Scottish Women's Football

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Elena Sadiku has full confidence her Celtic side can defeat Gintra on Saturday and book a spot in the Champions League play-off.

Celtic came from behind to beat KuPs 3-1 earlier this week and progressed to the final of the qualifier.

Lithuanian side Gintra defeated Anenii Noi to book their spot against the Glasgow side.

"We're in a pretty good place, we're confident, happy and excited," Sadiku said.

"I think the final message will be go all in.

"I think if we look at the opposition, with all due respect, I'm more confident in my players than the opposition."

Defender Caitlin Hayes is also hoping the team can go on to European success this season.

"There's no competition like the Champions League," she said.

"It's something every little girl and boy dreams of playing in, it's a competition like no other.

"It's a competition that the men's side have done very well in the past, the star that sits above the crest and that's something the women's side wants to emulate."

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Celtic defender Chloe Craig faces an "extended" spell on the sidelines after rupturing her anterior cruciate ligament, the club have confirmed.

The 31-year-old played in Celtic's goalless draw with Hibs last Sunday before suffering the injury "at the beginning of this week".

Craig, who will undergo surgery, remained in Scotland to be assessed by a specialist while her team-mates travelled to Lithuania for their Champions League qualifying games.

"Everyone at Celtic would like to wish the very best to Chloe and will be ing her through her recovery and return to action," the club added.

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Former Scotland goalkeeper Gemma Fay says Hibs have made the most impressive start of any SWPL team as they look to go top with derby victory over Hearts on Friday night.

Grant Scott's side are second in the table - two points behind Rangers - and remain undefeated after five games, having most recently held Celtic to a goalless draw at the Excelsior.

"Hibs for many a season now have been the most frustrating team that I've watched," Fay told the BBC's Scottish Football Podcast.

"Inconsistency has been their thing. They've been flattering to deceive, they've brought in new players every single season, they'd play great one week and the next week you wouldn't recognise what that team was.

"Hibs' start to the season has been the best of any team in that league, regardless of what Rangers have done with goals.

"The thing that opened people's eyes was when Hibs drew with Celtic, I think that was a bit of a wake-up call.

"With both Celtic and Rangers not playing because they're in Champions League action, this is a real opportunity for Hibs.

"They're currently undefeated, to go for five wins out of six and open up a little gap at the top of the table which, before the start of season, nobody would say that was happening.

"This is a really exciting match tonight and I'm really intrigued to see how it goes."

Hearts head coach Eva Olid and Grant Scott hope to narrow the gap on 'big three' Celtic, Rangers and Glasgow City this season.

Watch Hibs v Hearts tonight on the BBC Sport website, app and iPlayer at 19:35 BST.

Image source, Malcolm Mackenzie/Hearts FC

Hearts midfielder Eilidh Shore is excited to be part of her first Edinburgh derby on Friday night, live on the BBC Sport website, app and iPlayer (19:35 BST).

The 22-year-old was one of three players to make the switch from Aberdeen to Hearts this summer as Eva Olid revamped the Gorgie squad.

"It’s been different for me but a big step I have been looking for," Shore said of her move to Tynecastle.

"Settling in has been made easy by the players, with all the new girls and the staff. We are starting to build those relationships now.

"You have seen over the past few seasons just how competitive the derbies are with the number of fans that come to these games along with the publicity it gets.

"I think it's really positive for the women's game here in Scotland and it's really exciting to be part of it."

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Grant Scott says his Hibs players are "buzzing" for Friday night's Edinburgh derby at Easter Road as they look to continue their strong recent record over Hearts.

Of last season's four meetings, Hibs won three, and are currently unbeaten five games into the new campaign after holding champions Celtic last weekend.

"There is a buzz in the training camp from Monday to Friday going into the game from the player side," head coach Scott said.

"They know it’s a big one and it's at the stadium.

"Our preparations remain the same, trying to pick out stuff about our opponents and getting that to the group and practise how to exploit that when we can.

“From coaches and managers it doesn't change at all."

We asked for your views on Celtic's 3-1 Champions League qualifying victory over KuPs and Rangers' 6-0 defeat by Arsenal.

Here's what some of you said:

Celtic fans

Pierre: In the end the girls deserved the win as after a shaky half an hour they got on top and dominated for the next 60 minutes plus all extra time. Big change in momentum when Elena Sadiku brought on Saoirse Noonan and Katherine Loferski. I hope those two start on Saturday and also more pace out wide with Jenny Smith and Chloe Agnew, Maria McAneny or Amy Richardson.

Davie: I wish Saoirse had got a runout against Hibs. We played good football and created decent chances, but I think we were missing an out-and-out striker. Great result today. I'd love to see us get into the group stage.

Rangers fans

Marshall: I feel the second-half "collapse" was primarily due to chasing a goal, rather than continuing to maintain a strong defensive position and waiting for a chance to go level. As much as I love the SWPL, I think it also shows a comparison between both leagues standards at the moment. I feel Celtic would have suffered in a similar way, though I'm sure that with time and investment, things will continue to improve.

Ross: It was always going to be a tough task against a top team like Arsenal. I was hoping Rangers might get a couple of goals to help pick up their spirits.

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Celtic will face Lithuanian hosts FC Gintra in the final of Champions League qualifying round one on Saturday (16:00 BST).

After Celtic beat Finnish KuPS 3-1 in extra time on Wednesday, Gintra thrashed Anenii Noi of Moldova 5-0.

The winners of the final will progress to a two-legged tie for a place in the group stages.

Meanwhile, Rangers - whose hopes of advancing were ended by a 6-0 defeat from Arsenal - play Atletico Madrid in a third place play-off on Saturday (13:00 BST).

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Rangers assistant manager Jay Bradford believes the 6-0 scoreline against Arsenal in the Champions League was perhaps harsh on the SWPL leaders.

Trailing 1-0 at the break, Rangers were doing a decent job of frustrating the WSL side, but could not sustain it into the second half as they shipped a further five goals.

"People will look at the score line and think one thing," Bradford told BBC Sport.

"But if you were here - we were in a game. We just have to learn from moments. It can't go from two, to three, to four, that quickly.

"At 2-0 we should've consolidated, gone back into our defensive shape and built our way back into the game and we didn't quite do that.

"We'll learn from it. It was a big moment for us tonight, we weren't in the Champions League last year. It's been an experience for the players and one they will learn from.

"Even at half-time the conversations we had in the dressing room we felt we hadn't reached our levels. We felt like we had more to give, which was a massive positive for us.

"But we came out second half and we didn't quite kick on like we should have and a team like that will punish you."

Rangers fans, we want to know your views on Wednesday night's 6-0 defeat against Arsenal in the Champions League.

What do Rangers need to do to make strides in Europe and close the gap?

Give us your thoughts here, external.

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Elena Sadiku says staying calm was crucial to Celtic's victory over KuPs as they moved into the final of qualifying round one.

The Scottish champions came from behind to win 3-1 thanks to substitute Saoirse Noonan's hat-trick in Lithuania.

Sadiku's side will face either host club Gintra or Anenii Noi of Moldova in Saturday's final, where the winners progress to a two-legged tie for a place in the group stage.

"The performance was really good," head coach Sadiku told club media, external.

"I think we controlled the game. It was a good, important win and that is why we're here, we came to win.

"I was very calm at half-time, the girls were also calm.

"It's not like we were really bad, we just need to be in control, not stressed and that's what we did in the second half.

"I think the changes made a great impact on the game too and that's exactly why they came in.

"We've been working so hard on our fitness and after 60 minutes I knew it was going to get easier and easier for us to move the ball quicker.

"I was so proud of how the girls responded form the half-time talk, they were calm and believed in what we do.

"We're here for one reason only and that's qualifying for round two."

Charlotte Cohen
BBC Sport Scotland

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With an hour played, it looked worrying for Celtic fans watching on as their team trailed 1-0 to Finnish side KuPS in their Champions League qualifier.

KuPS were dominant in the first half and goalkeeper Kelsey Daugherty kept Elena Sadiku's side in the game with some big saves.

Step up Saoirse Noonan.

The striker was brought on after 62 minutes, scored her first goal on 64 and took the match to extra time.

Not even 10 minutes into the added period and Noonan found herself on the scoresheet, twice.

In last season's title-winning campaign, on-loan striker Natasha Flint played a massive part in key victories, popping up with important goals when it mattered most despite having only ed the club in January.

When she left, the concern was who would fill the goalscoring void?

Celtic have hardly struggled for goals, the likes of Caitlin Hayes, Colette Cavanagh and Amy Gallacher have got on the scoresheet when required, the latter having netted the injury-time goal that won them the title.

But the lack of an out-and-out striker was evident.

Then Republic of Ireland international Noonan ed Sadiku's side in the summer and hasn't looked out of place.

Wednesday's hat-trick made it six goals from six games for the striker and raised questions of why she wasn't on from the start.

One thing is evident though. With Noonan in the team Celtic should be able to make their mark on the top European competition, with only Luthuanians Gintra or Anenii Noi of Moldova now standing between Sadiku's side and the second qualifying round.

We want your views as Celtic came from a goal behind to defeat Finnish side KuPs 3-1 in extra-time.

What did you make of the performance? How are you feeling about Celtic's chances in the competition?

Give us your thoughts here, external.

Kheredine Idessane
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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Rangers "can't put Arsenal on a pedestal," says head coach Jo Potter as her SWPL side prepare to face the Women's Super League giants in Champions League qualifying on Wednesday night.

Potter, who spent a season at Arsenal as a player, is urging her team to "flip the mindset" and lean on their early-season form, which sees them top of the league.

"This is the toughest group that we could have drawn and you can look at that in two ways," Potter said at her pre-match press conference at Meadow Park in London.

"You can be defeatist about it or you can be really excited about the challenge."

Few know better than Potter about the test that lies ahead, though she also notes this "isn't ideal for Arsenal", who are a few weeks away from the start of their league season.

"No WSL teams want to play you when you’re in season," the former England midfielder added.

"We do know that we’re further along in our preparations than Arsenal and they’ll be trying to claw that back a little bit, so that’s one area we can try to take advantage of.

"We can’t really put Arsenal on too much of a pedestal to say that they’re untouchable and not there to be got at. That’s totally untrue.

"We've got to try to take advantage of these moments and look at areas where we can hurt them.

"It’s not about Arsenal being ‘up here’ and us being ‘way down here and trying to catch up', it’s about recognising moments when we can potentially hurt them."

Kheredine Idessane
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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Captain Nicola Docherty says Rangers are not interested in "just making up the numbers" in the Champions League as they prepare to face Arsenal in qualifying.

The Scottish side face the WSL club at Meadow Park on Wednesday and a statement victory would send them through to play Atletico Madrid or Rosenborg in the second round.

Scotland defender Docherty says beating Arsenal would be a "career highlight" and insists her team are "raring to go" and determined to "come out on top".

"When you look at the WSL and the league in Scotland, there’s obviously a gap there," the full-back added.

"We're trying to bridge that at Rangers, [so] if we were to do a job against Arsenal that would be right up there as a career highlight.

"As soon as you come into this competition, it's tough at the top. But we're not here to make up the numbers, we're here to challenge Arsenal and really take the game to them.

"We really want to challenge in the Champions League and not be satisfied just to make it into qualifying. We actually want to compete and that’s something that starts against Arsenal."

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"Astute" defending holds the key to Celtic's hopes of reaching the Women's Champions League group stage for the first time.

That's the verdict of Scotland captain and Aston Villa defender Rachel Corsie, who is backing Elena Sadiku's side to achieve the historic feat.

If Celtic beat KuPS of Finland in Lithuania on Wednesday (10:00 BST) they will meet host club FC Gintra or Moldovan side Agarista CSF in the final of qualifying round one, where the winners progress to a two-legged tie for a place in the group stage.

"I feel optimistic for Celtic, the first tie will be the trickier of the two," said Corsie on the BBC's Behind The Goals podcast.

"It's quite an unusual set-up, that's what adds to the difficulty, not just the opposition.

"Maybe this is naive but I do feel Celtic have a good opportunity to get through this and get into the group stage, which would be an incredible achievement.

"When you look at the sides in the group stages, you're talking about a lot of the top teams in Europe, not many teams get there.

"You have to be good defensively. Celtic have good players that can score and get that goal but you have to be really astute defensively.

"If they can do that and limit opportunities then they will come through the two games, I feel optimistic about it."