SWPL
Wednesday, April 16, 2025
New Douglas Park

CELTIC…0

HIBERNIAN…0

Celtic FC Women were held to a 0-0 draw at New Douglas Park on Thursday evening as they played out a stalemate against Hibernian.

In what was an end-to-end match between the two sides, there was nothing to separate the Hoops and the Hibees as both teams took home a point.

With the two sides eyeing up a return to winning ways, it was an even opening exchange as the Celts looked to play their way into the match.

The first opportunity for the Ghirls fell the way of Natalie Ross after a loose ball from an Amy Gallacher corner made its way to the midfielder.

As she looked to connect on her left foot under pressure, her shot was rising and headed over the crossbar.

At points, the Hoops were doing well to put the visitors under pressure, forcing mistakes at the back.

Winning back possession high up the pitch on a number of occasions, Lucy Ashworth-Clifford quickly looked to find a teammate inside the penalty area.

The closest she came was to finding Kit Loferski who made a smart run across the front post, but it was just out of the reach of the American.

As the half time whistle approached, Kelsey Daugherty had to remain alert to a delivery into the box, tipping the ball over from close range.

A nice interchange also almost saw Momo Nakao release Ashworth-Clifford down the left, but her pass was cut out just as she looked to play her in behind.

With both teams going in level at the break, it was gearing up to be a big 45 minutes with the Hoops looking for a breakthrough.

The Ghirls started the half off brightly, with Momo sending a clever ball in behind to Maria McAneny on this occasion. But she was flagged for offside.

Having played her part in almost setting up two opportunities, the chance for a shot at goal soon then fell for the Japanese midfielder.

After working a nice one-two inside the area with McAneny, Momo looked to unleash a shot. But a last-ditch tackle denied her an effort on goal.

With Celtic still chasing a goal, Elena Sadiku looked to change things up in the forward line, introducing Saoirse Noonan, Mathilde Carstens, Jenny Smith and Murphy Agnew in the second half.

Noonan looked to cause danger straight away, drifting into a wide area, before firing the ball across.

But once again, it was just too much for Smith running into the area, which seemed to be the story of the Hoops’ night.

The away side also had some big opportunities to find the opening goal of the game, with Daugherty doing brilliantly to deny Hibs on a few occasions with some terrific saves.

The Celtic shot-stopper was called into question with just minutes to go in the match, showing superb reflexes to keep the ball out of the back of the net.

Ultimately, it was a game with no goals for either side, with neither team able to make the breakthrough in the 90 minutes.

The Hoops will quickly look to get back to winning ways this weekend as they take on Motherwell at K Park this Sunday.

Stalemate as Hoops are held to draw against Hibernian