It was a brilliant afternoon at Paradise for Celtic Women today, as they put on a show defeating Hibernian 4-0.
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Fran Alonso’s side played out an afternoon in the sun at Celtic Park, as supporters turned out in their numbers to cheer on the Ghirls.
On what was a beautiful Saturday 3 PM kick-off, the Hoops faced the task of taking on 4th placed Hibernian in the league.
The Celtic manager and support couldn’t have asked for a better start to the game, as the Hoops scored within one minute of the first whistle.
Striker Clarissa Larisey was sharp in her reactions during the early stages, dinking the ball over her marker before taking the ball down and finishing it off with the outside of her foot.
Celtic looked strong down the right-hand side, with full-back Jodie Bartle bombing on and attempting to create opportunities with crosses into the box.
Larisey was also looking to grab a quickfire second, being played through one-on-one by Mengyu Shen. However, her effort was straight at the goalkeeper.
After pushing for the all-important second goal of the game, they were able to do so on the 25th-minute mark.
Good work down the right from the player of the match, Jacynta, allowed the midfielder with some space to drive, after getting a bit of luck with the bounce of the ball.
She said composed, slotting a nice pass into the path of Liv Chance, who slotted the ball under the Hibs goalkeeper.
Before the half was out, Celtic continued to push, with an effort from outside the area by Sarah Harkes being the closest they came to a third in the opening 45 minutes.
Going into the second half, Celtic started it with the same intent on the front foot.
Defender Chloe Craig came extremely close to scoring a screamer from around 30 yards out, but the ball was tipped over the bar.
Celtic were rewarded for their efforts, though, scoring their third from the resulting corner.
The lofted ball landed on the head of Jodie Bartle, who rose highest to nod it home. The full-back was evidently delighted with her goal, setting off towards the standing section to celebrate with the supporters.
With the three points all but wrapped up, Fran Alonso was able to ring the change, bringing on five substitutes towards the end of the 90 minutes.
And it was one of those substitutes who scored the fourth and final goal of the game, as Chloe Warrington got on the scoresheet.
Larisey once again came so close to adding a second of the afternoon, with her shot on goal from inside the area.
But it was saved well by the keeper, who could only palm the ball out—fortunately, Warrington, who was on hand to smash it home from close range.
All that was left to do was see out the clean sheet, and the Ghirls did precisely that with a solid defensive performance at the back, not giving the opposition attack a sniff in the final third.
There were brilliant scenes in the aftermath of the final whistle, as Fran Alonso and his Celtic squad were able to celebrate their emphatic victory with the Celtic supporters.
The players will likely be using this experience as extra motivation to push until the end of the season in the league and will be hopeful of kicking on in the Scottish Cup.
Hopefully, this isn’t the last opportunity for a while to see the women’s side in action at Celtic Park after a brilliant afternoon of football at Paradise.
