Glasgow City lift sixth consecutive SWPL title

Tuesday, 30 October 2012

SWPL Results, Sunday 28 October:

Commenting on the win, City head coach Eddie Wolecki Black said, "I am delighted with the performance today, especially in the second half. It was really pleasing to see that the girls worked on the things we discussed at half time and the areas to exploit."

He continued: "In the second half we gave a real Championship winning performance and it is a real credit to the players that they performed like that. They moved the ball really well and with a higher tempo in the second half and we got our rewards for that. The season is however not over and we are still focused on our last League match and of course the Scottish Cup Final where we will be going all out to win the treble."

Elsewhere, Celtic moved into second place in the table with a hard-fought 3-2 away victory over Forfar Farmington.

With one game remaining the Hoops are ahead of third placed Hibernian on goal difference, with the Hibees also scoring a weekend victory with their 3-1 home win over Edinburgh rivals Spartans. Farmington lie just one behind in fourth place, setting up an exciting final round of fixtures this coming weekend as Celtic host Hibernian and Forfar Farmington travel north to face Aberdeen knowing that they could potentially secure second if results go their way. 

Meanwhile, Hamilton Academical maintained their unbeaten league run in the second half of the season with an 8-1 win away at Inverness City. Helen 'Dibsy' Templeton bagged four goals to complement a Karen McInally brace, whilst Ainsley Douglas and the mercurial Cara McBrearty also netted. Natalie Bodium scored the home side's solitary strike.

Accies began the match with gusto, controlling the ball against an Inverness team fighting for their SWPL lives. Mason and Douglas were seeing a lot of the ball as were King and Crilly but the elegant motion of Templeton and McInally would be a real thorn in Inverness side for the entire game.

Despite Accies dominating the ball, Inverness did get forward with high energy, constantly seeking Natalie Bodium who was their main attacking option. Bodium would later that evening be presented with the Highlanders Player of the Year award and she who opened the scoring for the home side when she latched onto a long pass wide on the right and sent a high looping cross into the air which Accies keeper Megan Cunningham saw go over her head.

Accies have come from behind several times this season, and driven on by characters such as captain King and midfield general Toni Mason they remained mentally attuned to the task in hand, and soon the young entertainer McBrearty would stamp her mark on the game, crafting a delicious cross for the late arrival of Karen McInally who glanced her header into the corner to equalise.

Seven minutes later, Ainsley Douglas surged into the box and finished from close range after Donnelly and Murray released King and Crilly wide on the right, with Crilly delivering another excellent cross which Number 10 Douglas finished with one touch.

It proved to be a case of "Right Side, Strong Side" for Accies as King rampaged up and down the flank and combined with Crilly to work the ball into the channel into which Accies Skipper kept her run going and lashed a cross-come-shot towards the goal which hit the bar but the ball fell kindly to the on rushing Templeton and McInally. Both players got a touch to make it 3-1.

McBrearty continued to stay involved in the game, and was released from extensive duties for much of the first half thanks to the tigerish Kirstin McGuire looking after the Accies back line. Alongside Murray and Donnelly who kept Bodium quiet with their resolute defending, McGuire was key in Accies building and switching the ball which Inverness struggled to deal with.

Accies began the second half with their tails up, knowing they could control the ball and nature of the game if they kept it moving quickly. With the introduction of Jacqui Seagrave at halftime for Crilly, Accies maintained their forward push and scored a fourth and fifth through Templeton and McInally from outside the box.

As Inverness tirelessly kept up their workrate, Accies kept control of the ball although a couple of set pieces forced Elaine Fleming (on after 60 mins for Cunningham) off her line to collect smartly. Fleming also made herself big to deny Bodium with a fine save in the 72nd minute.

At the other end of the pitch, McInally and Templeton constantly interchanged and looked like they could score at will, supplied by the mazy dribbles and shoulder-dropping of McBrearty on one side and the ghostly diagonal runs from Seagrave on the other.

Seagrave latched onto great passes by Douglas and Quinn (on for McGuire after 60 mins) and twice went for the long range shots, encouraged by the Accies travelling support at the side of the pitch. However Inverness stalwart Kim Jappy in goal was equal to both efforts.

McBrearty was destined to create another piece of memorable footage for Accies media team when she lazily slalomed through two tackles and played a one-two with McInally. A touch left, and Cara had looped the ball up and over Jappy from fully 30 yards, a real effort to be proud of to further extend the Accies lead.

The final two goals for Accies were also of real quality, with a finish from 25 yards by McInally and a fine flying volley from returning Highlander Templeton after Seagrave charged down an attempted clearance and delivered another majestic cross.

Stand-in coach Vincent Bryson was delighted with his side's performance. He said "As Kevin Murphy so often articulates, I'm feeling immensely proud of this group of players. Coming up here is never easy and that was proved by a 1-1 result in the early part of the season. However I knew from the first whistle today that the players looked very hungry to simply get back on the pitch after 10 days off and turn in a performance like that."

Vincent continued "We dominated possession and made it count which was a nice summation of our game plan I suppose! But, defensively we dealt extremely well with the significant threat of Bodium and that ability to retain and build the ball from the back four through the team was the bedrock of a performance I was proud to witness."
 

In Sunday's remaining matches, Rangers cruised to a 10-0 away victory over bottom side Kilmarnock while Hutchison Vale defeated visitors Falkirk Ladies 5-1.