Ross at the double as Rangers finish in style
RANGERS made it 25 wins from 27 and ended their first season as SWPL 1 champions unbeaten when they beat Celtic 3-1 at Petershill Park. Their only dropped points came in two draws against closest rivals Glasgow City.
Any chance of a last-day slipup ended when Rangers went 3-0 up midway through a one-sided opening 45 minutes. Jane Ross (2) and Demi Vance got the goals, with the latter also providing the assist for Ross’ second.
Celtic manager Fran Alonso made two changes at the start of the second half and it paid off quickly when Caitlin Hayes headed home a Sarah Harkes corner. Top scorer Charlie Wellings nearly added a second 90 seconds later, but Rangers goalkeeper Jenna Fife got a foot to the ball and there was no further scoring despite Celtic’s continuing pressure.
Player-of-the-match Ross, who brought her goal tally to five in the three league games against Celtic, said: “To win the league first and foremost was our target but it’s obviously fantastic to go the whole season undefeated.
“It’s something we can be very proud of. The wind made a big difference to the game in the second half, although they could potentially say that about the first half also.”
Glasgow City were unable to find the net for a second successive week in a 0-0 draw against Hibernian at Penicuik Park. The deposed champions ended the season seven points behind Rangers, but 10 ahead of Celtic, who they meet in the Scottish Cup final a week on Sunday.
There were last-day wins for Spartans, Motherwell and Hearts, but the most meaningful result was in SWPL 2. Glasgow Women beat Boroughmuir Thistle 3-1 at New Tinto Park to seal the second promotion place behind champions Dundee United in the new SPFL set-up.