SWPL Team of the Week – 29th September

Team of the Week from Sky Sports Cup games played on Sunday 29th September.

Written by Jack Donnelly.

Goalkeeper – Rebecca Cameron (Motherwell)

In the only second round match to go the distance, Motherwell triumphed over Hamilton after an equaliser with the last kick of the ball sent the match to extra time, before the women of steel secured a spot in the last eight through a penalty shootout. After holding firm for 120 minutes of action, Rebecca Cameron twice came up trumps in the shootout, batting away spot kicks from Keira Ritchie and Josi Giard to put Motherwell’s name in the hat and set up a clash with Rangers in the quarter-finals.

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Defender – Fiona Gibson (Boroughmuir Thistle)

The biggest winners of the second round, and the only remaining SWPL 2 side in the competition, Boroughmuir Thistle ran rampant against Livingston, winning 8-0 at Meadowbank on Sunday. Limiting the visitors to just one shot on target, Thistle’s defence was near impenetrable, with Fiona Gibson excelling at right back. Gibson scored her side’s third of the afternoon, converting from a corner kick, and set up the fifth with a lay-off inside the box, in what was a near perfect afternoon for the 31-year-old.

Defender – Samantha Van Diemen (Glasgow City)

Glasgow City advanced to the quarter-finals of the Sky Sports Cup with a narrow 3-2 victory against Hearts, with the Jambos running the six-time winners close until the final whistle. Dutch defender Samantha van Diemen was kept plenty busy in this encounter, with the former Fortuna Sittard centre back winning 14 duels and making 14 recoveries. The 22-year-old also had her say at the other end of the pitch, restoring City’s lead early into the second half with a first-time finish from close range.

Defender & Star Player – Lauren Doran-Barr (Hibernian)

It was a successful afternoon for the home sides at Meadowbank on Sunday, as Hibernian followed up Boroughmuir Thistle’s earlier victory with a dominant display of their own, running out 7-0 winners against Queen’s Park. Impressing at the back was birthday girl Lauren Doran-Barr, with the defender marking her 25th birthday with a goal, firing a confident finish into the far left corner. The full back also notched an assist, and looked assured in defence, making seven interceptions and doubling that number for her recoveries, making 14.

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Midfielder – Mathilde Carstens (Celtic)

Sunday’s clash with Montrose was Celtic’s third game in a week, having had a Champions League double header against Vorskla Poltava to contend with, so had to make use of their squad depth at Links Park. Starting in this match was Mathilde Carstens, who signed for the club alongside twin sister Signe in the summer, and performed admirably as Celtic ran out 7-0 winners. The Danish midfielder scored one, assisted another, completed 87% of passes, and won 14 duels in an all-action performance.

Midfielder – Cara Borthwick (Boroughmuir Thistle)

As previously mentioned, Boroughmuir Thistle were the highest scorers of the round, firing eight past Livingston in a brilliant attacking display. Heavily involved throughout was Cara Borthwick, who showed a clinical edge to her game, scoring two goals from two shots. Borthwick also misplaced just three passes in her time on the pitch, for a completion rate of 86%.

Midfielder – Amy Bulloch (Partick Thistle)

After making it all the way to last year’s final, the first in their history, Partick Thistle got this season’s Sky Sports Cup campaign up and running with a back-and-forth battle against Spartans. The Glasgow side ran out 3-2 winners in the end, with Amy Bulloch holding down a formidable presence in the middle of the park for Brian Graham’s side. The midfielder assisted her partner in the pivot, Lucy Sinclair, from a corner just before half-time, made seven interceptions and 17 recoveries to help see Thistle through to the quarter-finals once again.

Midfielder – Hannah Stewart (Aberdeen)

Aberdeen won for the first time since the end of August on Sunday afternoon, and booked their place in the Sky Sports Cup quarter-finals to boot, running out 2-0 winners against SWPL 2 side Gartcairn. Wearing the captain’s armband, Hannah Stewart led from the front, slotting a penalty into the bottom right corner before arriving at the back post to tap a low cross into the back of the net for her second of the afternoon. That makes it three goals in two games for Stewart, who’ll be looking to spearhead a charge out of the SWPL relegation zone in the coming weeks.

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Forward – Kathleen McGovern (Hibernian)

Grant Scott’s Hibernian have made a habit of consistently finding the back of the net this season, and this was no different in their 7-0 win over Queen’s Park on Sunday. Summer signing Kathleen McGovern made it 10 goals for the season after firing in a hattrick against the Spiders, taking home her second match ball of the campaign. A header from a Kirsty Morrison cross was sandwiched between a pair of close-range finishes from McGovern’s clinical right boot, as Hibs booked their place in the quarter-finals.

Forward – Saoirse Noonan (Celtic)

Celtic faced familiar opposition in their second round clash with Montrose, having played the Gable Endies away at Links Park in their last league fixture, almost two weeks ago now. Saoirse Noonan had a fantastic evening in Montrose in that match, scoring a hattrick, and while the striker fell just short of matching that tally, instead scoring twice (with her first being a sumptuous looping finish from range), she also picked up an assist for Kit Loferski’s first of the afternoon. The 25-year-old also battled hard up front, winning 12 duels, as Celtic eased into the quarter-finals.

Forward – Katie Wilkinson (Rangers)

Current Sky Sports Cup holders Rangers got their defence off to the perfect start, as a rotated side won 3-0 away against Dundee United. However, despite the scoreline, Rangers fans had to wait until the second half for the goals to come, with Katie Wilkinson making the absolute most of her 45 minutes of action. The striker had a direct involvement in each of her side’s goals, scoring one and setting up the other two.