Glasgow City continued in their rich vein of form in the SWPL on Wednesday evening, with a thumping victory over unlucky visitors Hamilton Accies at Petershill Park in Glasgow.
by Marc Roseblade
It says a lot about Hamilton’s preparation for this match that after going three goals down after only 20 minutes of the first half, they managed to hold off the Glasgow City onslaught to go in at the half time break still only three behind.
However the second half proved to be too much for the visitors when another four goals ended the match as a competition, especially in light of the home sides continual winning streak on home soil.
The signs were ominous for Hamilton early on when after only three minutes, Glasgow City captain Rachel Corsie played a tremendously weighted ball over the top of the Accies defenders, that Leanne Ross slotted home low to the right of the out rushing keeper to open the scoring much to the delight of most of the gathered fans in the Petershill stand.
It was a perfect start to the match for the table toppers and this early lead never look like being relinquished throughout the remaining 87 minutes of play despite some rugged play by the visiting team to try and drag themselves back into the game.
Lisa Evans tried her luck but Cunningham in the Accies goal saved her effort. Rachel Corsie tried to lob Cunningham but she saved again. Nicola Docherty also tried a lofted attempt but again the resilient keeper kept them at bay.
Despite these continued saves, Cunningham’s luck would soon run out as once again Corsie played in Leanne Ross (right), who cleverly noticed the keeper off her line to perfectly lob the ball into the net from 12 yards out to make the score 2-0 to the home side after 18 minutes.
It was all one way traffic and Hamilton’s lone striker Richardson was trying her best to hold the ball up when she received it, trying to give her team mates in defence some respite from the constant bombardment from the current champions but it was all in vein as only two minutes later Jo Love added her sides third when she skinned her marking defender to slide the ball under the keeper to put the game out of sight of Hamilton.
At this point it seemed the inevitable cricket score might emerge but to Hamilton’s credit, they shored up the defence and withheld for the remainder of the first half without conceding any more despite the attempted surge in shots upon goal that ensued.
Rachel Corsie, Eilish McSorley, Jane Ross, Leanne Ross & Emma Mitchell all had shots on target foiled by the in form Hamilton stopper but her best save was kept until the verge of the half time break when Nicola Docherty sent a pile driver of a shot towards the top right hand corner but the flying Cunningham in the red and white goal area pulled off a tremendous save, tipping the ball over the bar in a ‘Peter the Cat’ type of manner.
Here endeth the first 45 minutes of play.
The second started in much the same manner as they first ended – with one way traffic!
Lisa Evans – who by her own standards was having a quiet day in front of goal – was first up but after an excellent interchange with Leanne Ross, saw her shot drift past the right hand post as the keeper scrambled to try and reach it.
Yet another goal was added 10 minutes into the second period when Danica Dalziel fired a cross into the six yard area only for everyone to stand dumbfounded as it headed straight into the far corner of the net to give her side a 4-0 lead. Whether Danica meant to score from the obscure angle is anyone’s guess but it sure did make for a superb goal!
Next up to try was Emma Mitchell but she saw her freekick go high and wide just prior to Jane Ross losing the chance to add to the scoring when set free in the penalty area with a shot that spun wide of the post.
65 minutes in and even though the score sat at only 4-0, there was never any chance that Hamilton would claw back that many goals to grab something from this match but it didn’t stop the away team from bringing some excitement to the match as keeper Cunningham decided to tray and dribble her way past Glasgow City’s attackers as they bore down on her. Such fancy footwork may have been great midway up the field but inside her own 6 yard area must have stopped her coaches hearts for the brief time she had the ball at her feet.
Fortunately she managed to side step all around her and clear the ball to safety but this only prolonged the wait for another goal.
In what was unarguably the best goal of the match, Leanne Ross played a ball into Emma Mitchell’s path who unleashed a strike of biblical proportions that was simply unstoppable as it missiled its way into the goal from 18 yards out.
With less than 20 minutes remaining, the scoreline was unassailable but the Glasgow City girls wanted more to keep up their incredible scoring achievements so far this season. In the previous 9 league matches they had managed 76 goals in 9 matches, so had to grab themselves another couple of goals to keep up with goals scored ratio.
Despite losing so emphatically, the Hamilton players never dropped their heads and continually tried to work the ball out from defence, up the midfield and into an attacking area but they were simply being outplayed in every department by the Glasgow side that has swept every team in Scotland aside in recent years.
Emma Mitchell was to add another thunderbolt goal to her tally for the day, this time from 20 yards out, that the diving Cunningham just couldn’t reach. It was a tremendous effort by Mitchell and showed how well the City side can play that so many different players can get themselves on the scoresheet.
To top the game off and to show her striking prowess, Leanne Ross added another with two minutes remaining with a daisycutter of a shot that left the keeper with no chance of reaching once again. It was a terrific end to the match for Ross who celebrated her hat trick for the game, helping her team to a 7-0 victory.
To add another statistic to Leanne’s resume, she scored her 150th goal for Glasgow City in this match, making her the second top scorer in the clubs history. A target that Leanne will no doubt have her sights set on beating.
Final score from Petershill
Glasgow City 7 Hamilton Accies 0
Marc Roseblade is a Contributor for Examiner.com, Football Speak, OurGameMagazine, 90Soccer and various online sports and published outlets across the globe. Other soccer related roles he is involved in include matchday commentary and PR for Ayr United Football Academy. All quotes are obtained first-hand unless otherwise stated. You can follow NotJustScottishFootball on Twitter @myscottishfitba
