Rangers relishing top-of-the-table clash and the chance to topple City
Second-placed Rangers are just three points behind 13-time reigning champions Glasgow City in the Scottish Women’s Premier League and the teams face each other this weekend in a game pivotal to the title race.
In a fixture that has been billed as the biggest in the league’s history, Scott Booth’s Glasgow City travel to Malky Thomson’s Rangers tomorrow for a top-of-the-table clash that will surely prove crucial to both sides’ hopes of lifting the SWPL trophy.
A Glasgow City win would put them a commanding six points clear at the summit, while a home win for Rangers would allow the title hopefuls to overtake them on goal difference and move into pole position to bring home the club’s first trophy.
A fascinating title race has seen both sides go toe-to-toe for the entirety of the season, with Glasgow City winning 12 of their 13 games this term, and Rangers 11. It was Rangers who inflicted City’s first, and only, defeat of the campaign when they shocked the champions with a resounding 5-0 win at Broadwood in December, so it’s little wonder they’re relishing the challenge.
"Glasgow City have been going for years, they’re well coached and a big club. Rangers are the same and we’ve added that competition, along with Celtic this season, so it adds a dynamic and a different dimension to the whole
league. We’re really looking forward to it,” said Blue Belles boss Thomson, who also confirmed midfield stars Brogan Hay and Chelsea Cornet have penned new contracts.
"We’ve been really confident in training. Glasgow City are three points ahead, so it’s up to us to go and do the exact same thing as we’ve been doing and keeping confidence levels high and playing in the manner and style we play. We create numerous chances, we average ten attempts at goal per
game, and dictate the play in every game with 64 per cent possession. That’s being a toplevel club and we’ve got to handle that.”
City boss Booth says his side are “ready”, adding he doesn’t believe the 5-0 rout in December will enter his players’ mindset.
“Each game is completely different,” he said. “There’s no point in going back to a game five months ago and looking back. We have a new squad and a number of players who
weren’t involved in it. For us, this week is about remaining focused.
“I don’t think it [previous results] comes into football that much. Sometimes you hear that clubs have a great record at that ground – I don’t know where it comes from, it may be the case, but it’s just coincidence because teams change every year. It comes down to how well we play on the day.”
It’s a hectic period for Glasgow City but Booth was keen
to play down the importance of any one match.
"It’s a game we’re looking forward to,” said the former Scotland striker. “The next week could be vastly significant, but it could not be, the reality of the situation is things change quickly in football – that’s the competitive nature of the league now. We play Rangers and Celtic back to back, and three games in a week. So it’s important you do the job in the first game, then you move on to the next.