Page 10 - Women's Soccer Scene Issue No.17 2020-21

Cliftonville Ladies maintained their excellent start to the new season in the Danske Bank
Women’s Premiership with a 1-0 victory away to Crusaders Strikers, making it three
wins out of three for the early leaders.
A tight match at Seaview was settled when Kirsty McGuinness scored the only goal
of the game, heading in a cross from Marissa Callaghan.
It turned out to be a low scoring night in the league, with the three matches
producing only four goals, and the other Belfast derby finished in a 1-1 draw between
Linfield Ladies and Glentoran.
In a well contested match, Rebecca Bassett gave Linfield the lead during the first half,
which they held onto until late on when Samantha Kelly grabbed an equaliser for Glentoran,
which maintains their unbeaten record.
The happiest team on the day though would have been Derry City whose 1-0 win
against Sion Swifts was their first in the league in 20 matches, stretching back to July
2019. Lauren Cregan scored the only goal of the game, in the opening minute of the second
half, to bring an end to the Candystripes’ unwanted run and earn their first points of the
season.
P W D L F A Pts GD
The next round of matches next
CLIFTONVILLE LADIES 3 3 0 0 8 2 9 6
Wednesday includes a top of the table GLENTORAN 3 2 1 0 5 1 7 4
clash between the league’s two unbeaten LINFIELD LADIES 3 1 1 1 6 4 4 2
teams, with leaders Cliftonville at home CRUSADERS STRIKERS 3 1 0 2 4 3 3 1
DERRY CITY 3 1 0 2 2 8 3 -6
to Glentoran. Derry City will be seeking SION SWIFTS 3 0 0 3 0 7 0 -7
to build on their victory this week when
they travel to Linfield, whilst Sion Swifts Crusaders 0 Cliftonville 1; Derry 1 Sion 0; Linfield 1 Glentoran 1.
play host to Crusaders Strikers in the
other game.

Following on from last week’s announcement that the SWPL 2 season is set to resume
action early next month, Scottish Women’s Football have issued the following statement
regardinf the Scottish Women’s Football League:
“We are pleased to confirm that the 2021 Scottish Women’s Football League (SWFL)
season will start on Sunday 6th June and conclude on Sunday 12th December. The start of
the season follows contact adult training being permitted in Scotland from 17th May.
“We would like to thank teams for their patience and to all key stakeholders who have
helped to plan for the return of SWFL football.
“Scottish Women’s Football (SWF) Chair, Vivienne MacLaren said: “We are
delighted to outline the plans for the SWFL to return on Sunday 6th June. The calendar in
place provides SWFL players with a vast schedule of football and should create exciting
competition for all involved.
“We restructured our senior game ahead of the 2020 season and due to the Covid
pandemic, we’ve not yet seen the full benefits of this new structure. We are excited for the
SWFL to restart and for the SWF competition structure to resume across all levels.
“I’d like to thank everyone involved for their patience and to the various stakeholders
for their hard work during these complex times. I wish all these teams involved the very best
for the season ahead.”
Fixtures for the 2021 SWFL season will be available on the Scottish Women’s
Football website in due course.
Issue no. 17 - 13 May 2021 news@womenssoccerscene.co.uk