The Celtic Bhoys
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Celtic Women’s side suffers disappointing draw in standings chase

By Nick McAdam

GLASGOW, SCOTLAND - FEBRUARY 15: A general view of Celtic Park ahead of the UEFA Europa League Round of 32 match between Celtic and Zenit St Petersburg at the Celtic Park on February 15, 2018 in Glasgow, United Kingdom. (Photo by Mark Runnacles/Getty Images)
GLASGOW, SCOTLAND - FEBRUARY 15: A general view of Celtic Park ahead of the UEFA Europa League Round of 32 match between Celtic and Zenit St Petersburg at the Celtic Park on February 15, 2018 in Glasgow, United Kingdom. (Photo by Mark Runnacles/Getty Images) /
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Celtic’s Women’s team came off an impressive win against the Rangers in the previous contest. This time around, disappointment early in the contest led to the Ghirls drawing Stirling University, 1-1.

It was a quick sequence to start off as Stirling won a free-kick within scoring range. The attempt took a deflection off of Kay Morris and in the back of the Celtic net. It only took three minutes for the opening goal.

Heather Richards then got her opportunity at a free-kick. Same luck, except it deflected off of another Stirling player as he went in. Richards’ would have been credited with a goal, but the deflection made it an own goal for the University.

Celtic pushed for momentum for the rest of the first half. A great effort from Colette Cavanagh eventually went off the bar. The score remained level heading into halftime.

Recent addition Keeva Keenan made her impact felt as she went down the wing and found some space past the back-line of Stirling. However, the chance eventually went wide for the pushing defender.

At the end of the 90 minutes, Celtic couldn’t find a way to break through a defense that has the highest goal differential in a -6 so far this season. The whistle blew, and a point in the standing was credited to both squads.

No updates on key Celtic stats as the Richards goal counted as an OG.

It’s only early in the campaign, but the Hoops need points against clubs destined for the bottom. Stirling’s defense is all that great, yet the Hoops failed to expose that in this fixture.

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A win here would have put the Celts at the top of the table as a result of their recent won of a three-game win streak. It’s still a chase for first in the SWPL as Glasgow City and Hibernian top the table with six points each.

Celtic will turn their attention to the Scottish Women’s Cup as they host St. Johnstone. At the moment, the Saints sit towards the bottom in the second tier in the second tier of the SWPL. In other terms, it’s a nice way for the Ghirls to get back on track.

It’s still early points for the Celts that might make the difference at the end of the season. However, chances at the most critical of times need to be converted, especially against teams towards the relegation zone.

Maybe David Haley makes a few changes to the lineup at the K Park Training Academy. Keep an eye out for the St. Johnstone fixture on Feb. 25 at 09:00.

Next: 3 Upshots from Celtic vs. Zenit

What were your thoughts on the game? Too early to be worrying about the standings? Let us know in the comments section below.