Scottish Women's Soccer in December: The SWPL Roundup and more

December could prove to be quite a critical month for Scottish women’s football in many aspects. It was quiet in the SWPL in terms of fixtures but explosive when it came to some of the results. Just 14 SWPL fixtures and only one postponement when weather conditions ruled out Aberdeen at home to Partick. 

Glasgow City extended their lead over Rangers to four points. That came largely thanks to a fine mid-December win by 3-0 for City over Rangers. City though would have wished for a better result than a 0-0 draw against Hearts who end the month in third place. If we are talking wishes then Rangers boss Jo Potter may need a magic wand after a disappointing month. 

That defeat against City hasn’t helped Rangers title hopes at all. A chance to narrow the gap came with Sunday's final 2024 fixture at home against fourth-placed Hibernian. Hibs scored a shock 0-3 away win and are now just three points behind second-placed Rangers and two points behind Edinburgh rivals Hearts with a game in hand on both those sides.

Tight at the top in the SWPL

Celtic lie in fifth place a further point below Hibs but with two games in hand on all the clubs above them other than just one game less than Hibs. Celtic only had one SWPL fixture this month, and that was on Sunday when they had a fine 0- victory at Spartans. If they can win their extra games they’d be in touch with City and ahead of the others. It’s certainly getting tight at the top. 

There’s not much change at the bottom end of the table. Seventh-placed Partick will want to stay close to Motherwell in sixth and just two points ahead. The rest remain well behind and again Dundee United is firmly rooted to the bottom spot. It could be quite a fight over the months ahead to determine the relegation places though. 

One of the reasons for the reduced number of SWPL games lies in the third round of the Scottish Women’s Cup. Played on December 8 the games largely went to form. Three out of the bottom four clubs in the league went through, just Queens Park losing 3-1 to Hamilton Academical missing out. Rangers were top scorers in a hefty one-sided 24-1 win over Westdyke Ladies. I bet that goal against bugged them though. On to the fourth round in early February. 

European competitions end for Scottish women

Celtic’s single SWPL game was partly related to their Champions League campaign which came to an end. A 3-0 defeat in Holland to Twente left them adrift at the foot of the Group table. Six games, one goal for, and no wins or points aren’t the best of returns, but probably not unexpected. The real challenge now is to learn from the experience.

Scotland Women's national team missed out on qualifying for the Euro 2025 finals in Switzerland next summer with a 2-0 defeat in Helsinki to Finland. They'd drawn the home leg in Edinburgh 0-0. Inevitably, that led to the departure of team boss Pedro Martinez Losa in December. He has since been announced as the new manager of Mexican side Tigres Femenil.

The SFA will be poring over potential candidates for his replacement but don't need to move as quickly as their ex-manager with the next SWNT game not until mid-February. In a link back to the SWPl, one of the top contenders for the role could be the current manager of league leaders Glasgow City, Leanne Ross. That could make things even more interesting in the league title chase.