A 35^th minute goal from Kathleen McGovern was enough for the 17's Scottish Cup to be handed to Celtic. Glasgow City are above Celtic in the 17's Leanne Crighton league however the league table means nothing in a cup final with both teams going for it from the word go.

 

Based on statistics there was going to be nothing between the two teams and this very much proved to be the case. These teams met on a domestic basis back in August in a game which Glasgow City took the spoils winning 1-0 against Celtic.

 

The opening exchanges to the game were slow however chances were minimal from either team. Laura McCartney saw a free kick just flash over the bar for City. Lucy Sinclair had an effort just gone wide in the 10^th minute for Celtic.

 

City started with an ambitious 3-4-3 formation & this was very much documented with a lot of attacking football however being exposed at the back with Celtic gaining a lot of free kicks after pushing forward. City also got their fair share of free kicks which lead to more chances. Celtic were also playing in an attacking manner playing in a 4-2-3-1 formation & an entertaining match was on the cards which is very fitting for a Scottish Cup final at Under 17s level.

 

Glasgow City were trying to break through the Celtic backline however never really threatened to break their way through the box instead trying long range efforts. A tame effort from McCartney was met by Kendall Welsh before a Carly Girasoli free kick went over. Hannah Scott also tried a long range effort which was dealt with by Welsh.

 

A Laura McCartney corner kick tested the Celtic backline & when the green & white hoops couldn’t get the ball away from their respective penalty area, Lucy Ronald tried a dipping effort which crashed onto the crossbar.

 

It was Celtic who gone ahead & they weathered the storm for a long period in terms of chances and posession however when they had a chance they took advantage of it. A great ball from Aisha Maughan found Kathleen McGovern in the 35^th minute who guided the green & white hoops in front with a fine finish.

 

Celtic were playing an organised game and took advantage of depleted numbers in the City backline to go in front. Just 3 minutes later, McGovern went from goal scorer to distributor after she feeded in Maughan who produced a good save out of Sophie Allison in the Glasgow City goal.

 

As expected, there wasn’t much of a difference from both teams and both teams were producing a competitive Scottish Cup final. Both sides had two shots on goal at the interval & both sides had their fair share of shots off target as well. 

Glasgow City were the more threatening side in the opening stages of the second half and had a few good opportunities to get an equaliser. First through McCartney which was denied by Welsh then a good delivery in from Karsey McGlinchey wasn’t followed up by a Glasgow City colleague & picked up again by Welsh. 

 

Both sides brought on some subs to try and give their respective teams a new lease of life. Glasgow City brought on forward Danielle Mullen whilst Tara McGonigle came on at full back for Celtic. City captain McGlinchey then came off for Hannah Stewart after carrying a knock. A sore one to take for the City defender.

 

As the second half wore on, it was still an exciting cup final however intensity was lacking from both teams with a lack of desire or ambition to play quick football however both teams still being positive with the only thing missing was the key pass in the final third. Both teams were giving 100% which was great to see however neither team really settled down & got a foothold of the game.

 

McGovern then sent in another great delivery for Celtic with 10 minutes left on the clock however it just missed the vital connection needed by Maughan. Both McGovern & Maughan were tremendous for Celtic & that was going to be Maughan’s last piece of action before being replaced by Claire McFarlane. Glasgow City were doing all they can to get an equaliser however they were missing a product in the final third.

 

As the full time whistle approached, both teams were getting frustrated, Celtic were counting down the minutes until full time whilst Glasgow City were trying to break through the Celtic backline to force extra time however City couldn’t get that all important equaliser.

 

After an intense 80 minutes of football, the referee blew for full time after a great game of football between two of Glasgow’s heavyweights and it was Celtic who came out on top and they took their chance when it mattered. It was a really competitive and exciting game of football with both teams going nip and tuck at each other for the whole game. It has been a great day of football here at the Scottish Women’s Youth Cup Finals at Oriam with so much passion, desire, intensity, good football and most importantly people having fun.

 

Based on this cup final showing, if both sets of players can keep positive going forward and impressed their senior teams then there is a very good chance we will see some of these players on show starring for their respective clubs in the SWPL1 soon.