Celtic 6
(Littlejohn 15 & 53, Mulvey 21, Ewens 68 & 89,Whyte 81)
Aberdeen 1
(Stewart pen 45)
Celtic recorded their biggest win of the season as they brushed Aberdeen aside with a convincing, attacking performance.
Doubles from Ruesha Littlejohn and Sarah Ewens, and one apiece from Suzanne Mulvey and Courtney Whyte gave the Hoops a 6-1 victory which saw them moving above Spartans into third spot in the league.
Sarah Crilly was prominent in the early stages, with her fast, darting runs down the right wing causing the Aberdeen defence problems.
There was incessant attacking from the Hoops for the first 15 minutes, and it was no surprise when they took the lead in that opening period. It was fitting that the lively Crilly was the provider. She delivered a high, swinging cross which was met at the far post by Littlejohn whose downward header from six yards flew into the net.
Just six minutes later Celtic deservedly increased their lead when a pass into the penalty area by Whyte was collected by Mulvey who cleverly knocked the ball past keeper Mutch.
In spite of their overall superiority all over the pitch, the home side were unable to add to their tally. The nearest they came was when Littlejohn brought out the best in the Aberdeen goalkeeper with a fine shot.
As the half-time interval approached, the Dons broke clear and a shot from McDonald was superbly turned around the post by keeper Kiera Gibson at full stretch.
There was drama, though, on the stroke of half time when Aberdeen were awarded a penalty as one of their players tumbled in the box as Celtic defended a corner. No one was entirely sure who the offender had been, but Aberdeen’s Hannah Stewart calmly netted, making it 2-1 at the break.
The second half began with an exciting dash forward by Celtic’s central defender, Georgie Rafferty who slalomed past five opponents as she advanced towards goal. She was eventually brought to a halt by sheer weight of numbers, but it was an immediate sign of Celtic’s attacking intent.
The Hoops gradually wore down their opponents and as they tired, the goals began to flow. After 53 minutes Littlejohn dribbled past two opponents before scoring from close in. This was followed by a calm finish in 68 minutes by substitute Ewens who had been sent through by Natalie Ross.
Centre-back, Courtney Whyte made it 5-1 with what was probably the pick of the goals when she sent in an explosive header from a Rafferty corner in the 81st minute.
Ewens completed the scoring right at the end when she cleverly dinked the ball over the advancing keeper after latching on to a flick from Kirsty Howat.
The win was well-merited will have done Celtic’s confidence no harm at all as they face Hibernian twice in the next six days with a league match on Tuesday and the Premier League Cup final on Sunday.
Celtic: Gibson, Poucel (Richards), Rafferty, Whyte, Ross, Napier (Dalgliesh), Montgomery (Fulton), McFarlane, Crilly, Mulvey (Ewens) Littlejohn (Howat). Subs not used: Cunningham, Fitzsimmons.
Report & Picture: Celtic FC
