If Kelly Clark was disappointed about not finding a place in Pedro Martinez Losa’s Scotland squad this week, she has the ideal platform to exorcise her frustrations this weekend as Celtic host Rangers at the Excelsior this weekend.
It is the first meeting between the teams in the league this term with all eyes on the live Sky Sports game which kicks off at noon.
It is intriguing for a number of reasons; Celtic go into the game with their noses in front of the pack courtesy of a two-point lead at the top but both teams have impressed so far on what has been an unbeaten start from each of them.
Jo Potter’s Rangers side have dropped just two points courtesy of a draw with reigning champions Glasgow City but otherwise can boast an unblemished copybook. Celtic have won all ten games so far in what has been a statement opening period.
Celtic came within minutes of winning the SWPL title for the first time in their history last season only to see it slip from their grasp as City claimed it with a win at Ibrox. To add to Alonso’s devastation, his side was then decimated over the summer as key players headed south to where substantially more lucrative contracts can be found.
The early impressions this season would suggest that disappointment has been the fuel to drive Celtic this season. Certainly, there is a conviction about Alonso’s side that would suggest they can only be seen as genuine title challengers.
Rangers changed manager after losing a Championship they had claimed for the first time under Malky Thomson. It was a meek finale to the season for the Ibrox side who finished third and lost the Scottish Cup to Celtic at Hampden before the arrival of former England internationalist Jo Potter.
The big difference in how Rangers have performed has been a clear focus on developing a ruthlessness in front of goal. Both Celtic and Rangers have identical goal difference; 52 goals scored with just six conceded, stats that would underline the similar standard in both sides with very little between them.
Should anything give today Glasgow City will be the grateful recipients with Leanne Ross’s side currently five points off the pace of Alonso’s side and three points behind Rangers.
There was a bullishness about Clark as she pointed to the novelty of Celtic’s position as they go into this game at the top of the table.
“It is not just about measuring us but measuring them and how do they deal with that situation,” said the defender. “Every year before now we have been chasing when it has come to these first fixtures. It is going to be interesting to see when that is on the other side.
“We want to win the game and we want to stay ahead and put the others in the position where they are chasing because I don’t think we have ever fully done that before.
“It is a different pressure.
“I still don’t think we have hit ten out of ten, I still think we can go and be better,” she said.
“I can’t wait to see how we play on Sunday. It is a Glasgow derby and the game in Scotland that everyone cares about and it is so important we take our performance into this game.
“I still think we can go levels above and I want us to do it this weekend.” It is a first experience for Potter, although she had an introduction to the fixture when her side won the Glasgow Cup at the start of the season against Celtic.
The big prize is always going to be the Championship and this fixture, regardless of how early it is in the season, will offer an indication of just how the title race may well play out.
“There are a lot of things we can exploit against Celtic and we will be looking to do that,” said Potter. “We know we need to go in and get a result to stay in touching distance but there is full confidence that the team can do that.”
All eyes will be on this afternoon’s game.
AND ANOTHER THING
Having lost Caroline Weir and Emma Watson to the curse of the ACL, Pedro Martinez Losa is in the position of being able to bring Erin Cuthbert back into the squad for the Nations league double header against The Netherlands.
If it is cruel on Weir, top of her game in Spain last year, and Watson, who has just made the move to Manchester United this summer at just 17, it is a devasting loss for Scotland and their ambitions on getting back to the European Championships.
Cuthbert, tenacious and influential, is the kind of player who can step into a leadership role for Martinez Losa’s side. AND FINALLY
There was no real surprise as Glasgow City exited the UWCL at the hands of Brann on Wednesday night with the damage all inflicted in the opening period of a harrowing first-leg encounter at Petershill.
City, the last independent team to make it to the quarter-finals of the tournament before it was rejigged, lost out after a 6-0 aggregate defeat. It is a result that shines a light on the increasing chasm between elite level teams and the SWPL with Scotland yet to have a representative in the new group stage format of the competition.
