SWPL
Sunday, October 18, 2026
Balmoral Stadium

ABERDEEN…0

CELTIC…6

(Craig 8, McAneny 17, 52, OG 49, Rabjohn 56, Cross 78)

Celtic FC Women marked their return from the international break with an emphatic result, running out 6-0 winners over Aberdeen.

The Ghirls raced into a two-goal first half lead, with Chloe Craig and Maria McAneny scoring inside the opening 20 minutes.

Four second half goals followed, with McAneny grabbed her double, whilst Evie Rabjohn and Morgan Cross also scored alongside an own goal.

It has been two weeks since the Ghirls were last in action, with the first international break of the 2026/27 season taking place.

This week marked the return of club football though, with Grant Scott’s side making the visit to the Balmoral Stadium to take on Aberdeen.

The Celtic boss named a number of changes to his side that defeated Spartans 4-0 before the break, including a first start of the season for Abi Tobin and Lisa Rodgers taking her place between the sticks.

Notably, there were also two returns to the matchday squad for Morgan Cross and Clare Goldie, who have missed large chunks of action.

With a number of players playing their first minutes in a number of weeks, the Hoops squad would have been keen to get off to a strong start.

And that is exactly what they did, taking the lead just eight minutes into the game through Chloe Craig.

Having grabbed the Hoops’ last goal before the break, Craig was at it again, smashing home a loose ball in the penalty area from a corner to give Celtic the lead inside the opening ten minutes of the match.

Celtic were in the mood for more and looked well up for their clash at the Balmoral Stadium, with the second goal of the game following just nine minutes later.

A beautifully lofted cross by Lauren Doran-Barr was met by the run of Maria McAneny at the back post, who headed in from close range to double the Ghirls’ advantage.

The Celts continued to pile on the pressure as Shannon McGregor came close on two separate occasions, forcing a smart stop from the goalkeeper and striking the crossbar from distance.

Evie Rabjohn also went close as the goalkeeper pulled off another good save, tipping the ball onto the woodwork.

After a dominant first 45 minutes, the Ghirls found themselves two goals ahead going in at the break.

And the Celts would continue that dominance heading into the second, scoring inside four minutes of the restart.

A corner against her old side from Abi Tobin caused chaos in the Aberdeen box, with the final touch coming off a Dons player, before crossing the line to give Celtic a three-goal lead.

The goals kept flowing, with Maria McAneny adding her second afternoon as the midfielder produced another smart header to turn home Evie Rabjohn’s delivery into the box.

The roles soon reversed just four minutes later, with Rabjohn turning scoring as the midfielder this time headed the ball home from Lisa Robertson's pinpoint delivery to stretch Celtic’s advantage to five goals.

With the Hoops now five ahead, that allowed Grant Scott to make a number of changes, including the return of both Morgan Cross and Clare Goldie.

It was a big moment for both players with Cross making her first appearance since last year’s Scottish Cup final, whilst Goldie, who has suffered terrible luck over the past two years came on to play for Celtic for the first time in 711 days.

The afternoon was rounded off in perfect style as Morgan Cross netted on her return, racing through in trademark Cross fashion, before turning the ball home into the bottom corner with a nice finish.

It was the ideal way to return to action for the Hoops, with six goals and three points to take away from their trip to Aberdeen.

The Ghirls are quickly back in action this midweek as we welcome Hearts to the Kirkintilloch Community Sports Complex on Wednesday evening (7:3pm KO).

Ghirls return to action with emphatic victory over Aberdeen