Three Takeaways from the Sky Sports Cup Quarter Finals
Celtic cruise past Glasgow City, a "boring" game explodes into life at Petershill Park and 100 is the magic number for a trio of SWPL stars.
Celtic, Partick Thistle, Rangers and Hibernian all ensured a ball with their number on it would be swirled around the big glass bowl ahead of this week’s Sky Sports Cup Semi Final draw following victories over Glasgow City, Montrose, Boroughmuir Thistle and Dundee United respectively.
Having been at two of the four ties, and digested coverage provided by clubs from the remaining two, here’s a trio of talking points from Sunday’s action.
Celtic ease past Glasgow City, to make it five wins on the bounce against their city rivals.
Football nearly gets cancelled at Petershill Park as Partick Thistle come from behind to beat Montrose.
Falconer, Docherty and Adams join the 100 club.
Celtic ease past Glasgow City, to make it five wins on the bounce
It was a funny old game at the Excelsior Stadium as Celtic secured a surprisingly comfortable 3-0 victory over last season’s SWPL champions.
A game that has become synonymous with it’s intensity had a touch of the routine about it for Fran Alonso’s side as goals from Natalie Ross, Amy Gallacher and Kit Loferski booked his side’s spot in the semi-finals as Glasgow City failed to score for the second game in succession.
Not only did it move Celtic a step closer to next month’s final but it also secured a fifth consecutive victory in all competitions for the hosts and Celtic’s Spanish Head Coach was delighted with a victory that shows the progress his side has made against the traditional standard bearers of Scottish women’s football, "When I first started with the group, we had this mental block because they were the 14-time champions, we never played well against them, we were intimidated and I think that is gone."
Friday night’s win felt the most comprehensive to date, and while City looked considerably livelier than they did when dropping league points in a 0-0 draw with Hearts the previous Sunday, there seemed little doubt about who would be emerging victorious following Amy Gallacher’s second goal as Celtic looked to continue their recently found love of cup competitions.
As good as Celtic were it was it was a game in which City were left to mistakes at one end of the pitch, and missed chances at the other, "I'm disappointed with the manner in which we lost the goals.”, said City’s Head Coach, Leanne Ross post-match, “In the first half, we created loads of chances and if we take one or two of them then it could be a totally different story, so that is the most disappointing thing for me.”
When asked if there is any concerns about her side’s recent blip Ross acknowledged there was problems to solve but she had belief in what her side could do, "It's a lot about individual standards, it's a wee bit of belief in some individual players and then quality. I'm not worried about the mentality because they are still creating the chances, they need to go and put them away, end of story."
A return to league action at home to Rangers this Sunday will provide the former Glasgow City captain and her side with an immediate opportunity to remind title rivals of their pedigree as the league season continues into its second phase.
Football nearly gets cancelled at Petershill Park as Partick Thistle come from behind to beat Montrose.
As the half time whistle went at 13:50 on Sunday afternoon I stood on the far side of Petershill Park; away from the glare of a low winter sun, blazing into a noisily populated main stand, I found myself questioning how valid any statement that coupled the words “entertainment” and “football” would ever be again.
Don’t just take my word for it though; “boring”, “rubbish” and “one of the worst halves of football I think I’ve ever seen.” were just some of the takes from coaches, players and fans alike as Partick Thistle came from a goal down to defeat Montrose 2-1 and a book a second national cup semi-final spot in three years (following a Scottish Cup semi-final appearance against Glasgow City in 2022).
“I don’t really think it was a game of football”, acknowledged Partick Thistle Head Coach Brian Graham following a contest that only came to life once Louise Brown’s 60th minute effort looped over Ava Easdon’s head to give the visitors the lead, “The first half, I hated watching it to be honest, it was boring, there was nothing really happening in the game, but we turned it around, we scored two goals in three minutes and you’ve got to look at the positives, we're through to the semi-final.”
A change of shape and the introduction of Imogen Longcake, Vhairi Munro and Claire Adams helped turn the game in the home side’s favour with Longcake’s pace in particular stretching a Montrose side who had competed sternly throughout.
She would score the winning goal, getting on the end of a Rachel Donaldson cross at the end of sweeping attacking move, with Donaldson herself having scored the equaliser minutes earlier, “The first half we didn’t really turn up and I think to be honest maybe Montrose wanted it a little bit more”, said the 27-year-old Donaldson. “They were picking up a lot of the second balls in the middle, which was really disappointing for us because I do think our willingness to win games and battle is one of our main attributes and we probably deserved the rollicking at half time.”
Performance aside, it would be another landmark moment for Thistle who the previous weekend played in front of a record crowd at Firhill. Success in adversity was something that Donaldson felt could be built upon, “To be honest we are really disappointed with the performance but if you’re not playing well and are still coming away with wins then there is something special there. We just never give up and it’s maybe the kick up the bum we needed before playing Aberdeen (on Thursday in the league).”
“We’re building something here and hopefully this next semi-final won’t be the last.”
Thistle will be the underdogs come this week’s draw but past results have shown that on their day, they are more than capable of giving the top sides a fright.
Falconer, Docherty and Adams join the 100 club.
Along with booking a first Sky Sports Cup semi-final spot there was another notable achievement unlocked at Petershill Park as Partick Thistle captain Demi Falconer made her 100th appearance for the Glasgow club.
The 26-year-old defender has been a stalwart of Brian Graham’s side since joining in 2020 following a spell at Stirling University, and is one of an increasing number of players who has, as the standards of the Scottish game continue to grow, established themselves as a regular at SWPL level.
Falconer wasn’t the only player to have a century of appearances celebrated as both Rangers’ Nicola Docherty and Hibernian’s Eilidh Adams’ both received recognition for their extended tenures.
Docherty was presented with a framed shirt ahead of Rangers’ 7-0 quarter-final victory over SWPL2 Boroughmuir Thistle at Broadwood. The use of the word “professional” a reminder that the numbers behind the records swere still, until very recently, difficult to come by (they sometimes still are).
The Rangers captain has won it all in Scotland with both Glasgow City and her current side and will earn a 50th Scotland cap should she make an appearance against Belgium or England in the final round of Nations League group games later this month.
Docherty was celebrated on Sunday but it was a glimpse into the future that once again had Rangers fan excited as Laura Berry and Eilidh Austin both got on the scoresheet as Jo Potter’s side ran out comfortable winners; Austin’s goal a first for Rangers following a successful loan spell at Hamilton Academical last term.
Berry and Austin weren’t the only members of Scotland’s Young Team to make headlines as along the M8 19-year-old Hibernian striker Eilidh Adams racked up a 100th appearance of her own, celebrating the achievement with a hat-trick as Hibernian swept aside Dundee United to book the final semi-final spot; a third game in seven days for the visitors proving a game too far with the Edinburgh side scoring six of their seven goals in the second period.
Despite her still teenage years, there have been times during Adams one hundred game stretch that she has been tasked with the carrying the responsibility as the Edinburgh side’s primary goal threat. The fact that she has continued to progress despite the pressure, a sign of her continued potential. This season that burden has been eased with the arrival of Jorian Baucom and the competition the American provides can only serve to aid the development of a player still learning her craft; despite her now centurion status.
The lifelong Hibee looks set to stay for the foreseeable future having recently signed a contract extension through to the summer of 2026 and, along with more goals in green, her sights will be set on trying to push herself towards SWNT recognition following a first call up to the U23’s earlier this autumn.
SKY SPORTS CUP QUARTER-FINAL RESULTS
Celtic 3-0 Glasgow City, Partick Thistle 2-1 Montrose, Rangers 7-0 Boroughmuir Thistle, Hibernian 7-0 Dundee United.
Leading the Line can only exist with your support.
This will be coverage of the women’s game in Scotland that will be like nothing else you will see. That takes time, research and a few favours along the way. To gain access to all our features, exclusive interviews and insight on the big issues and big games, please consider a paid £10 monthly subscription or a £50 annual subscription (£75 if you are feeling super generous as a founding member), starting with a 7-day free trial, to continue the growth of informed and unique coverage of the women’s game in Scotland.