Jo Potter’s Rangers side claimed a massive psychological advantage as they moved to the top of the SWPL league yesterday afternoon at Celtic’s expense after inflicting the first defeat of the season on Fran Alonso’s team.
The effervescent Spaniard was uncharacteristically downbeat in the aftermath of the game, his bloody language and tone as much as anything reflecting the fact that Rangers were worthy winners of this contest.
It was not just Alonso who was removed from himself; his side were too. Having got their noses in front through a trademark Caitlin Hayes header as she rose above Kathryn Hill to power a header into the bottom corner, Celtic found themselves unable to cope with the sheer force of Rangers’ reply.
Potter remarked afterwards that “the shackles came off “ after Celtic had gone ahead with her side then forced to confront their fears about losing the game. Their response was one that Celtic simply couldn’t live with. Their lead had lasted just seven minutes before parity was restored but by then Kelly Clark, the Celtic captain, had been forced to clear a Hill effort off the line as Rangers went for the jugular. Rio Hardy completed their comeback when she turned in a cross from Lizzie Arnot, a Rangers substitute who was excellent when she came on. Celtic had no answers for the constant waves of attack from the visitors as they struggled to get out of their own half for large periods of the game. Alonso took some of the blame for that one as he suggested the timing and positioning of his changes were wrong but the bigger headache for him to cope with now across the long international stretch that lies in wait is just why Celtic were so insipid in the face of Rangers’ increased drive.
“We weren’t good enough,” said the Spaniard. “We said to the players at half-time that when we scored - because we felt we would score - that we wanted to keep going and then score the next one. “We did not want to sit deep and just play to protect it but we did that. We just tried to protect the goal and what we did was give them too much time and too much space and when you do that against a team with that quality then you can get punished.
“They were clinical. It hurts me to say but they are deserved winners. I personally think the changes I made didn’t bring us what I wanted to. I am not criticising any player that came on but maybe it was not the right time or the right position.
"After we scored, we lost control of the game. They were winning all the first and second balls and that absolutely killed us. That was disappointing.
“The players have been outstanding but this is a disappointment. It is not about getting the three points but it was a game at home and we did not play in a way we think we can.”
Potter, inevitably, was significantly more upbeat as she reflected on what is the first major win of her tenure at the club.
A draw against reigning champions Glasgow City had been the only blot on Rangers’ copybook going into yesterday’s game but they are now the only side in the league who can boast of unbeaten status. It is a result that puts them top by a point and while it is too early to predict just how important that will be the magnitude of the win and how it was achieved is difficult to ignore for two teams who are vying to take the title from City. Rangers finished the game looking and playing like a team who believe they are capable of wrestling the trophy back from Petershill.
Certainly, Potter is optimistic that is the lesson that the players can now reflect on.
“That is the mentality shift and we need to see that a bit more in our players,” she said. “They need to believe we are the better team and can be the better team. “Our focus all week was just on us but at half-time I told them I needed to see more of how we can hurt them. We had to impose ourselves.
“We could happily have sat in and taken the draw but we didn’t and that is the shift and the change. I think that is something the players might have to reflect on and realise what they can do. “If they can do it against one of the best teams in the league then we can do it week in, week out.”
