Scottish Women's Football

Hannah Jordan says Spartans were "delighted" to be drawn against Hearts for Sunday's Scottish Cup semi-final.

The sides face off at Hampden as both look to grab a spot in the Scottish Cup final against Rangers.

"I think we were delighted to get Hearts, but Hearts would have been equally delighted to get us and that's the reality of it," the winger said.

"Obviously it is going be a challenging game in a cup semi-final, but we've run Hearts quite close to the wire in both games we've played them this season.

"It's been 1-0 and 4-3, one of which we were 3-1 up at one point, so we've just got to believe in ourselves come Sunday and we know that we can create chances against them.

"I think last time in the 1-0 game we were pinned back quite a lot defensively so we struggled to create chances and we've acknowledged that and we've got a game plan to counter that.

"But we've shown what we can do against quality sides so we just need to believe in ourselves come Sunday."

Image source, SWPL

Rangers book their place in the Scottish Cup final as they continue their quest towards a domestic treble.

Elena Sadiku was disappointed in her Celtic side who she says simply weren't good enough.

What did you make of your team's performance at Hampden?

Give us your thoughts here.

Dundee United close the gap to Hamilton Accies at the bottom of the SWPL with a 2-1 victory at Tannadice.

United were three points adrift of Accies at the foot of the top flight table before Saturday's match.

Suzy Shepherd's side took the lead through Robyn Smith and Accies equalised with just six minutes left of the 90.

Georgie Robb's injury time winner secured all three points for the home side and moves them joint on points with Hamilton only separated by goal difference.

Image source, SWPL

A game that promised so much didn't really deliver. Until the final five minutes or so.

Matches between the two have been ferocious and frantic. In the Hampden sun, it was flat.

A staggering 294 goals had been scored between the pair in domestic competitions this season before today. But it took for over an hour to register a shot on target.

Rangers looked the more comfortable. Passes were strung together and forward runs were made. While that's not exactly impressive, their evident togetherness and desire was.

Jo Potter's side were first to everything, and perhaps that was the biggest difference. They know how to win in an ugly affair.

The scoreline doesn't suggest it, but they were forced to huff and puff against Hibs in their quarter-final, before four late goals made for a pretty 6-2 scoreline.

Winning 2-0 today is certainly a fairer reflection for a side who simply wanted it more. Cornet's header was sublime, while Howat's loft was lovely.

Rangers really didn't want extra-time, Celtic would have taken it to drag the day on.

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Former Scotland international Shelley Kerr says Celtic need to take "collective responsibility" for their defeat to Rangers.

Elena Sadiku's side were beaten 2-0 by their Glasgow rivals in Saturday's Scottish Women's Cup semi-final at Hampden.

"Anything that Celtic got wasn't by design it was by default and you can understand why the manager is disappointed," Kerr said.

"They need to take responsibility as a collective, it is not just down to the players.

"They didn't create enough chances and you have to give credit to Rangers that they didn't allow them to do that."

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Rangers manager Jo Potter:

"I wasn't worried, I knew we'd get more chances.

"I said to the players at half-time I couldn't think of a time that they'd worried us. The game was there for the taking and it was just about who was going to show up.

"We were creating chances and that was the biggest thing for me, that is why I wasn't worried.

"We've got four brilliant strikers to choose from and the substitutions always make a difference."

Celtic manager Elena Sadiku:

"We were not on, it is not the Celtic I am used to seeing and we didn't deserve the win.

"The first half was bad, in the second half we tried to start well but in the end we conceded from a set piece.

"The mindset was not on today and that's the biggest difference so a big disappointment.

"For me it's about learning from this and make sure that this never happens again. If we want to win titles, this is not good enough."

Image source, SNS

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Rangers hopes of a domestic treble remain alive as they reached the Scottish Cup final by defeating Celtic in a drab derby at Hampden.

In a repeat of last season's showpiece, chances were few and far between and extra-time appeared a certainty, until Chelsea Cornet scored a superb header with only minutes left.

Holders Celtic threw what they could at it in an attempt to keep the cup that they have won for the past two seasons, but left themselves open at the back and Kirsty Howat's late lob secured Rangers' place in the final on 26 May against either Spartans or Hearts.

Read the full report here

Watch the best of Rangers and Celtic before their Scottish Women's Cup semi-final at Hampden on Saturday.

Tune in to BBC One Scotland, iPlayer and the BBC Sport website and app from 12:00 BST on Saturday for live coverage from the national stadium

Debbi McCulloch, former Spartans Women head coach and current CEO of the Spartans Foundation, previews the club's Scottish Cup semi-final against Hearts at Hampden on Sunday

The Spartans players can use their experience of last season and beating Celtic in the League Cup quarter-final on penalties.

Nobody thought we could win that and we did. We knocked out the potential favourites. So the players remaining in the squad from last season can take great belief from that upset.

Based on our squad, we are very good at defending. We are very difficult to break down so we have the easy part to try and achieve on Sunday in that if we defend well, we’ll make life difficult for Hearts and stop them from scoring.

Can we create at the other end and make sure we score as many as we can? They’re good problems to have but the mindset of the players will be absolutely crucial on Sunday.

There’s no point in walking out on that pitch if they don’t believe they can beat Hearts.

From speaking to some of the players they are feeling extremely confident. They understand it is going to be a difficult task and will show Hearts the respect they deserve, but ultimately they’re just determined to get to the final.

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Celtic "have the momentum" going into Saturday's Scottish Cup semi-final against Rangers.

That's according to BBC Sport Scotland's Thomas Duncan speaking on the BBC's Scottish Football Podcast.

SWPL leaders Celtic are looking to edge nearer a third consecutive Scottish Cup success, while Rangers are still chasing a domestic treble.

"Celtic have basically been perfect apart from one draw with Rangers," Duncan said.

"They won the last derby, they've managed to go top of the league because Rangers dropped points against Hearts out of nowhere.

"So you feel like Celtic probably have the momentum, they're scoring a lot of goals. But I think it's about who handles the occasion when you come to Hampden and it's on the telly.

"The Scottish Cup final that they played last season was very nervy. Both teams didn't really want to go for it and Celtic eventually nicked a set-piece goal.

"So I think it'll be down to who's the braver team on the day, who can handle the crowd, the stage, and who wants to implement their game on the opposition."

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Nicola Docherty says women's Old Firm derby matches are "becoming even bigger".

The Rangers captain has been delighted by the growth in the SWPL and the rivalry with Celtic.

The sides face off in Saturday's Scottish Cup semi-final at Hampden.

"I think in Scotland you can even speak from when I was a player back in the day, the league has grown so much, so these derby games are becoming even bigger," the defender said.

"For us, we always just remain one game at a time.

"When it comes to these games sometimes you can do all the tactics in the world, but it really does just come down to mentality.

"So these games are getting bigger and it's fantastic for the women's game in Scotland because that's what you want.

"You want to see as many fans at the games as possible, so hopefully we can see a big turnout on Saturday as well and hopefully we can turn up as well."

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Lucy Ashowrth-Clifford has signed a one-year contract extension at Celtic.

The midfielder joined the Glasgow side in 2022 from Lewes but her bright start was halted by a 13-month injury lay-off and she only returned to the team at the start of this year.

Ashworth-Clifford, 24, has been a key player in recent weeks and will now remain at Celtic until the summer of 2025.

"I'm very excited," the told club media.

"We're going in a positive direction under Elena and I'm excited for another year.

"I had to take a bit over a year out so I think I'm getting that back with the year extension and hopefully I can achieve what I wanted to achieve in that year.

"Elena [Sadiku] has had quite a few chats with me about what she can see us doing together in the future and as a team. She has a lot of optimism and she's made me have that as well and I'm excited to get cracking."

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Celtic captain Kelly Clark believes the Old Firm are so closely matched that one mistake could be decisive in Saturday's Scottish Cup semi-final live on BBC One Scotland.

"I think everybody acknowledges that it’s a really close match-up and whoever plays well on the day will win," the defender said.

"I don't think either of us can get away with a bad performance because the other one will capitalise on mistakes.

"You play football to win games and if you win every game then you win trophies so it's everything.

"It means that we've played well through the entire cup, and it can come back to the Celtic Park boardroom for another year. We’ll take one game at a time though."

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Monica Forsyth aims to make up for lost time by helping Hearts reach the Scottish Cup final.

The winger missed the majority of this season through injury but returned to action last month.

She can't wait to make her first Scottish Cup appearance of the campaign in Sunday's semi-final against Spartans at Hampden.

"I was out for most of this season but I feel I’ve made it back for the fun part of the cup run," Forsyth said.

"I worked hard on my rehab to make it back for games like this.

"I’m just excited to be back part of this squad and hopefully help the team get it over the line and get to a Scottish Cup final.

"To get to the final would be very exciting but to do it with Hearts is even more exciting given how far we’ve come in the three years I’ve been here.

"It’s a proud moment for everyone involved at the club. Hopefully we can just get it over the line on Sunday."

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Elena Sadiku says she's full of confidence in her Celtic players as they prepare for Saturday's Scottish Cup semi-final against Rangers.

The holders are unbeaten in 11 matches, winning 10 including a 2-1 league victory over Rangers last month.

"I believe in my players," head coach Sadiku said.

"I trust my players and I think that hopefully that they feel that I do.

"Before every game, I'm calm, I'm very calm because I'm so confident in in the players that they have the skills, they have the mindset, they have everything to make sure that we perform well as a team.

"So far it's been good and results as well so I'm going to do the same thing on Saturday."

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Jo Potter insists her Rangers squad deserve the opportunity to reach a second cup final this season and the chance to lift another trophy.

Potter's treble-chasing side have already picked up the SWPL Cup and take on Glasgow rivals Celtic in Saturday's Scottish Cup semi-final at Hampden.

Having joined Rangers in the summer, this is Potter's first full season in management and she admits having the chance to add another trophy is special.

"It would be huge for me," she said.

"I think my level of expectation coming in personally was this is something that you've got to work towards, you've got to build.

"I've got to give myself some time. But you know, when you come into a club at Rangers, you're expected to win.

"So it's been a lot of change this year with style of play and environment that we're asking the girls to be in and I can't speak highly enough of them because they're the ones that bring it to life and we're in this position because of them.

"It would be just the rewards that they deserve to get through to another final."

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Celtic boss Elena Sadiku has been speaking to the media as her side prepare to face Rangers in Saturday's Scottish Cup semi-final.

Here are the main points:

• She's expecting a close game given the meetings between the sides this season, says Rangers are a "great team" and admits Celtic will need to be at their best to advance.

• The Swede has seen a gradual progression in her side's results and performances since she took charge in January.

• That form gives Sadiku “a lot of confidence” going into this tie, adding that she has a lot of "trust" and "belief" in her players.

• The squad always try to be as successful as possible, and come to training every day to train well and “get the best ending possible”.

• While Celtic haven't been preparing any differently, Sadiku admits they’ve been practising penalties and says it's her job to prepare for every outcome.

• She is "just focusing on this semi-final” and doesn’t believe it will have any effect on the league.

Image source, Hibernian women

Hibs defender Lauren Doran-Barr has signed a new deal to stay with the club next season.

The 24-year-old joined the Edinburgh side from Motherwell last summer and her contract was due to expire this summer.

“I’m pleased to extend my stay here at Hibs," Doran-Barr said.

"I have only been here 10 months or so, but I have played a lot of minutes and am looking forward to next season, continuing to develop in a full-time environment.”

Manager Grant Scott added: “Lauren is an important part of the squad and we have seen her progress in her short time at the club thus far."

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Rangers head coach Jo Potter has been speaking to the media before the Scottish Cup semi-final against Celtic this weekend.

Here are the key points:

• She is expecting a tight game: “These contests have been very close, they’ve always been exciting too.”

• Potter is taking the positives from the semi-final win over Celtic in the League Cup earlier this year.

• With one trophy already in the bag for Rangers, the prospect of getting to another cup final is “special” and would be "huge for me”.

• Potter knows "you're expected to win at Rangers”, but despite all the change this year with “style of play and the way we’re asking them to conduct themselves,” she’s very impressed with the development within the squad.

• She is always striving to improve and that includes on the European stage too, with regular Champions League qualification a target.

• Potter thinks a win in the cup will “maybe” have a bearing on the league title race, but says this tie looks “very different”.

• She believes mentality and dealing with a big occasion will be key, adding that "making the right decisions in the moments and problem solving” is the difference between good and very good players.