Among other things, the SWPL round-up looks at Celtic’s impressive win over Hearts, Glasgow City’s strong performance against Rangers and Dundee United’s first ever SWPL win. Plus, we look at the attendance boost that has followed the SWPL’s rebranding.

Glasgow City hold Rangers

Despite two defeats and a draw, Rangers remain top of the Scottish Premiership table. However, Glasgow City are level on points and are only two points behind Celtic. The two clubs will face off at Tynecastle on Saturday. A win will leave Celtic second.

Rangers took the lead from the off, but Hearts fought back and equalised on 70 minutes. The match was dominated by the wind and the artificial surface made ball control difficult.

The Celtic Women were in a similar predicament and despite being on the back foot they beat Hearts 3-0. They were aided by an impressive display from captain Hayley Lauder. Her set-pieces were the key to the victory.

Glasgow City have been strong all season but their performance was not as good. They only picked up two wins and a draw from their first six league matches. They will hope to build on the momentum after the international break.

The Rangers pushed for the winner. They also had chances. In the first half, Joe Hart made some excellent saves to keep the score at 0-0. But they were unable to take the lead and the game ended scoreless.

Celtic beat Hearts

Despite their impressive record, Hearts were unable to break Celtic’s winning run in the Scottish league last week. The pair of teams met in the SWPL round-up on Sunday, with Celtic winning a close match 4-1.

Hearts had been in fourth place in the table at the start of the game, two points behind Glasgow City and Rangers. They also were tied on points with Spartans. But the Spartans were able to draw 2-2 against Partick Thistle. The Spartans have climbed above Hearts into the eighth position.

Hibs have been in a bit of a injury crisis this season, and were unable to break Hearts’ defence. Nevertheless, they were able to create chances. When Lia Tweedie shot from a one-on-one with the keeper, she failed to find the net. However, Hearts did score through a long range effort by Kathleen McGovern.

Celtic started the game strongly, and after five minutes, Celtic had the lead. Celtic won a penalty in the third minute.  The Celtic keeper saved Heather Pullar’s spot kick. The Celtic supporters celebrated.

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Dundee United pick up first SWPL win

Despite losing to Hamilton Academical in their opening game of the season, Dundee United picked up their first Scottish Women’s Premier League win of the season by defeating Spartans. A second goal from Ryan Edwards, and a brilliant delivery from Edwards and Eamonn Bannon, saw United win the game.

After a goalless first half, Dundee United picked up the pace in the second half. A swift counter-attack saw United’s first goal. Eamonn Bannon scored the winner after an excellent delivery from Stephen Kelly.

After the break, Dundee United continued to look for the goal. Jermaine Hylton had a shot saved by Benjamin Siegrist. Jacynta Galabadaarachchi was also saved by the keeper. Ultimately, the United failed to score a goal from a penalty kick.

Celtic had their own chances. Clarissa Larisey scored a hat-trick, and Siobhan Hunter was sent off late on. Emma Craig also came close to scoring.

Dundee United had ten chances in the first fifteen minutes. However, it wasn’t until the 73rd minute that United scored. A swift counter-attack led to a goal from Edwards.

Attendance boost follows rebranding of the SWPL

Managing director Fiona McIntyre says she’s “thrilled” with the attendance figures after the first week of the SWPL’s rebranding. She also said clubs should be aware of the opportunities to grow their audiences.

The league’s revamp saw the division split into two sections, allowing the top six teams to play each other once. The bottom six clubs then competed against each other once, with the top club crowned league champion.

The new league has seen attendance increase following England’s success in Euro 2022. Last week, the league saw its largest opening weekend attendances since records began. The Broadwood Stadium saw the largest attendance, with 720 fans watching Rangers beat Glasgow Women by 14-0. The next game saw Glasgow City play Spartans at Petershill Park. The game was a hammering for Spartans, who lost 7-0.

Other clubs have also seen increases in attendance following the rebranding. East Fife travel to SWPL 2 newcomers Gartcairn and Montrose travel to Stirling University.

Source : الاسطورة