Scottish Women’s Premier League
Sunday, 26 November, 2023
Excelsior Stadium, Airdrie

CELTIC…13

(Cavanagh 7, Agnew 8, 15 & 65, Partido 19, Ross 28, 64, Craig 40, Gallacher 50, 77 & 90+1, Goldie 78, Hayes 80)

ABERDEEN…0

Celtic FC Women rounded off their final fixture before the international break in impressive style as they put on a show at the Excelsior Stadium, defeating Aberdeen 13-0.

The Hoops raced into a six-goal lead in the opening 45 minutes thanks to an early strike from Colette Cavanagh, which was followed up by goals from Murphy Agnew, Paula Partido, Natalie Ross and Chloe Craig.

Both Agnew and Ross added to their tallies in the second half as the American completed her hat-trick, before Amy Gallacher became the second player of the match to score three goals. There was still time for more too as Clare Goldie and Caitlin Hayes got in on the act.

It has been a strong month of action for the Ghirls, scoring 10 goals and conceding zero in November, and they would have been aiming to maintain that form.

They certainly did that on a cold day in Airdrie as the supporters watched a rampant Celtic side put in a top display across the 90 minutes.

The scoring was started off early in the match as Cavanagh got things underway with a composed finish inside the area. After Partido’s cutback found the midfielder, she powered the ball beyond the Aberdeen goalkeeper who was set for a busy day of action.

Just moments later, the Celts scored their second and third of the match as Agnew got off and running with her first two strikes of three for the day.

The American showcased her striker’s instincts with both finishes, tapping the ball home from close range at the back post, before heading the ball into the back of the net at the front post shortly after to make the score 3-0.

After playing her part in setting up the opening three goals, Partido then got on the scoresheet. Rising highest inside the six-yard box, the Spaniard headed the ball home from close range to add to the impressive first-half display.

Throughout the first-half, the Hoops were devastating from crosses into the box, causing the Aberdeen defence trouble each time the ball was delivered.

And that was the route of the Celts’ next two goals. Ross was first to get in on the goals with her first of two either side of the half.

The midfielder showcased fantastic tenacity to race in front of her marker, heading the ball into the side netting.

Just before the break, the Ghirls rounded off the half in ideal fashion as Craig grabbed her 10^th goal of the campaign.

In similar fashion to Partido, the defender was first to react to the cross from a corner, nodding the ball beyond the helpless Aberdeen shot-stopper.

Heading into the second half with all three points effectively wrapped up, the Celts were in no mood for stopping in front of goal.

After squandering an early chance at the beginning of the second 45 minutes, Gallacher wasn’t going to pass up another opportunity as the Celtic No.7 scored the seventh goal of the afternoon, kicking off her hat-trick.

Initially seeing her first shot blocked off, the ball fell back to the forward, who calmly passed the ball into the bottom corner of the net.

The goals continued to flow throughout the Celtic team as Ross secured her brace with another fantastic finish on her left foot from outside the area.

Just a minute after Ross’ strike, the Hoops grabbed another milestone goal as Agnew notched her first hat-trick for the club.

Following on from her first-half double, the striker completed the perfect hat-trick, latching on to a pass into the channel, before slotting the ball into the far bottom corner.

Although the match finished 13-0, the Hoops had even more chances in front of goal to add to the scoring, hitting the crossbar and post on multiple occasions.

There was still time for another player to grab their hat-trick too as Gallacher scored a late double, with two clinical finishes to score her second trio of the campaign.

Late on in the match, Hayes and Goldie added the final two goals to round off what was an incredible performance at the Excelsior Stadium as the Ghirls head into the final international break of 2023.

Eight Celts on target as two hat-tricks take score to 13-0 against Dons