After opening her goalscoring account for Celtic with her double against Falkirk, Claire O’Riordan said the most important thing for the Hoops, was to start the year as they mean to go on.

The Celts entered the Scottish Cup at the fourth round and sailed past Falkirk with a 9-0 scoreline, and after enjoying a quick-fire brace, O’Riordan stated everything she does at either end of the pitch is all for the club.

She told Celtic TV: “As a footballer it’s always nice to score goals, but credit goes to my team-mates for supporting me and putting the ball in the right areas so it’s all for the club, so we keep working.

'It’s important to help in any way possible and if that’s keeping clean sheets at the back, great, but whatever we can do to help the team going forward too.'

“I think we have a big presence in our attacking set pieces which we capitalise on quite well, so it’s about continuing to keep those standards and pushing.”

It was the Celts’ first run out of the New Year, and having a new competition to throw themselves straight into was the perfect way to get going.

The Irish internationalist added: “Coming in after the break, everyone is working hard to get back up to full fitness and we’ve been working for the last couple of weeks, so it’s about maintaining high standards and continue to keep pushing.

“Coming into a new competition and getting the win was very important for us to start the New Year as we mean to go on.”

Claire O’Riordan’s double joy in 2023 kick-off