Team of the Week – 12th November

Team of the Week from Sky Sports Cup Scottish Women’s Premier League games played on 9th November.

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Goalkeeper – Anna Prawer (Aberdeen)

The Dons bowed out of the Sky Sports Cup on Sunday, falling a round shy of their Semi-Final finish from the previous season. It was always going to be a difficult ask of Aberdeen, away to the league leaders who are unbeaten this domestic campaign, but Scott Booth’s made it very difficult for Glasgow City. The manager noted the strength of both their goalkeepers, with Prawer starting on Sunday and making seven saves to help keep City at bay until the deadlock was finally broken after 70 minutes. Booth will hope for another strong performance at Petershill Park when they return on Sunday to face Partick Thistle.

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Defender – Emma Lawton (Celtic)

Lawton marked her 50th appearance for the club with two goals and an assist from defence, though narrowly missed out on a clean sheet to put icing on the cake. It was a professional performance from Celtic, defeating Queen’s Park 9-1, the only side left in the Sky Sports Cup from the lower division. Lawton epitomised this with both her work effort and ability to get forward, providing an assist as well being in the right place for their seventh goal and then proceeding to finish a lovely move for their eighth.

Defender – Siobhan Hunter (Hibernian)

Beating your rivals in the cup will always feel nice, but it will mean even more to this one-club player and fan. Hunter played her part as Hibs were 3-2 winners over Hearts in the Sky Sports Cup, now aiming to reach the final for the third time in their previous four attempts. The defender was a constant threat in the air, both defensively and offensively, getting the assist for the opener as her touch from a cross was finished by Kathleen McGovern. She also won 64% of her duels, made six interceptions, and boasted a 73% passing accuracy rate.

Defender – Kimberley Smit (Glasgow City)

While Aberdeen made it a tough afternoon for City, they never looked under any real threat at the back as they limited the Dons to no shots on target and two off target. Leanne Ross highlighted the performance of Smit in her post-match interview, noting her strength in defence as well as her possession of the ball from deeper areas. The stats back this up with 84% of all her actions on Sunday successful, including 88% passing accuracy.

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Midfielder – Jodi McLeary (Rangers)

Rangers progressed to the Semi-Final of the Sky Sports Cup as they look to win this competition for the fourth time in a row, matching records held by Glasgow City and Hibernian. The Ibrox side made light work of their Glasgow rivals, scoring all three of their goals in the first half whilst limiting their opponents to just one shot throughout the match. McLeary was seemingly everywhere for her side, providing the assist for their opener as well as starting the move that eventually lead to their final goal of the match.

Midfielder – Amelie Chomczuk (Queen’s Park)

On the whole, it was an afternoon to forget for the Spiders as they suffered at the hands of Celtic. As the only remaining ScottishPower Women’s Premier League 2 side in the competition, it was always going to be an uphill battle. The main positive they can take from the match was they did score, not an easy task against such opposition, and it was a well worked goal. It was an excellent run and cross from Oluwadara Ositelu and wonderfully finished on the volley from Amelie Chomczuk. A finish that deserves inclusion on a tough day for Queen’s Park.

Midfielder & Star Player – Maria McAneny (Celtic)

One of three players in this team from Celtic inflicting the tough afternoon on Queen’s Park was McAneny, who earns back-to-back inclusions. The midfielder got two goals, heading in the opener and their final goal, as well as getting one assist with a wonderfully floated cross. It was excellent day for Celtic overall with goals galore, but McAneny is making an early candidate for Player of the Month.

Midfielder – Tegan Bowie (Hibernian)

A number of Hibs players could make their case to be included, but we’ve gone with Bowie for her moment of magic to make it 2-1 at Oriam. Bowie was put through by Notley before she took a touch around Jessica Husband and managed to use pace and power to get to the ball before her and sliding it past the outrushing Rachel Johnstone. It was a wonderful goal, effectively assisted and finished by herself, giving the Hibees the lead for the first time in the match.

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Forward – Eilidh Austin (Rangers)

Austin is the second Rangers players included this week, providing a goal and an assist as they progress and make it over three years unbeaten in this competition. The forward got the assist for their second goal, a cross which went in off a Partick Thistle player with Katie Wilkinson waiting behind, and getting their final goal with a nice one-two before passing the ball into the bottom corner. Rangers will now face Celtic to reach the final again.

Forward – Nicole Kozlova (Glasgow City)

It felt like a mistake or moment of magic was going to break the deadlock on Sunday at Petershill Park. Luckily for City, Kozlova produced it. Receiving the ball on the edge of the box, the Ukrainian took one touch before firing it into the net past Prawer. She was also singled out for praise by Ross post-match, noting she’s in a great run of form but they’ll need to manage her minutes with a busy schedule ahead. City continue to fight on all fronts, both domestically and in Europe.

Forward – Morgan Cross (Celtic)

The final Celtic player included this week is Cross, one of their four players to grab a brace on Sunday. The winger timed her run to perfection for her first goal before showing persistance to keep possession before applying a tidy finish for her second. What was perhaps surprising was the fact she didn’t get an assist, but it wasn’t without trying and she was involved in the build up for a number of their nine goals. They will now look to reach the final for the first time since 2021 when they last won this competition.