Scottish Women's Football

Charlotte Cohen
BBC Sport Scotland

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Elena Sadiku insists there's "no pressure" on her Celtic side as they prepare to face Twente on Tuesday night.

It's the first of six Champions League group stage games for the Glasgow side, who will also face Chelsea and Real Madrid.

Tuesday night's match will also be the first for Celtic with New Douglas Park as their home ground.

"This is the first time we've been here," Sadiku said. "This is the first time we're experiencing the Champions League group stage.

"We know that we are probably one of the lowest, if not the lowest, ranked team in the group stage, so there's no pressure on us. The pressure is coming from us wanting to do well and show that we are a great team.

"The excitement is hopefully the thing that we can push for during the game. You know we want to be here, we want to fight and we want to make sure that we put in a great performance.

"This is a different experience for us and we should be excited. We should be fearless coming into this game as well."

Charlotte Cohen
BBC Sport Scotland

Image source, SNS

Elena Sadiku has been speaking to the media as Celtic prepare for their Champions League group stage opener against Twente.

Here are the main points from her press conference:

• She said she will be treating the clash as a normal game despite the occasion.

• Adds that coming to Celtic was a "dream come true" and she wants to continue to be successful with the team.

• The squad's confidence has taken a massive boost from their victories over Vorskla Poltava and their midweek draw with Rangers.

• While Sadiku says there is "no outside pressure" on her side given their low competition ranking, they have put pressure on themselves to perform well.

• The Swedish manager is happy to "bring on" the external pressure, though, if it means taking some of it away from her players.

• Says she's "living in a wheel" with the amount of games her side have coming up but is fully focused on putting together a proper game plan for all of their fixtures.

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Rangers manager Jo Potter: "We've always got to be happy with a clean sheet and the three points.

"We were in control for the whole game and didn't look like conceding but there's elements we need to work and improve on.

"For the majority it was an improved performance from what I wanted. This could have been a real banana skin for us but I thought we looked in control.

"The main thing for us was not slipping up, not taking our foot off the gas and feeling sorry for ourselves. Everything is looking positive."

Motherwell manager Paul Brownlie: "I thought we had real control at points, particularly in the first half, I thought we looked really comfortable.

"We were really thin on numbers due to the players that were at our disposal, come next Sunday we'll have eight players back in the squad which will be a big boost."

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Partick Thistle manager Brian Graham: "At this level when you don't take your chances you get punished at the other end.

"In the second half we tried to have a go but we lost a sucker punch and the game just got away from us from there.

"I thought it was two good sides and it could have gone either way, unfortunately for us it went Hearts' way."

Hearts manager Eva Olid: "It wasn't an easy day.

"I think in the first half they stopped us playing how we wanted to play and when we didn't have the ball we looked lost.

"In the second half it was a different game but we need to play our game from the first second not wait until the second half.

"It's a learning experience, we're used to our pitch but we need to adapt to every circumstance and always play our game."

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Hibs manager Grant Scott: "First and foremost I'm delighted with the win.

"They're a difficult team to overcome, they play really organised football and give you a real good challenge.

"We kept trying to play football and that got us the result in the end."

Montrose manager Craig Feroz: "I thought the team were excellent for the first 20 minutes.

"We got a goal back and I thought we were totally in the game but the penalty decision was a joke.

"Hibs had so much possession and you expect that when you're away form home against a top team and I thought we executed the gameplan well but the penalty changes the game.

"For me it's not a penalty at all, we get a sending off as well. It's disappointing when you're down there fighting for points and I think we deserved something from the game."

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Dundee United manager Suzy Shepherd: "It's disappointing getting beaten but I don't think we played well whatsoever.

"I think we improved slightly in the second half but it was still nowhere near how we're capable of playing.

"We need to go away and reflect on ourselves as individuals and prepare for the game next week."

Spartans manager Jack Beesley: "I'm delighted to get the three points which was the main objective.

"We could have taken our opportunities a bit more so that was the frustration.

"I'm delighted to win but I thought we could have managed certain situations better and made it less stressful at the end."

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Aberdeen coach Aaron Scully: "We knew it was going to be a tough game, I think one of the most disappointing things was that I didn't feel they had to work too hard for their goals.

"I thought we defended quite well but the key moments in the game that cost us the goals.

"We need to try and pick up more points against the teams around us by getting goals, not conceding silly goals and scoring at the other end."

Glasgow City manager Leanne Ross: "I'm really pleased with the performance, I thought we played some nice stuff and scored some nice goals.

"It's important we score goals, we know it can be important when it comes to the end of the season and it's nice to see players all over the pitch getting goals.

"Every time we take to the pitch we need to fight for the three points so all in all a good day's work."

What did you make of this weekend's SWPL action? Were you pleased with your side's performance?

Give us your thoughts here, external.

You can watch two live SWPL games this Sunday. Rangers v Motherwell (14:00) will be streamed live on the BBC Sport website, with Partick Thistle v Hearts (16:10) live on BBC Alba. Both are also available on the app and on BBC iPlayer.

As usual, we will also bring you live text coverage of Sunday's full six-game SWPL card, which includes Hibernian v Montrose, Glasgow City's trip to Aberdeen, and Dundee United hosting Spartans.

Every goal and talking point will be covered, with the live text starting from 12:50 on the BBC Sport website and app.

Then, on Monday night, watch the best of the weekend action on the SWPL highlights show on BBC Scotland at 19:00.

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Captain Rachel Corsie will miss Scotland's Euro 2025 play-off with Hungary this month after undergoing knee surgery.

The 35-year-old defender's club, Aston Villa, confirmed Corsie has undergone a "routine" knee operation that will keep out of action for eight weeks.

Scotland's first leg against Hungary takes place in Budapest on 25 October (17:15 BST), before the return on 29 October at Easter Road (19:35).

If Pedro Martinez Losa's side progress, they will face either Montenegro or Finland for a place in next summer's tournament in Switzerland.

Andrew Petrie
BBC Sport Scotland

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We're only eight games into the season, but the writing appears to be on the wall for Dundee United and their time in the top flight of Scottish women's football.

Suzy Shepherd's side have taken just one point - a draw against fellow strugglers Aberdeen - from the 24 on offer so far.

United are already four points adrift at the foot of the table and 14 goals worse off than second-bottom Aberdeen.

The Tannadice side are prime early relegation candidates - particularly with three teams destined for the drop due to the league moving to 10 teams next season.

United need points, quickly. So might they finally get a first win of the campaign on Sunday when Sparts, who sit eighth, come calling?

Having been top-flight mainstays, Spartans are now also nervously looking over their shoulder in the bottom half of the SWPL.

Spartans finished just three points ahead of United last season - who came 11th and survived via a play-off - and have taken just six points from their opening eight games.

The league has already started to resemble the final standings of last season, with Motherwell, Montrose and Aberdeen all in the bottom six alongside newcomers Queen's Park.

That means every time one of these sides plays each other, it becomes a big game. A point - or three - taken off any of the top-six teams is a bonus.

Last season, Spartans enjoyed two wins over United - one of them a 6-0 thrashing. But it was actually the Tangerines who won the first meeting between the pair last November.

Smart money might be on the visitors, given they've picked up two wins this season, but nothing is easy to predict in the SWPL.

Rangers head coach Jo Potter, speaking after the 2-2 draw with Celtic, says the "healthy" rivalry with Elena Sadiku's side can "only make our game better".

Charlotte Cohen
BBC Sport Scotland

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SWPL fans are no clearer on where the SWPL title could be heading come the end of the season thanks to Celtic's fightback against Rangers.

Yet again the Glasgow rivals couldn't be separated in 90 minutes as Celtic came from behind to snatch a 2-2 draw at Broadwood.

A breathless end to a match that looked, for 87 minutes at least, like Rangers were going to grab the points.

But Celtic's resilience shone through once again to split the points.

Where many sides would have crumbled, being two goals behind with 20 minutes to play, Elena Sadiku's players showed their grit, determination and desire to fight for one another to come back.

Saoirse Noonan's composure to take a penalty just two minutes after coming on, coupled with Celya Barclais' hunger to pick up the loose ball and send it goalwards, epitomised exactly what Celtic are all about.

Echoes of last season and Amy Gallacher 90th minute goal against Hibs that won Celtic their first ever SWPL title once again proved that this Celtic side simply don't give up.

But it's only going to get tougher.

Champions League games against Twente, Chelsea and Real Madrid loom as does an SWPL Cup tie against Glasgow City and a league clash against Hearts.

If there's anyone who can lead Celtic through that, it's Elena Sadiku.

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Elena Sadiku was frustrated not to pick up all three points as Celtic came from behind to draw with Rangers.

Despite being two goals down with 20 minutes to go, the reigning champions fought back to a 2-2 draw.

"Yeah, it's valuable [the point] but I also think that I'm a bit frustrated that we didn't get the win," the Swede said.

"But I'm so proud with the girls to be 2-0 behind and do the performance and how we pushed. I'm so proud.

"Like I said from the start, I have a great squad. We have incredible players, quality players, and what an impact they did today. That shows the quality of the squad."

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Jo Potter feels Rangers should have taken all three points in Thursday night's 2-2 draw with Celtic.

Rangers were leading 2-0 with just over 20 minutes to play before Saoirse Noonan pulled one back from the penalty spot.

Celya Barclais fired in the equaliser with just three minutes left of the 90.

"I think we've done everything that we needed to to win the game," the Rangers manager said.

"You know, we spoke about them only really getting back into the game through our mistakes and that's definitely what happened.

"As I said, the game was there for us to win and we're extremely disappointed that we didn't take three points because I thought at one point we were in complete control and looking like taking all three.

"At the end of the day we take a point. It's not a loss but we definitely should have had three."

Potter's side remain top of the table, but they're only a point ahead of Glasgow City and two ahead of Celtic.