Thistle suffer Cup loss to Glasgow City

Partick Thistle WFC 1 – 3 Glasgow City A dominant Glasgow City ran away comfortable winners in the Scottish Cup 3rd Round as Thistle were unable to hold on after Cara Henderson’s equaliser.  Lisa Catherine Evans had opened the scoring for City after lashing a shot from outside the box for past Jennifer Currie. Henderson’s equalised from the spot after the hour mark but were unable to hold out for long as Emily Whelan restored the lead before Natalia Wrobel’s quick thinking in front of goal put the tie to bed. Thistle had few chances, relying on quick counter-attacks to catch their opponents off guard but they were unable to test Lee Gibson. Lucy Sinclair’s wide header was arguably the closest the side came outwith the penalty, but her contributions off the ball made life difficult for their free-scoring Glasgow rivals on the day. With fifty-nine league goals this season, City will have been frustrated to only be a goal up at the break, having struggled to capitalise on their opportunities in the final third. Lisa Forrest came close to doubling the lead but her effort hit the crossbar to give Thistle a much needed lifeline. Patient in possession  City’s early goal was apt reward for their dominance in the first half. Pressing high up the pitch, they forced Thistle into searching balls, comfortably dealt with by Kimberley Smit and Claire Walsh. The pair looking just as much at ease on the ball as off it. Sat in front of the duo, Mairead Fulton allowed her side to circulate possession and find space down the channels, eventually rewarded with two goals which came from crosses down the right hand side. Despite a quiet afternoon for Brenna Lovera, unable to summon a repeat of her two goal tally in November, City’s variety in attack and strength in depth saw them come away deserved winners. Disappointing exit but Thistle continue to improve It is often difficult to take comfort from a cup exit but there were plenty of positives to take in defeat. Coming away with an upset was an unlikely proposition when taking into account only one of these sides is ‘professional’. Glasgow City scored twelve goals in the last two games but were held to just one until the 68th minute. The result, albeit not the desired one, is testament to their ability to turn their physicality into a defensive weapon and make life difficult for a side that currently sits top of the league. Despite only one in their last five, there is plenty to suggest that they can turn things around come Wednesday, as they welcome a Spartan side sat just three points behind. What the managers said:  Glasgow City manager Leanne Ross:  “That’s the objective at the start of the day, regardless of how we perform, to make sure that we win the game and get through to the next round. So we’re happy with that. “In terms of performance today, I think we can better in certain aspects of the game but we’ve done enough to get ourselves into the next round of the cup. “I felt comfortable within the game, I didn’t think [Thistle] offered too much on the ball. They were waiting for mistakes from our defenders or looking for a long ball to go in behind.” Partick Thistle WFC coach Ross Stormonth:  “We’ve played against a top side today in Glasgow City. Top of the league, they’re a very good side. I thought we frustrated them for large spells of the game and we had some really nice moments as well. “It’s tough to go out but proud of the girls today is an understatement, they were excellent.” “We showed today a sign that we can play. We’ve not really showed that as much as we would like all season but today and last week against Hibs I thought we were much much better.” Line-ups: Partick Thistle WFC: J. Currie, R. Slater, C. McCulloch , D.L. Falconer, C. Henderson, C. Boyce, A. Bulloch, C. Gibb C. Docherty, S. Cowan, T. Burchill, L. Sinclair Substitutes: A. Fearns, , R. Donaldson, H. Robinson, G. Gray, I. Longcake Glasgow City: L. Gibson, C. Warrington, C. Walsh, M. Fulton, B. Lovera, N. Wrobel, E. Whelan, A. Gambone, L.C. Evans, K. Smit, L. Forrest Substitutes: A. Easdon, A.J. Muir, J. Love, K. Lockwood, W. Forsblom, N. Kozlova, S. van Diemen, M. Foley Referee: Keiran Trayner  (Featured image credit: Craig Dunn)

Rangers down Staggies as battle for 2nd intensifies

Rangers cut the gap in the battle for 2nd as they ran out 3-0 winners in Dingwall on Sunday. Hamza Igamane got the Gers off to a perfect start with a stunning strike just a few minutes in before a Jack Hamilton mistake then gifted Danilo a second right before the break with James Tavernier rounding off a routine win against Ross County. An entertaining start saw both sides take speculative efforts at goal, but it was Igamane whose shot would find the back of the net. Already finding joy down the County right-hand channel, Jefte laid it off to Igamane, his strike took the tiniest of flicks off Akil Wright as the ball sailed past Hamilton to give Rangers an early lead. Rangers struggled to break through a crowded midfield as the first half went on as County started to find their rhythm. Butland’s mistake almost gave Hale a golden chance to equalise and Noah Chilvers had a great chance from distance but was denied by a huge save by a fully outstretched Butland. Rangers made those missed opportunities prove costly. Hamilton had just produced a magnificent piece of goalkeeping but quickly became the villain. His heavy touch in the area allowed Danilo to close him down, Hamilton’s attempted clearance struck Danilo, who quickly pounced on the loose ball and slid it into the net to give Rangers a two-goal cushion. Ross County had two huge chances in the second half to haul themselves back into the game, both coming via the head of Akil Wright. A dangerous ball into the area saw Wright rise highest; his flick evaded everyone but Campbell couldn’t meet it at the far post to steer it goal-wards. Seconds later, James Brown whipped in another dangerous ball. Wright met it again, but his header was straight at Butland, who knew little about it but kept it out. Rangers had multiple opportunities to increase their lead, but County did well to keep them out. There was a sense that the players thought the game was done as the second half wore on, the intensity dropping significantly. Don Cowie had thrown on a host of forward options to try and get his side back into the game, but they were unable to deliver any meaningful service to their big target men. Clement began using the second half to get minutes into some player’s legs. With a big week of football ahead, Rangers were in no mood to take any chances over players’ fitness which  saw Clement use all five subs available to him. James Tavernier then put an exclamation mark on the win. After being dropped, his form has seen a dramatic increase and he was excellent again today. A loose ball comes across the edge of the County box; it sat up beautifully for the fullback, who cut across the ball and struck it hard into the corner, Hamilton could do little but watch the ball fly past him. The win sees Rangers close the gap to just two points behind Aberdeen now as the battle for 2nd place heats up. Rangers have a game in hand over their rivals, which means all eyes are on January 15th when Aberdeen travel to Ibrox on a Wednesday night fixture under the bright lights. As for Ross County, they travel to the capital next weekend to take on Hibs and they will need a big performance, which is something they have yet to find on the road this season, as that now becomes a huge clash at the foot of the table. Ross County: Hamilton; Wright, Allardice (Grieves 83′), Campbell, Efete (Brown 46′), Randall, Nisbet, Harmon (Reid 79′), Chilvers (White 46′), Samuel, Hale (Brophy 66′) Rangers: Butland; Tavernier, Souttar, Balogun, Jefte, Barron (Diomande 80′), Raskin, Igamane (Dessers 80′), Hagi (Dowell 85′), Cerny (Bajrami 70′), Danilo (Sterling 70′) Booked: Ross County – Efete Referee: Kevin Clancy. VAR: Andrew Dallas  

Ross County v Rangers Matchday Preview

Ross County is looking to bounce back after their 5-0 defeat last weekend against Philippe Clement’s ever-improving Rangers side. Ross County The home side showed their vulnerable away form once again last week as Celtic brutally dispatched them. A superb first forty-five minutes from the Glasgow side had them five up before the halftime whistle had blown. It was always a tough ask to take anything from Celtic Park, but the manner of performance once again showed the Staggie’s poor away form this season. Don Cowie has constantly highlighted his side’s need to take their home form on the road if they wish to avoid yet another relegation play-off come the end of the season. County’s home form this season has been a standout, with only Celtic and Aberdeen taking all three points here this term. Last time in Dingwall, County toppled Motherwell in a tight 2-1 clash where Josh Nisbet stole the show with a stunning top-corner strike. Those three points look to be even more valuable, going into a tough run against both Glasgow sides back to back, the Staggies gave themselves a buffer ahead of the chasing pack below them. Rangers After weeks of uncertainty surrounding manager Philippe Clement, Rangers have slowly been improving, and even more positive news for Clement is their attack seems to finally be clicking. After a disappointing draw to Dundee Utd, many thought Nice in the Europa League was to be Clement’s swansong. The Gers however, put on their performance of the season, battering the French side 4-1. Following that up with a win against St. Johnstone before putting six past a usually dogged Kilmarnock side. Today marks the start of a difficult week of fixtures for Rangers, they’ll face former Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou in the Europa League before the League Cup Final next weekend, where they face Celtic for the second time this season. Clement will be hoping they can lay down a marker at one of the toughest away trips in the country as they hope to build momentum heading into a pivotal week for the Gers. Team News Don Cowie’s biggest worry for today will be that number one Ross Laidlaw is out of action until the New Year. The Staggies keeper came off injured just before half-time last weekend at Celtic Park, with Jack Hamilton likely to replace Laidlaw in the meantime. Will Nightingale is still out injured, and Kacper Lopata has a back issue, keeping him out of today’s side. For the Gers, Oscar Cortes and Rabbi Matondo are back in training, but it remains if either are fit enough to feature today. Dujong Sterling has been an absentee in the Rangers’ last couple of games with a blocked nerve. However, he is available for selection, Clement has confirmed. Previous meetings Rangers delivered a dominant performance against Ross County earlier this season at Ibrox, netting six goals in a one-sided encounter that left Staggies fans with little to cheer about. County’s away form has been abysmal this season, however, and they faired well when Celtic came to Dingwall, narrowingly losing 2-1 in a tight contest. Last time Rangers made the trip to Dingwall, the Staggies were able to hold them to a 1-1 draw and Cowie will be hoping for a similar performance today. Predicted line-ups: Ross County: Hamilton (GK); Leak, Campbell, Wright; Harmon, Randall, Nisbet, Brown, Chilvers; White, Hale Rangers: Butland (GK); Jefte, Balogun, Souttar, Tavernier; Raskin, Diamonde, Igamane, Hagi, Cerny; Dessers