Celtic Women secured their place in the Women's Scottish Cup final after a 3-2 semi-final victory over Glasgow City in extra time. It was a strong performance at Hampden, and Grant Scott's side were too much for City to handle in the end.
The Hoops got off to a good start as they looked to progress into the final third early in the game. Poppy Pritchard and Saoirse Noonan were getting into good positions, and with 27 minutes on the clock, a goal came.
Amy Gallacher sent in a corner, and it fell perfectly to Noonan. The Irish international headed it past Lee Gibson, who stood no chance.
Moments later, Noonan tried a screamer as she took a shot after seeing the goalkeeper off her line. It was off target, but the striker was threatening again very soon. Pritchard was working her way into the box and tried to cut it back, but the City defender cut it out before it could fall to the waiting Noonan.
The lead was taken into half-time, and it seemed like Celtic were going to get the win. Hannah Luke had a really good chance with 71 minutes on the clock, running in front of the defender with the ball. She had to shoot from a tough angle, and her effort struck the post.
Then, after 86 minutes played, Linda Motlhalo struck it from the edge of the area, and it flew past Adelaide Gay. It was a fantastic effort from the City attacker.
In the dying embers, Noonan almost put the Hoops in the lead once more as she met a Gallacher pass, but her headed effort was too wide as it rattled the post.
After 90 minutes, the game went into extra time, and just two minutes after things kicked off again, Gallacher struck from outside the box and into the bottom corner. It was a brilliant goal to give Celtic the lead, but they weren't done yet.
After Lisa Forrest almost broke through, and Gay did well to collect the ball, it was sent up the other end. The ball ended up in the box, and a City defender nodded it to Shannon McGregor. The midfielder took it down well and struck high into the net, adding a third to the scoresheet for the Hoops and her first goal since returning from injury.
With one minute of extra time to go, Maddy Earl sent it across the face of goal. There was a bit of a struggle, and although Gay managed to get back into position, Emily Gray tapped it home. Ultimately, it wasn't enough, and although there was a final chance for City, they couldn't find an equaliser.
Celtic set to face Rangers or Montrose in the final
Now that they've secured their place in the final, Celtic will take on either Rangers or Montrose, who face each other in Sunday's semi-final.
It was a good performance from the Hoops on Saturday, and there was clearly a lot of fight. To beat City in the way that we did is incredible, and if we can keep that up going forward, we could really be in for a chance of winning the trophy.
Some of the passing was lacklustre at times, and Pritchard had a few chances where she could've played it sooner or just had a shot. She seemed reluctant to try anything, and that could be one of the reasons she didn't get on the scoresheet.
On the other hand, Noonan was really good. She took her chances well and was getting into good positions. Evie Rabjohn also did well slotting in at right back, considering it may not be a position she's that familiar with, and she showed her quality.
There were plenty of promising signs, and hopefully, we'll see more of the same going forward. Great victory for Celtic at the national stadium, and a well-deserved place in the final.
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