Hearts Hammered by Murphy’s Law as Celtic Sparkle in Paradise

However theRangers won 3-1 away to Partick Thistle in the early kick-off so Celtic took the field in Paradise looking for the three points to re-establish the lead at the top of the table.

And a hat-trick from on-form striker Murphy Agnew and additional goals from Tash Flint and Lucy Ashworth-Clifford gave the 3600 Celtic supporters plenty to cheer about on the Ghirls’ first return to playing at Paradise since the closing day of last season.

It didn’t take long for the Ghirls to that return as Lucy Ashworth-Clifford found the back of the net within three minutes, with a cross that found the top corner.  Caitlin Hayes sent a driven pass to the winger and although it seemed as though LAC’s floated ball was intended to be a cross, it ended up landing in the back of the net.

Call it a fluke but they call count and Lucy is certainly due a little bit of luck after over a year on the sidelines with an ACL injury picking up playing against theRangers at Broadwood the Christmas before last.

Hearts failed to impose any pressure on Celtic as we continued to ramp up as the clock ticked on. Within 20 minutes, we were well and truly dominating the game, and we soon had another goal to show for it. Winning the ball back, Colette Cavanagh found herself in a great position and slid Murphy Agnew in behind with a brilliant pass. The forward, playing in the striker position, controlled it well and made no mistake slotting it home effortlessly by stroking into the bottom corner of the Hearts goal. Simple, effective, lethal football from the Hoops.

Agnew would earn a brace for herself as she quickly broke through towards goal. Again, she found the back of the net for Celtic’s third of the afternoon.

Hearts had their first real chance of the game in the 36th minute. Tash Flint attempted to find some space on the edge of the area, but the visitors were able break on the counter. Caitlin Hayes managed to get in front of the Hearts attacker but a mix-up between Kelly Clark and Kelsey Daugherty almost cost us. Thankfully, Daugherty managed to clear in time.

After a dominant first half, we still wanted more in the second, and we showed that from the first minute.

With 53 minutes gone, Flint got her name on the scoresheet as she found herself one-on-one with the goalkeeper. With a brilliant finish on the outside of her foot, she bagged herself a goal and a well-deserved one at that.

Agnew wasn’t content with two as she kept pushing in the second half for three. On the hour mark, Agnew would find herself racing through on goal and using her pace to her advantage, she managed to get away from the Hearts backline, compose herself and produce a wonderful finish to secure her hattrick.

LAC came close to a second as she almost replicated her first, sending a high ball into the box, battering off the crossbar.

It was a close call as Hearts had the ball in the back of the net with 70 minutes gone. Daugherty made a great save to deny an initial goal, but the ball trickled over the line. Thankfully, the flag was up for offside. It was certainly a tight call.

Clare Goldie, who replaced hat-trick scorer Agnew in the 71st minute, came close as she found herself one-on-one with goalkeeper. She managed to get a shot off on the edge of the area, but the Hearts goalkeeper pulled out a fantastic save to deny the youngster.

In the final stages of the game, Celtic kept it tight as we continued to dominate the game. And all of the hard work paid off as we ended the afternoon with a well-deserved 5-0 victory.

What a result! The Ghirls putting on a show, as per usual and are back top of the table with a two points lead with five league games to play.

All of the goals have officially put us over the +100 goal difference mark, meaning that even if theRangers were to win a game and we were to draw one, we would still lead unless they scored around 11 goals. Celtic  really showed why they deserve to win the title today. In front of a decent crowd at Celtic Park, the Ghirls played Hearts out of the game and never allowed them to get a foot in the match.

After their victory on Wednesday, they would have come into this one thinking that they could maybe take some points off Celtic too. But Elena Sadiku had her team at it from the first minute, they were on the front foot, pushing into the Hearts half and earning the three points.

Not unsurprisingly hat-trick hero Murphy Agnew was named Player of the Match. This is the vision that Elena Sadiku has been trying to bring to life since the second she arrived in Glasgow, and it’s now coming to fruition! Her team has the look of Champions.

Jessica Elliott