Paradise Awaits: 'The atmosphere that the fans created was sensational,'Amy Gallacher

We’re three games in and Elena Sadiku’s Celtic side has beaten theRangers, Glasgow City and Partick Thistle and after playing Hibs at the Excelsior Stadium tomorrow evening, the Ghirls play Hearts at Celtic Park on Sunday afternoon.

Celtic FC Women will be favourites to win these two matches and with another six points on the board a first ever Scottish Women’s Premier League title could well be ours come the end of the season. And the last game of the league campaign is also against Hibs, this time at Celtic Park on Sunday 19 May.

The stakes are high and unlike last season it looks like being a straight two horse race between Celtic FC Women and theRangers women who currently have a one point lead, with Celtic having pulled that down to a single point with the recent 2-1 win over the Ibrox women. Current Champions Glasgow City have fallen off the pace and are now at sixes and sevens in terms of the points gap with the top two.

Today The Celtic Star spoke to Celtic FC Women Player of the Season contender Amy Gallacher and started by pulling her leg about that incredible miss in the opening moments of the game on Sunday against Patrick Thistle!

With the full goal to aim at from one yard, Amy managed to hit the Thistle keeper, who appeared to be over the line with the ball. The referee didn’t give it though but Celtic were in front a few minutes later anyway when Chloe Craig and Caitlin Hayes showcased a training ground move to great effect to give Celtic the early breakthrough. The Ghirls never looked back after that and ran out 5-0 winners.

Amy Gallacher didn’t get on scoresheet but she did have two super assists for the Goal Machine and Murphy Agnew. The one for Tash Flint was extra special, with Gallacher delivering the kind of pass that Kyogo has been looking for all season in the men’s team. Have a look…

Here’s how our wee chat with Amy Gallacher went this afternoon…

The Celtic Star: That was a wonderful assist for Tash Flint on Sunday Amy.

Amy Gallacher:  ‘Thanks you.”

The Celtic Star:  It was the kind of through-ball that Kyogo has been crying out for all season in the men’s team.

Amy Gallacher:  “Oh, I’m sure he has.”

The Celtic Star: “Somebody missed an absolute sitter early on,  can’t remember who that was… “

Amy Gallacher: “Yeah that was me!”

The Celtic Star: Was that one over the line, Amy? 

Amy Gallacher: “It was yeah! But I still should have scored anyway.”

The Celtic Star: I thought you did very well to miss it to be honest

That got a big laugh from the Celtic playmaker…

The Celtic Star: Another important match tomorrow evening Amy against Hibs over at the Excelsior stadium in Airdrie. What are you thinking about this one?  

Amy Gallacher: “Another big game for us and a chance to get three points. It’s Hibs tomorrow night then Hearts on Sunday afternoon at Celtic Park  – another two tough games, but we’re looking forward to them both. I think every game in the split is tough now. We’re just looking to put in another good performance against Hibs, then Hearts. I think we have been playing well recently , so we’ll just need to keep that up.”

The Celtic Star: Joking aside, on Sunday the team was right at it from the word go. Was that a reaction to hearing the score in the other game? (theRangers defeated Glasgow City 4-1). 

Amy Gallacher: “I don’t think so, no. We are just focused on ourselves and what we need to do. As I said we’ve been playing well the past couple of games. We have been starting and finishing games well so we just need to keep that up.

The Celtic Star: There appears to be real momentum with the team since Tash Flint came back and Elena Sadiku came in to replace Fran Alonso as manager?

Amy Gallacher: “Tash coming back is good for the team. She is a goalscorer and whenever she gets a chance she will put it in the back of the net. Obviously Elena has come in and all the girls have taken to her really well. We are playing well at the moment, so we just need to keep that up.”

The Celtic Star: There appears to be real strength in depth in the squad this season, all the subs played well at the weekend. 

Amy Gallacher: “Yeah, I think we’ve got great strength in depth in the squad and it means that we can rotate with a three game week. We’ve got a really good squad that will hopefully do well come the end of the season.”

The Celtic Star: Tash Flint went off at interval, was that squad rotation with the other games this week in mind?

Amy Gallacher: “Yeah, obviously we have got a big squad and a lot of players who deserve to play. It’s a three game week so obviously we just need to look after ourselves.”

The Celtic Star: Celtic FC Women had run of defeats against theRangers earlier in the season. Recently you went to Ibrox and were unlucky to not win in the 1-1 draw, then won the last game 2-1. The team has a 100% record so far in the split and Celtic seem to be the team with momentum, Is that the way you see it?

Amy Gallacher: “Yeah. I think the main aim in the split is to win every game but we just need to take one game at a time and focus on Wednesday and hopefully win that then see what happens after that.”

The Celtic Star: Can we talk about those two games at Celtic Park last season that will live long in the memory of everyone who was there? They had everything and both had such a tremendous atmosphere with those record breaking crowds. Wha are your own memories of the two games at Celtic Park last season? 

Amy Gallacher: “Yeah they were both amazing games, the atmosphere that the fans created was sensational and all the players absolutely loved it. We are all hoping that we can get the same number of fans there as last year and they can cheer us on for an important win on Sunday.  It’s what makes playing for Celtic so special. We’ve got our fans who come week-in week-out and obviously they’ll be coming to Celtic Park on Sunday as well. But hopefully fans of the men’s team will come along and we can introduce them to the women’s game. Maybe they’ll start coming along to support us more often.”

The Celtic Star: I’ve voted for Celtic’s Player of the Year and for the men I’ve voted for Joe Hart and for the women’s team I’ve voted for… Amy Gallacher!

Amy Gallacher: “Thanks, that’s great! Thank you!

Celtic FC Women v Hibs takes place at the Excelsior Stadium in Airdrie on Wednesday evening, 17 April. Kick-off is at 7.45pm and tickets can be purchased via the official Celtic FC website HERE.

Then it’s Celtic Park on Sunday and Paradise Awaits the Ghirls for the visit of Hearts. Kick-off is at 4.10pm and click on the image below to book your tickets.

ON CELTIC SHORTS…Celtic FC Women Photo Gallery – Sadiku completes Glasgow treble, beating Rangers, City and Thistle