Four Takeaways from the first SWPL Old Firm Derby of the Season

A full-back shines in three at the back. Kirsty MacLean takes the wheel. Celtic can still reflect on a strong start to the season. Will Ibrox or Celtic Park host an Old Firm Derby?

Brogan Hay and Jenny Smith during Rangers 2-1 Old Firm derby win over Celtic at Excelsior Stadium (Credit: SWPL/Malcolm Mackenzie)

Rangers moved to the top of the SWPL as goals from Kirsty MacLean and Rio Hardy saw Jo Potter’s side come back from a Caitlin Hayes goal down to secure victory over league leaders Celtic. From a tight contest here are four takeaways from the first Old Firm derby of the season:

• Jo Potter’s three at the back evolution has its biggest success to date.

• Kirsty Maclean take’s the wheel.

• Despite defeat Celtic’s start to the season remains strong.

• Time for the Old Firm derby to hit the big time.

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Jo Potter’s three at the back evolution has it’s biggest success to date.

This is the last time I’ll talk about this for a good while but it deserves another mention as Rangers moved to the top of the SWPL table with the first round of fixtures now complete.

Earlier this season I watched on with curiosity as a reformatted Rangers claimed a disjointed 2-1 victory over Hearts at Oriam. Having seen Rangers stick so rigidly to a formation built upon a back four in previous seasons I left Edinburgh scratching my head, wondering if the change that former Birmingham City Assistant Jo Potter had made was too stark. Hearts should have got something from the closing stages of that game and while Potter’s constructs based around a back three made sense, the execution was still a work in progress.

Against Glasgow City she returned to a back four, as Rangers picked up a point at home to last season’s champion but since that draw the 3-5-2/3-4-1-2 has been king and against Celtic it had its greatest success to date.

Rio Hardy would score Rangers winner on Sunday (Credit: SWPL/Colin Poultney)

One of the players most affected by this switch has been Rachel McLauchlan, who shone against Celtic in her newly adopted position at the right hand side of a back three, one that she had admitted to still be learning following last week’s 7-0 win over Hibernian.