Caitlin Hayes knows that few would have predicted that Celtic would sit atop the SWPL 1 summit at this stage of the season – and the defender is relishing proving the doubters wrong after her side’s comprehensive 3-0 win over Rangers on Friday night.
Hayes broke the deadlock as she steered in Jacynta’s looping corner on 15 minutes at the Excelsior Stadium before Fran Alonso’s side pulled away after the break with two goals in quick succession that left their rivals reeling.
Hayes got the third in almost identical circumstances to the opener as Celtic inflicted a first league defeat on Rangers in over a year-and-a-half – and she admits that securing the victory in the derby means so much more than simply gaining three points.
“A win is a win – and a win is even better when it’s against them lot,” Hayes said. “I’m just proud of us going forward.
“And all the people that doubt us or say it can’t be done, that we are the third horse in a two-horse race – we took care of business. We got it done, we got the three points and we are top of the league, so we will try and stay there.”
She continued: “They are obviously a great side but we were confident because we have beaten them before. If you consider all the wins and losses since both teams have gone professional, I think we have done better than them in that we have got more wins.
“So we can walk into any game with our heads held high and an element of confidence that we believe can’t be matched. We work hard every day in training and we know what we deserve and what we are working with.
“We are thankful for today and we will enjoy the win. We will take the three points but we will keep our head down and keep working hard.”
Glasgow City can leapfrog Celtic and restore their three-point advantage at the top of the table with a win away to Aberdeen this afternoon. There is a midweek round of fixtures and then the two title rivals will lock horns in a mouth-watering clash next weekend.
“It’s huge,” Hayes said of the upcoming match. “We will enjoy this first and then we will go in on Monday and just keep doing what we have been doing. We will keep working hard and we will hopefully reap the rewards of that.”
For the meantime, though, Hayes will be presented with a welcome distraction from the title race. She will be at Hampden this afternoon, cheering on her male counterparts in the hope that Ange Postecoglou’s team can round off a memorable few days for the Glasgow club.
“I am going to the game,” she added. “I’ve been lucky enough to get a golden ticket for that game and I can’t wait.
“We have got the weekend off to a great start so hopefully the boys do the job on Sunday and then it is a perfect weekend for a Celtic fan.”
