Celtic FC Women opened the new season with an important 2-1 win away to Glasgow City over at Petershill…
There was a very good attendance to welcome the start of the 2026-2027 season – Celtic’s nineteenth – with the small Petershiil stand completely full.
Celtic introduced four new players to their starting eleven, and perhaps there was little surprise that they were rather tentative in the first 30 minutes.
Glasgow City began as usual with a studied approach, keeping possession in their own half, probing and trying to draw Celtic out. Their patience paid off early, with Lisa Forrest (Jamesy’s wee sister) scoring after 10 minutes with a confident shot from close in.
🟠 ⚽️ Tadhal do @GlasgowCityFC! Lisa Forrest a bh’ann!
🟠 ⚽️ @GlasgowCityFC are 1-0 up! Lisa Forrest scores the first of the season! ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/wNVfueDz3W
— BBC ALBA (@bbcalba) August 16, 2026
Although Celtic’s attacks were sporadic and never really threatened City, they equalised following their first corner. After a number of ricochets which favoured Celtic, the ball somehow ended in the back of Glasgow City’s net. A strange moment but no-one at Celtic cared too much about that.
🍀⚽️1-1 a th’ann! Lee Gibson le fèin-tadhal!
🍀 ⚽️ Celtic have an equaliser! Lee Gibson puts it into her own net! ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/Lt9XEozJaW
— BBC ALBA (@bbcalba) August 16, 2026
Thereafter the pattern of the game changed a little, with the hosts showing more urgency, and Celtic, energised by their goal, perhaps playing less cautiously that in the early stages of this season opener.
Momo and Lisa Robertson were prominent, getting to grips with the game, confident in possession and aggressive when necessary.
Another Celtic corner, swung in dangerously by Hannah Luke, provided what turned out to be the winning goal. A fine header by Fi Morgan flew into the net, giving Celtic a somewhat surprising lead after struggling to find any real rhythm in that first half.
🍀⚽️ 1-2 gu @CelticFCWomen! Fionnuala Morgan a bh’ann!
🍀 ⚽️ @CelticFCWomen are ahead! Fionnuala Morgan heads in another set-piece for the visitors! ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/93bbowu0DX
— BBC ALBA (@bbcalba) August 16, 2026
Holding on to their lead until the interval allowed manager Grant Scott to redirect the team’s approach to the second half.
The following 45 minutes provided an engrossing contest. Any new season nerves had vanished, and both sides adopted a very attacking approach without managing to score.
For Celtic, Robertson and Momo were outstanding, Morgan settled into a fine game, doing well at both ends, and Claire Walsh’s cool play and experience shone through.
Perhaps the most pleasing performance came from Hannah Jordan, whose determination and powerful running on both sides of the pitch, coupled with her desire to have the ball shows great promise.
Notable, too, was the return of Chloe Arthur, one of the early Celtic Girls’ Academy products who comes back as an experienced Scottish internationalist. Her elegant, confident play will clearly be an asset for the season ahead.
A reminder that there are ten teams in the SWPL1. They play each other home and away, then the league splits and the top and bottom five play each other home and away again. This inevitably means that there are a mixture of highly competitive matches and much easier games, where perhaps goal difference is a consideration.
We’ll try to cover the competitive matches this season but will give the shootie-in games a miss.
The results yesterday in the SWPL1 were as follows:
🗣️ “I’m delighted with the performance.”
🍀 Fhuair sinn facal le Grant Scott bho sgioba @CelticFCWomen.
🍀 We spoke with Celtic Head Coach Grant Scott following his side’s 2-1 win over Glasgow City. ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/5Oks6cribE
— BBC ALBA (@bbcalba) August 16, 2026
Para Handy
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