SJWFC Match Report

Sunday saw the side welcome Glasgow Women to Riverside for the first time this season. There was a precautionary pitch inspection in the morning, which passed no problem at all. Unfortunately, the lines didn’t pass the referee’s pre-match walk, leading to a slight delay in kick off as they were redone.

When the sides did kick off, Saints took to the field in their away shirts. The blue hues of Saints, and purple of Glasgow were too similar for the referee, who is colourblind, to distinguish.

It was the away side who had the best of the play in the early part of the match. There were a few times where a last-ditch clearance was required to stop a Glasgow attack. Kayleigh Barghati, Glasgow's leading goalscorer with three goals to her name, nearly opened the scoring. A fast-paced ball came into the box and came off the striker, a yard from goal, before she knew anything about it, and thankfully from a Saints point of view, went the other side of the post to safe.

At the other end, Saints had a great opportunity to open the scoring when Steffi Simson was played through, but her right-footed shot went narrowly wide of Khym Ramsay's goal. 

There was a real blow for Saints when Niamh Irvine was forced off with an injury to her foot, to be replaced by Megan Burns. There was a further blow a short time later when Glasgow took the lead after thirty-five minutes. After a slip, the ball broke kindly to Olivia King and she struck the ball first time and it flew into the top right corner. 

Just before half time Saints very nearly got level. Morgan Steedman flashed a ball across the box and Jodie Malcolm seemed mere inches from connecting with the cross, where any touch would surely have directed it into the goal. 

Into the second half and again the away side were enjoying the bulk of possession. For all their possession, there weren't many clear-cut chances, and the match became a bit of a battle with the Saints midfield and defence doing well to break up the Glasgow advances. The game became more physical and Saints physio Kerri Stewart was certainly having a busy afternoon - at one point escorting a player off only to be called back on just moments after play had resumed. 

Morgan Steedman firing into the side netting, and Rebecca Robertson heading wide from a corner and a blocked Nicole Carter shot were the only two real Saints chances of note. A quick Glasgow counter from a Saints corner set Barghati charging into the Saints half, but a weak shot was saved by Mitchell. The match played out with neither keeper forced into any goal denying saves, and the points returned to Glasgow.

The result left Saints sitting in a relegation play-off place, but there was a chance to move out of that on Wednesday in a re-arranged match against bottom side Gartcairn. The management team of Jamie Reynolds and Kevin Candy rung the changes with Elvie McLean, Ellie-May Cowie, Megan Paterson, Scarlet Brady and Megan Burns all coming into the starting elven.

In the early stages of the match, it was the home side who were enjoying the best of the play. Saints appeared to be playing with a relaxed and free-flowing style of football, always looking to go forward. Steffi Simson and Ellie May Cowie were close to getting on to through balls but were snuffed out by Gartcairn goalkeeper Jasmine McPhie.

It was the former who thought she had opened the scoring after nine minutes, but referee Abbie Hendry adjudged Simson had used too much force in holding off a defender. It would only be another three minutes before she did have the side in front. Played through, her low shot came off defender Kayleigh Mitchell and the touch diverted the ball past McPhie in the Gartcairn goal. Megan Wands, the Airdrie side’s top goalscorer had a speculative effort from distance, but one which had Saints stopper Ellie Mitchell diving to her right, but the shot went wide.

With twenty minutes gone, Saints got their second. Back in the side after serving a three match ban, Ellie-May Cowie kept herself composed to cooly slot the ball home with her right foot.

Gartcairn were out for the second half well in advance of both Saints and the officials, There was certainly a more dogged determination from them and they were enjoying a spell of pressure in the Saints half. The Saints defence having to deal with three corners in very quick succession.

It was from a corner Saints had their first chance of the half, Rebecca Robertson heading wide. On the hour mark it was three. Substitute Eilidh Begg crossed in from the right and Steffi Simson’s shot seemed to come off the goalkeeper, loop up, hitting the cross bar before she knocked in the rebound.

Ten minutes after that and it was Ellie-May Cowie back on the scoresheet with a very similar goal to her first. A ball cut open the Gartcairn defence before she took it round defender and goalkeeper before slotting home.

With ten minutes of the match left, Gartcairn got a goal back. Jenny Dougall picked up on a slack backpass from midfield and was able to fire past Mitchell. The last ten minutes were frantic. Saints, having made a quadruple substitution were adjusting to that whilst ensuring Gartcairn didn’t score a second. A last-ditch tackle from Megan Burns, which saw strong penalty shouts, denied what would have been a certain goal.

Gartcairn did have the ball in the net again, but this time it was their turn to have a goal chalked off for a foul – on the goalkeeper this time. Saints went close with Eilidh Begg forcing McKie into a save, but that was the last of the action and it finished 4-1 Saints.

The result moves Saints back into sixth place and out of the relegation zone. This coming Sunday they are away to Boroughmuir Thistle at Meadowbank Stadium, Edinburgh with a 1pm kick off.