangers supporter Erin Cuthbert lapped up the "pelters" from Celtic fans as her Chelsea side avoided a Champions League upset.

The 26-year-old skippered the WSL champions at Celtic Park on Wednesday night as they quickly hit back from Murphy Agnew's opener with first-half strikes from Maika Hamano and Ashley Lawrence to maintain their perfect record in Group B.

Cuthbert came close to getting on the scoresheet before making way amid three Chelsea changes at half-time as the Blues shuffled their pack before Saturday’s top-of-the-table WSL meeting with Manchester City.

"It was really good. They created a great atmosphere. It was nice, exciting, hostile at times but I really enjoyed it," Cuthbert told BBC Scotland.

"I was getting some pelters a few times - I enjoyed it. I'm disappointed with the chance I put over the bar, I could have done better with that.

"The keeper made a really good save [from my shot] for the one Ashley scored. I don't care if it’s me or Ashley, it's a goal for Chelsea and that's all that matters."

Cuthbert praised Celtic’s performance and the growth of the women's game in Scotland, but is looking for a more convincing victory when the sides meet again at Stamford Bridge next Wednesday.

"I'm really impressed with how the game has grown in Scotland," the former Glasgow City and Rangers player added.

"From when I left – playing on an astroturf park in the Champions League – to now playing at Celtic Park in front of thousands of noisy fans, it’s great.

"Celtic played well tonight and deserve a lot of credit for their performance. They were strucuted, compact and made it difficult for us.

"We need to play better. We'll be looking at where we can exploit them and have a better performance."

Celtic head coach Elena Sadiku praises her side's performance after they took the lead with their first-ever Champion League group-stage goal before succumbing to a 2-1 home defeat by English giants Chelsea.

After a hard-fought evening at Parkhead, Celtic almost managed to clinch something against the reigning SWPL champions.

We want your views on the game on Wednesday night. What did you make of Celtic's performance? How positive a result is it for the Glasgow side?

Have your say here, external.

Amy Canavan
BBC Sport Scotland at Parkhead

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Celtic Park was the stage in May when Celtic clinched their maiden SWPL title, and there was another first to celebrate as they took a shock lead on 22 minutes.

Amy Gallacher produced an outstanding assist for Murphy Agnew to send an already loud home support wild.

It was the kind of move seen often from Elena Sadiku's side in the SWPL, but not in their opening defeats to Twente and Real Madrid in this competition.

The head coach said she had seen signs of growth and there was more evidence of that here.

Emma Lawton, who was playing part-time football as recently as early September, impressed again and contained half-time substitute Guro Reiten with relative ease, while Shannon McGregor was a force in midfield.

They frustrated Chelsea for large parts, even when they grew tired with their 120-minute match against Glasgow City catching up with them.

There was time for a second wind and Lucy Ashworth-Clifford showed remarkable stamina, showing no fear against previous Champions League winner Lucy Bronze, who had been introduced at half time.

Many feared a heavy loss for the Scottish champions and they can take a heap of pride from this performance.

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Lucy Ashworth-Clifford was immense all night for Celtic, looked very dangerous on the wing and put Chelsea under pressure on numerous occasions. Despite having started on Sunday as well as tonight, the attacker never looked tired.

Adam Binnie
BBC Sport Scotland

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Former manager Fran Alonso is hoping for a "miracle" when Celtic take on heavyweights Chelsea in tonight's Champions League clash.

Alonso left the Glasgow club to charge at Houston Dash in America last year and was replaced by current boss Elena Sadiku, who will lead the side out at their first Champions League game to be played at Parkhead.

Chelsea - who have won the English title five years running - are top of Group B after two wins from two, while Celtic sit bottom after defeats by Twente and Real Madrid.

"They will be feeling very excited," Alonso told BBC Scotland.

"It does not come any better than playing at Celtic Park in front of the most passionate fans in the women's game and against probably the toughest opponent you can face right now in Europe.

"The opponent is fantastic and the competition is fantastic so I'm hoping we have a huge crowd and see an environment that everyone can enjoy.

"It's going to be tough to take points from Chelsea. They are undefeated in the Women's Super League and undefeated in the Champions League.

"But I'm hopeful that with the fans and some set-plays then maybe the miracle can happen."