Scottish Women's Football

Another busy weekend of SWPL action has come and gone.

We want to hear what you made of your side's performance as we charge towards the end of the season.

Get in touch.

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The SWPL team of the year for the 2023-24 season, as voted by fellow top flight players, has been announced.

Nicola Docherty, Rachel Rowe, Rio Hardy and Kirsty Maclean feature from Rangers - the most representation for any team.

Celtic's Caitlin Hayes and Amy Gallacher are also included in the line-up, as well as Hibs' Jorian Baucom and Leah Eddie.

Keeper Charlotte Parker-Smith is in there for Hearts, alongside midfielder Katie Lockwood.

Partick Thistle have just one player included in defender Emma Lawto,n but no players from reigning champions Glasgow City made the cut.

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Having made history at Oriam on Wednesday night by defeating Rangers for the first time, can Hearts deliver another stunning upset when they visit Celtic?

The 1-0 victory over Jo Potter's side was the first time Hearts have beaten one of the big three (Celtic, Rangers and Glasgow City) but Sunday's contest looks a little different.

Eva Olid's side have already taken points off the new league leaders this season, holding them to a 1-1 draw in Edinburgh back in December shortly before Fran Alonso left as manager.

His replacement, Elena Sadiku, took a bit of time to get going but her side have found their flow and show no sign of letting up in their bid to win a first SWPL title.

Sunday's match at Celtic Park is likely to be another tightly-contested affair. The sides have met twice so far this season, Celtic edging a 3-2 win at the Excelsior Stadium in September before the capital stalemate three months later.

Their latest tussle is at Parkhead, on BBC TV and certainly not one to miss.

There's plenty action to get your teeth stuck into this weekend...

You can catch the early match at Petershill Park where Partick Thistle host Rangers, live on BBC Sport Scotland's website and iPlayer.

Kick-off is at 13:00 (BST) on Sunday, and commentary comes from Andy Bargh and Lisa Swanson.

BBC Alba will be showing Celtic's game against Hearts at Celtic Park later in the day.

Kick-off at 16:10, and you'll be able to watch it on the BBC Sport Scotland website as well.

And you can watch all the best bits on Sportscene: SWPL highlights with Jane Lewis and Julie Fleeting on Monday night.

That's on BBC Scotland at 19:00 with a replay on BBC One Scotland at 23:25.

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Scotland striker Amy Gallacher has signed a new three-year deal at Celtic, keeping her at the Glasgow club until 2027.

Putting pen to paper was an "easy decision" for the 25-year-old, who joined from in Hibs in 2022.

In her two seasons since moving to Celtic, she was racked up 46 goal contributions in 32 appearances and earned her first international call-up.

“I’m very happy to have signed a new three-year deal," Gallacher told club media.

“I’m really enjoying my football at the moment, so I’m just delighted to have extended my stay and I’m looking forward to the future.

“I’m really loving playing under Elena [Sadiku] as well. She is a great young manager.

"You can see her passion, she has got big ambitions and a great vision for the club, so it's exciting.

“I love scoring and creating goals. That is something that I want to continue doing over the next few years.”

Charlotte Cohen
BBC Sport Scotland

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Partick Thistle have already taken points off Rangers once this season. Now they're looking to trouble the Ibrox side again on Sunday and deal a major blow to a title bid that's gone from flying to faltering.

Rangers had been cruising at the top of the table and, having already picked up the SWPL Cup, looked on course for the treble. That dream is still alive but Jo Potter's side were stunned by Hearts on Wednesday night, allowing Celtic to unseat them as league leaders.

Rangers dropped points just once - a 1-1 draw with reigning champions Glasgow City - in their opening 19 league games. In the following seven matches they've spilled 10 points, suffering defeats to title rivals Celtic and third-place Hearts.

Thistle have been really struggling recently - losing five in a row and going seven league games without victory.

They need to stop the rot if they want to chase down Hibs above them. Rangers will be desperate to get back to winning ways and reignite their title challenge.

So both sides have a big point to prove at Petershill Park on Sunday.

Dundee United's 2-1 defeat by Motherwell last weekend will now be recorded as a 3-0 loss after the club were charged by the SWPL for fielding an ineligible player.

At a disciplinary hearing on Thursday, the club presented a number of "mitigating circumstances" after the unnamed player featured in the full 90 minutes.

United, who have the right to appeal, were also reprimanded and warned over their future conduct.

The Tannadice side are three points adrift at the bottom of the table with six games remaining.

Charlotte Cohen
BBC Sport Scotland

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Is survival on the cards for Hamilton?

Having hauled themselves off the bottom with a 5-2 thrashing of fellow strugglers Dundee United in midweek, Accies are looking to make it back-to-back wins for the first time this season and give their safety bid another huge boost.

Robert Watson's team, who now occupy the relegation play-off spot, host the side directly above them, Spartans.

A home win on Sunday and the gap will be down to just one point, but Spartans are now nervously looking over their shoulder as they look to scramble clear of the dogfight.

The Edinburgh outfit's form is hardly stellar - just two wins in the last 19 league games - but they took a point against eighth-place Motherwell on Wednesday night and are unbeaten in five meetings with Hamilton.

The last two head-to-heads have ended in draws and if either side wins this one it could be crucial in the relegation shake-up.

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Kelly Clark insists Celtic will "rise to the occasion" when they take to the pitch at Parkhead for the first time this season on Sunday.

Having gone top of the SWPL in midweek, Elena Sadiku's side take on Hearts after the Edinburgh side's shock win over Rangers knocked the Ibrox side from the summit.

While Celtic usually play home games at the Excelsior Stadium in Airdrie, they will host Hearts on Sunday - live on BBC Alba and the BBC Sport website - and Hibs at Celtic Park next month.

“I can’t wait for Sunday,” defender Clark told CelticTV, external.

“Hearts have obviously got a really big result [on Wednesday]. We know it’s not going to be an easy game.

"But to go back to Celtic Park, where we have got so many fond memories of last year, it’s a really exciting occasion for the girls.

"I’m sure we’ll rise to the occasion.

“I think a lot of the girls watch the men play at Celtic Park, it’s such a buzz and it’s infectious. You become obsessed with it and the atmosphere created.

“I can’t wait to see people there.”

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Hearts manager Eva Olid says their 1-0 win over Rangers on Wednesday makes all their hard work this season worth it.

Katie Lockwood's goal earned Hearts their first ever win over Celtic, Rangers or Glasgow City, and Olid says she never doubted the day would come.

"It's something we believed would happen," she said.

"We are in really good shape. The first half they were much better than us, but at half-time we said we needed to be more brave, and I think we managed the second half well.

"We pressed higher, which helped. This arrived at a good time, because we want to be ambitious - it's a good step.

"We've had hard moments this season, and after the hard work, finally positive things."

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Head coach Robert Watson says his Hamilton Academical side gave themselves a "chance" of SWPL survival as they leapfrogged opponents Dundee United to move off the bottom of the table.

The North Lanarkshire side punished 10-player the visitors with four second-half goals in a 5-2 victory.

“It was a massive second-half performance from the players and a thoroughly deserved win," he told club media.

“I had a feeling after Sunday the players weren’t going to let another opportunity slip and we saw that tonight. They were brilliant.

“We reacted well to losing the opener but once they go down to 10, I felt we forced things too much.

"I give all credit to the players, they identified problems at half time and acted on them. Scoring a couple of goals in quick succession really killed the game.

“The result has given us a great chance but we will be wary it is just that, a chance.

“I’ve been consistent with my message, a lot can happen very quickly and nothing is decided tonight so we look forward to Sunday and a tough opponent but another chance at points”.

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Jo Potter has warned that her Rangers side can't expect to roll over teams lower down the league after Hearts shocked the title challengers.

The Ibrox side spurned chance after chance in the capital before Katie Lockwood's winner grabbed a surprise three points for the hosts.

Potter says their decimation of rivals Glasgow City at the weekend now "doesn't matter" after failing to back it up with another win.

"I'm not very happy," she told club media. "It's tough because I felt as though the game should have been out of sight at half time.

"They weren't just half chances, they were full chances. We can't give up those opportunities,

"As the game goes on, the game becomes a bit more touchy. There's more pressure, that comes from our own slack play.

"We pride ourselves on being ruthless and it's come back to bite us on the backside today.

"You can't take your foot of the gas at all and it kinds of take the shine off the weekend's result, because if you don't come here and do it, it doesn't matter.

"You can't just get up for your Citys and your Celtics and expect to run over teams like this. This is a very good team. We've got to learn our lessons, let that hurt and move forward very quickly."

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Celtic head coach Elena Sadiku has warned against complacency after her side moved to the top of the SWPL.

A narrow win over Hibs proved enough to displace league leaders Rangers, who slipped up with defeat at Hearts.

Now two points clear at the summit, Celtic are setting the pace with two Old Firm derbies to come in a thrilling title race.

"I think in the first half we were not as good as we can be," Sadiku told club media., external "Overall, especially in the second half, how we fought was really nice to see.

"If we don't play the best football, we still need to fight for the three points and get the job done.

"This is what we want to do, we want to win our games so it can lead us to what we want in the end.

"It's nice that this win takes us to the top of the league, but it's so many games left. We just need to keep fighting hard and hopefully it will give us what we want."

Were you at any of Wednesday night's matches or following along from home? What did you make of your team's performance?

Have your say here.

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Partick Thistle defender Jenna Ferguson insists they need to capitalise on Glasgow City's defeat to Rangers.

The sides meet in derby action on Wednesday night with reigning champions City reeling from a 4-1 weekend loss, while Brian Graham's side are aiming to rebound from a 5-0 drubbing by Celtic.

"We didn't get the result we wanted on Sunday so we're just looking to bounce back from it," Ferguson told club media, external.

"We've got a really togeth spot and I think it's important that we look on what we have done and not what we haven't.

When asked if Thistle should be attempting to make the most of City's defeat on Sunday, Ferguson added: "It's really important to capitalise on it.

"They are a very good team and won't be used to losing so we need to take advantage of it and start strong against them.

"We need to stay switched on for the whole 90 minutes, all it will take is one moment, one lapse in concentration and they'll hurt us for it."

Dundee United midfielder Tash Bruce is convinced her side have the quality to drag themselves to safety.

United - currently off the foot of the table on goal difference - visit bottom club Hamilton in a huge relegation showdown on Wednesday night.

"Everyone knows where we are in the league but we know the quality we've got in the dressing room," said Bruce.

"We've been working on performances and we're just looking to give a good account of ourselves.

"You can't underestimate any opposition, Hamilton are in a similar position to ourselves but we've got to back the quality we have.

"We know they're capable of taking points off us but we have just got to focus on our game-plan and the players we've got."

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