Match Pictures | Matches: 2023 – 2024
Trivia
- Celtic Womens’ team win their first ever league title!
- Double celebration as day before, the men’s side had their trophy presentation day as they wrapped up the league campaign with the title won in the past week.
- Incredibly won at the death in the final league match of the season in injury time.
- Celtic & Sevco sides both finish on 82pts but Celtic won with +108GD v +95GD.
- First time ever that a club in Scotland has held both the men’s & women’s league title at the same time. Brilliant time.
- Celtic & their Sevco counterparts were playing at the same time, with the Sevco side coasting their game, but Celtic needed to win to confirm the league title.
- Amy Gallacher scored in injury time to win the game 1-0 and win Celtic the title.
- Entirely fitting the fairytale nature of Celtic that the great ex-Celt Patsy Gallacher’s great grand-daughter Amy Gallacher scores the goal to win the first ever womens’ Scottish title.
Summary
Celtic women have done it! A last minute goal seals there first ever title in the most dramatic of endings. Last year they lost it in the last few minutes and this will be so sweet for all of them. Celtic doing Celtic things. Outstanding effort and well deserved.
“I was calm until we scored the goal… that’s when I went loca.”
Celtic manager Elena Sadiku
“…by changing the mindset from being underdogs to dominating”
Celtic manager Elena Sadiku
“Without the fans we maybe wouldn’t be able to go on and lift ourselves. They are the ones that help us through the hard times.”
Chloe Craig
“This game will be treated exactly the same as all the other games we’ve had. It’s going to be the same focus.”
Elena Sadiku prematch
Teams
Celtic:
Manager: Elena Sadiku
Formation: 3 – 5 – 2
30, K. Daugherty
2, C. Barclais substituted for Shen Menglu at 86 minutes
22, L. Ashworth-Clifford
6, C. Craig
15, K. Clark (c), Captain
18, C. Hayes
7, A. Gallacher
5, N. Ross 56′, Yellow Card at 56 minutessubstituted for C. Cavanagh at 80 minutes
26, N. Flint
12, M. Agnewsubstituted for K. Loferski at 69 minutes
9, Shen Mengyu
Subs:
1, C. Logan
3, S. Cummings
4, L. Robertson
8, J. Smith
11, C. Cavanagh
21, K. Loferski
28, Shen Menglu
41, C. Goldie
73, M. McAneny
Goals:
- Amy GallacherGoal 90 minutes
Assists:
Hibernian
Manager: Grant Scott
Formation: 3 – 5 – 2
13, K. Fraine 84′, Yellow Card at 84 minutes
22, L. Doran-Barr substituted for L. Tweedie at 89 minutes
24, T. Bowie
6, L. Eddie substituted for S. Leishman at 78 minutes
17,J. Murray (c), Captain58′, Yellow Card at 58 minutes
S. Hunter 92′, substituted for S. Hunter at 92 minutes
33, P. Lawson
16, E. Notley
8, M. McAlonie
5, J. Baucom
29, K. Morrison substituted for A. Ferguson at 78 minutes
27, N. Powell
Subs:
2, S. Leishman
4, S. Hunter
7, A. Ferguson
10, S. McGregor
15, L. Tweedie
23, R. Boyle
36, A. Nevin
44, N. Wilson
56, C. Erhabor
Assists:
Ref:
Att: ~7000
Articles
- Match Report (see below)
Pictures
Match Links
Stats
Overall Possession
Celtic 58.2%
Hibernian 41.8%
Shots
Celtic 19
Hibernian 6
Shots on target
Celtic 5
Hibernian 2
Shots off target
Celtic 7
Hibernian 4
Blocked shots
Celtic 7
Hibernian 0
Goalkeeper saves
Celtic 2
Hibernian 4
Fouls
Celtic 9
Hibernian 4
Corners
Celtic 8
Hibernian 4
Articles
Celtic clinch SWPL title amid final day drama as 90th minute winner breaks Rangers hearts
https://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/celtic/celtic-clinch-swpl-title-amid-final-day-drama-as-90th-minute-winner-breaks-rangers-hearts-4634379
By Angus Wright
Published 19th May 2024, 20:58 BST
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SWPL season goes down to wire as Celtic come out on top
Elena Sadiku praised her Celtic side’s persistence after they secured their first-ever Scottish Women’s Premier League title with a dramatic late winner against Hibernian on the final day of the season.
Rangers looked on course to secure glory as they eased towards a 4-0 win over Partick Thistle, while the Hoops were struggling to find a breakthrough against Hibs at Celtic Park.
But Amy Gallacher popped up with a 90th-minute goal for Celtic to ensure an historic 1-0 triumph for Sadiku’s team, who finished ahead of Rangers on goal difference to complete a historic league double for the men’s and women’s sides.
Celtic’s Amy Gallacher celebrates with the SWPL Trophy. (Photo by Ross MacDonald / SNS Group)
Celtic’s Amy Gallacher celebrates with the SWPL Trophy. (Photo by Ross MacDonald / SNS Group)
“This is a moment I will never forget,” said the Celtic head coach. “I’m very happy and so proud of the players. They deserve it so much. We never stop, we never stop. We really tried all the time and that’s why I’m so proud.”
Sadiku was appointed by Celtic in January following the departure of Fran Alonso to Houston Dash. The Swede is excited about the prospect of overseeing more success in Glasgow.
“I’ve been here for five months but it already feels like home,” she said. “This is a new start because I believe that as a club we can take steps forward.
“We’ve started really well but we can keep building. I’m so excited to celebrate this title and to plan for the future as well.”
Rangers still have the chance to end the season with silverware when they face Hearts in the Women’s Scottish Cup final on Sunday.
Manager Joe Potter said: “Over the course of the season we’ve dropped points where we shoudn’t have but on the whole the girls have been outstanding. We’ve definitely got something to build on.”
History Makers! Celtic FC Women are the Champions of Scotland
Women’s Football
By Celtic Football Club
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19 May 2024, 4:05 pm
On a momentous day at Paradise, the Celtic FC Women’s team clinched the SWPL title for the first time in the club’s history.
A dramatic 1-0 victory over Hibernian, courtesy of a last-gasp Amy Gallacher goal, in front of over 7,000 jubilant fans at Celtic Park was enough to confirm Elena Sadiku’s side as the Scottish Champions.
It has been an incredible journey for this Celtic team, who have written their own place into Celtic’s long and illustrious history with this title triumph.
The result against Hibernian sees the Hoops finish top of the SWPL table, with a superior goal difference to their nearest rivals, Rangers.
After 32 games, Celtic have won 26, drawn four and lost just twice, and in the process the Hoops scored 126 goals and conceded just 18.
Elena Sadiku’s side have been in impressive form, and remained unbeaten following the league split, with eight wins and two draws. It is that consistency which has delivered the title to Paradise.
Today’s historic success caps a wonderful weekend for Celtic, with the men’s team lifting the league trophy on Saturday.
And it means that, for the first time in Scottish football, both the women’s and the men’s league trophies have been won by the same club in the same season.
The Hoops supporters sing about knowing the history… Elena Sadiku’s Celtic FC Women’s team have now written a new verse!
From ‘dark days’ to ‘dominance’ – how Sadiku shifted Celtic mindset
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/c2jjly32dd7o
Elena Sadiku
Elena Sadiku is an SWPL-winning manager four months after joining Celtic
Amy Canavan
BBC Sport Scotland at Celtic Park
Published
19 May 2024
“I was calm until we scored the goal… that’s when I went loca.”
Elena Sadiku must have been one of few inside Celtic Park who were calm at any point on Sunday, but she was part of the crowd when the cauldron went crazy.
Amy Gallacher’s 90th-minute strike triggered triumph and released relief as the SWPL trophy was draped in green and white for the first time.
Up until euphoria erupted, it was a bit of a slog in the sun for Sadiku’s side.
That’s rarely been the case in the Swede’s 15 league games since taking over from Fran Alonso in January – the first, a 1-0 defeat by Glasgow City, though it’s the only blotch on an otherwise remarkable report card.
That loss left Celtic six points behind leaders Rangers and staring at another season where the title would evade them.
But, as the head coach says, “by changing the mindset from being underdogs to dominating”, Celtic finally got their hands on the one they wanted most – and they have no intention of letting it go.
Last season Celtic could smell it. The trophy-lift plinth was pitch-side, the cooler with the champagne tucked in the tunnel and the t-shirts spelling out their success stored.
That all had to be pulled and piled into a dark corridor while the players remained rooted to the Parkhead turf unable to comprehend what unfolded at Ibrox to leave Glasgow City champions. It ignited a feeling that was hard to shift throughout this season.
“Something always means more when you know what the opposite feels like and we certainly felt the opposite of it last year,” defender Caitlin Hayes told BBC Alba.
“There were some dark days in this camp. We knew we never wanted to feel like that again and that was fuel for today.”
Celtic lift the SWPL trophy
IMAGE SOURCE,SNS
Image caption,
The SWPL trophy has been added to the Celtic cabinet
As time ticked on, it seemed nothing was left in the tank. That Celtic had run out of ideas and consigned to suffer heartache – this time to Rangers – again.
Only once under Sadiku’s stewardship in the league had her side failed to score, a 0-0 draw against their arch-rivals.
And it was their potency that enabled Sadiku’s trust in her team to find the net when it mattered most.
“I know we create chances, we’ve been doing it since I came here,” she said.
“I was running up and down, but in my head I knew we needed to be ready for the final minutes.
“When you play for Celtic you need to change the mindset that you are going to dominate no matter what.
“That’s been the main thing since the split, changing the mindset that we are not the underdogs we are here to dominate.”
‘I came here to do something good… I think I managed it pretty well’
A 14-game unbeaten run in the division, crucially including the 10 post-split games, had Celtic placed perfectly for a party.
With 125 goals scored and 25 games won, hopping over the Hibernian hurdle was largely expected.
And while plenty plaudits must go in the way of Grant Scott’s side, and particularly Joelle Murray’s marvellous performance in her final game for Hibs, Celtic failed to reach the dizzying heights they have set under the Swede.
Just on Wednesday night against Hearts, the first-half performance was dubbed “incredible” by the head coach. The fluency and flamboyancy, swagger and style was there in abundance. The only thing in abundance on Sunday was nerves.
Skewed shots, forced finishes and impatient play were apparent. While Sadiku perhaps had not seen this film before, the players were on a re-run.
Gallacher admitted she was “worried”, while captain Kelly Clark who has spent over a decade at the club, said she “doubted it in the last five minutes”.
That’s the mentality Sadiku is in the process of squashing out, though. She’s succeeded so far in dispelling it, which is why Clark added she “probably shouldn’t have doubted”, but it’s about how Celtic kick on from here.
Not quite yet, though. That’s a job for the summer and now is a time for jubilation.
In her assignments so far, Sadiku has succeeded, or as she put it: “I came here to do something good and I think I managed it pretty well.”
Amy Gallacher fires Celts to title with last-gasp winner at Paradise
https://www.celticfc.com/news/2024/may/19/amy-gallacher-fires-celts-to-title-with-last-gasp-winner-at-paradise/
Women’s Football
By Paul Cuddihy, Celtic View Editor
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19 May 2024, 4:41 pm
SWPL
Sunday, May 19, 2024
Celtic Park
CELTIC… 1
(Gallacher 89)
HIBERNIAN… 0
Paradise was still echoing with the sounds of Celtic celebrations from 24 hours previously, but the thousands of supporters who gathered in the stadium on Sunday afternoon reinvigorated those sounds with their own songs as they celebrated a historic moment for the club.
The dramatic 1-0 victory over Hibernian, courtesy of a last-minute goal from Amy Gallacher, confirmed Celtic as the SWPL champions for the first time in the club’s history, with the scenes of celebration mirrored on and off the park.
Elena Sadiku’s Celtic FC Women’s side are worthy champions, and they secured the title in dramatic style, and on a fitting stage too.
Celtic started the first-half in a positive manner, with Lucy Ashworth-Clifford looking dangerous down the left flank, and they carved out a couple of half-chances in the opening 10 minutes, including a Caitlin Hayes header from a corner which went wide.
However, in the 13 minute it was Hibs who almost took the lead when Jorian Baucom hit the bar, and that sparked a spell of sustained pressure from the visitors.
That culminated with a Kirsty Morrison shot on 24 minutes which produced a stunning fingertip save from Kelsey Daugherty to deny the Hibs player.
The Edinburgh side continued to carve out opportunities, and on the half-hour mark Baucom was put through on goal but she put her effort wide of the target.
The Hoops almost took the lead five minutes later when the Hibs keeper failed to hold a Murphy Agnew cross but the ball went out for a corner.
And with six minutes of the half remaining, Agnew smashed a left-foot shot from the 18-yard line which crashed off the crossbar.
Within two minutes of the restart, Celtic had a strong claim for a penalty when Agnew was brought down inside the box, but the referee waved away the claims.
Elena Sadiku’s side were pressing forward in search of that vital breakthrough, and on 53 minutes captain Kelly Clark came close with a volley after Caitlin Hayes had headed the ball back into the middle of the area, but her shot went over.
Hibs were offering less of an attacking threat in this half, and the next chance came on 59 minutes when Tash Flint had a powerful left-foot shot which was tipped over the bar.
And two minutes later, the Celtic striker had another chance when she was the first to react after Chloe Craig had challenged the keeper, but her lob went over the bar.
On 67 minutes, Hayes had a header blocked by the keeper at the back post, while five minutes later, Natalie Ross tried her luck from 25 yards out, but it was straight at the keeper.
But just when it looked as though the title might slip away from Celtic, top goalscorer Amy Gallacher stepped up and fired home the winner, fashioning enough space inside the box to fire home.
It sparked scenes of jubilation inside the stadium, and a few more nervy minutes before the final whistle signaled that Celtic FC Women had become the SWPL champions for the first time in the club’s history.
Celtic: Daugherty, Hayes, Clark, Craig, Barclais (Shen Menglu 86′), Gallacher, Shen Mengyu, Ross (Cavanagh 80′), Ashworth-Clifford, Agnew (Loferski 69′), Flint
Subs: Logan, Cummings, Robertson, Smith, Cavanagh, Loferski, Shen Menglu, Goldie, McAneny
Hibernian: Fraine, Lawson, Murray (Hunter 92′), Eddie (Leishman 78′), Doran-Barr (Tweedie 89′), Notley, Powell, McAlonie, Bowie, Morrison (Ferguson 78′), Baucom
Subs: Leishman, Hunter, Ferguson, McGregor, Tweedie, Boyle, Nevin, Wilson, Erhabor
A message from Celtic FC Women’s Head Coach and Captain
https://www.celticfc.com/news/2024/may/19/a-message-from-celtic-fc-women-s-head-coach-and-captain/
Women’s Football
By Celtic Football Club
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19 May 2024, 5:30 pm
Celtic FC Women’s team have created history by winning the SWPL title for the first time in the club’s history.
Head Coach, Elena Sadiku and captain, Kelly Clark have both thanked the Celtic support for their backing of the squad throughout this monumental campaign.
ELENA SADIKU
This is a historic day for Celtic, for the Women’s team and for women’s football in Scotland, and we are all absolutely delighted to have won the SWPL title – the first ever league success for this club.
Winning a league title is the most difficult thing to do in football, having to face so many challenges in the course of a season, but come the end of the campaign, the team that finishes top of the table can rightly claim to be the best in the country – and Celtic are the best team in Scotland!
This historic achievement is the result of so much hard work from everyone at the club, and it is something we can all enjoy and celebrate because it is a collective effort.
The players have been incredible from the moment I arrived at Celtic and they should be very proud of what they have done.
They work hard every single day in order to improve, as individuals and as a team, and they have shown a real willingness to learn and to implement what it was we wanted to do. Today, they have got their reward for everything they have put in to this season.
All of the staff here also deserve enormous credit for their part in this title triumph because they, too, dedicate all their time and efforts into ensuring we can be the best version of ourselves.
I want to thank all of them – the players and staff – who welcomed me to the club and embraced this journey we are on.
Together, we have achieved something special – something historic – for Celtic Football Club, and I know it is only the beginning for this team.
I also want to thank the wonderful Celtic supporters, who give the players such incredible backing every single week. This is your triumph as much as it is ours, so let’s all enjoy it together!
Elena Sadiku
Head Coach
Celtic Football Club
KELLY CLARK
This is a moment that we have all dreamt of, and something that we have worked so hard to achieve, so to have won the league title for the first time in Celtic’s history is a proud moment for the club and for all of us who are part of this incredible team.
I have been at Celtic for over 11 years now, and I love playing for this club. Our women’s team has come a long way over the past few years and we’ve enjoyed previous trophy success in both the League Cup and the Scottish Cup, while also competing in the Champions League.
However, winning the league has always been the target, and it feels amazing to have managed to become the Scottish champions.
Last year, we experienced the heartache of coming so close to winning the title, only to lose it in the last few seconds of the season, but it’s credit to all of the players and the staff that we have been able to bounce back from that disappointment and come out on top this time around.
I know how hard all the girls work every day on the training ground in order for us to be the team we are, and our brilliant coaching staff, too. I want to thank them for everything they do for us.
This has also been a joint triumph in terms of our manager – Fran did a great job for us, not only in the first part of this season but throughout his time at the club, while Elena has been brilliant for the team since she came back in January and we’ve loved working with her to achieve our goals.
And I think it’s fitting that this league title – the first ever for the Celtic FC Women’s team – has been won here at Celtic Park.
This is a special stadium which has seen so many great moments over the years in the men’s game.
We’re writing our own history in the women’s game, and doing so at Celtic Park in front of our amazing supporters, who deserve just as much praise and credit for this achievement as anyone.
When I was growing up, all I wanted to do was play football, and I have been lucky enough to do that and play for this wonderful club.
If anyone had told me all those years ago that I would become the first captain to lift the league title for Celtic’s women’s team, I don’t think I would have believed them.
So it is a special moment for all of the team, but more than that, it is a special moment for the women’s game and for all the young girls who support Celtic, many of whom come along to all our games and give us brilliant support.
They can see what is possible and what can be achieved as a footballer, and hopefully some of them in the future will also get the chance to pull on the green and white Hoops and win more league titles for Celtic.
Kelly Clark
Captain
Celtic Football Club
BBC
Amy Canavan
BBC Sport Scotland at Celtic Park
Celtic won their first SWPL title after an extraordinary finish to an agonising final game of the season against Hibernian.
Level on points with Rangers – and with a +16 goal difference – Elena Sadiku’s side knew a win would seal their maiden league success having missed out in the final seconds last term.
“When you play for Celtic you need to change the mindset that you are going to dominate no matter what,” the Swede said. “That’s been the main thing since the split, changing the mindset that we are not the underdogs we are here to dominate.
But as Rangers were cruising across the city against Partick Thistle, the previously free-scoring hosts missed chance after chance at Celtic Park.
“It felt like we were rushing and getting stressed,” Sadiku added. “I know we create chances, we’ve been doing it since I came here and we got it in the end.”
Then, as the clocked ticked into the 90th minute, Amy Gallacher finally forced them in front after some penalty-box pinball ended with her 25th, and most historic, goal of a stellar league season.
That sparked bedlam in the stands and left Rangers distraught, but Jo Potter’s side must pick themselves up for next week’s Scottish Cup final where they can secure the domestic cup double against Hearts.
The six games that underpinned Celtic’s debut title
Published
2 hours ago
Keep up to date with Scottish women’s football
Podcast: Behind the Goals with Rachel and Leanne
No matter how hard they would’ve tried, Celtic could not escape the pre-match noise and pressure to deliver this title. Early doors, it appeared to get to them.
Jorian Baucom smacked the crossbar before dragging a shot agonisingly wide, while Kirsty Morrison tested Kelsey Daugherty with a teasing effort.
When the news of Rangers’ lead across the city reached the east end, there was an increase in anxious urgency. Balls were booted, shots smashed and angst apparent.
Tash Flint was left frustrated with her end product, while Murphy Agnew clipped the crossbar in Celtic’s best chance before the break.
After the interval, it was an avalanche of attack from the hosts.
But Katie Fraine appeared unflappable between the sticks and Joelle Murray, on her 507th and final appearance for the club, did everything to protect her goal before she received a guard of honour as she exited the pitch for a final time.
As the seconds ticked away, the substitutions rolled on and the desperation grew in the 7,000-odd strong crowd, it seemed heartache was on the cards once more after Glasgow City snatched the title late on last term.
But then Gallacher found an inch in the box, as she has done so so many times this season and the rest as they say, is history.
The Scotland international weaved her way round a congested Hibs defence before tucking home an incredulous winner that prompted a party inside Parkhead.
Player of the match – Amy Gallacher (Celtic)
Media caption,
It was arguably one of Amy Gallacher’s quieter matches in a season where she has starred, but when it mattered, the 25-year-old was in the right place at the right time to etch her name in the history books.
Calmness prevails through the chaos – analysis
Where to begin? Probably best starting with the end, in truth, because what an ending it was.
For 89 minutes, Celtic were skittish and passed the ball around like a game of hot potato and lacked any shade of potency that’s been synonymous with the side.
There was no magical moment that even felt like a ‘what if’ scenario, they simply didn’t create the chance.
Until Gallacher did, that is. And it was completely crafted by creative midfielder.
Her never-say-die attitude to remain alert when the initial chance appeared gone, was the sign of a champion. Calm and composed.
It takes one to know one, and she – and her team-mates – were long frustrated by a serial winner.
Murray bowed out with one of her most impressive performances of the campaign in the heart of a busy Hibs defence. So much so, you’d be forgiven for wonder why she is retiring.
With two league titles, seven Scottish Cups and five League Cups, Gallacher and co will do well to rack up Murray’s tally of medals, but this is the one they wanted.
The hurt of last season was still on show up until the final minute, but now that barrier has been bashed down, in the most dramatic of fashion.
What they said
Media caption,
Celtic head coach Elena Sadiku: “I was running up and down but in my head I knew we needed to be ready for the final minutes. I felt a big relief, you can see the players also going crazy.
“I’m happy that they welcomed me with open arms, listened to me and I think we work together really well.”
Celtic captain Kelly Clark: “We’ve been talking about it for weeks now, it’s consumed our lives. We’ve given a lot to the club, the group is brilliant and we’ve talked about how much it would mean to do it for the group.
“It’s a moment I’ve thought about it for so long. I’m getting a bit older, I was panicking a little bit but to do it at Celtic Park, for Amy Gallacher to get the goal, it’s just unbelievable.”
Caitlin Hayes celebrates Celtic’s dramatic first league title after last-gasp winner
Irish Independent
Story by Sean O’Connor • 10h • 4 min read
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/sport/football/caitlin-hayes-celebrates-celtic-s-dramatic-first-league-title-after-last-gasp-winner/ar-BB1mFTJ0
It was a day to remember for Caitlin Hayes as the Ireland defender helped Celtic to a dramatic SWPL title for the first time in the club’s history.
Only three points would do for the Parkhead side going into the final day against Hibernian, and the title looked to be on its way to Rangers until a last-minute winner from Amy Gallacher saw all hell break loose at Celtic Park as history was made.
It’s also the first time that both the men’s and women’s teams from the same Scottish club have won the title in the same campaign, after Ireland pair Adam Idah and Liam Scales lifted the Premiership with Brendan Rodgers side yesterday.
Having missed out on the crown last season by just two points, Hayes (28) explained how her and her teammates were desperate to make sure they didn’t experience that hurt again.
“We were unfortunate last year to experience such a dark time. We promised each other at the end of the season that we wouldn’t go there again and today we were on the opposite side,” said Hayes, who has won 10 Irish caps since her debut against Northern Ireland last September. “It feels far better and far greater. Ultimately, it’s where the badge deserves to be, on top.”
Asked about the fact that her side were just seconds away from losing the title to their Glasgow rivals, Hayes said “I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t aware of the clock!
“But at the end of the day, I know this team never gives up. We always keep going until the last minute and never stop. It doest matter whether we are on the field training or here in Celtic Park, we took the opportunity and got the reward.
“Everybody has had their role to play. Without everyone playing their roles and doing it perfectly, you don’t get the opportunity to win. It’s a credit to everyone at this club. Long may it continue.”
“It’s out of this world. I think it feels more special because it’s been such a long journey,” Hayes continued, having also won Celtic’s Player of the Year for 2024 and 2023.
“Something always means more when you know what the opposite feels like and we certainly felt the opposite of it last year. There were some dark days in this camp. We knew we never wanted to feel like that again and that was fuel for today.”
Meanwhile, Brentford centre-half Nathan Collins will hope to make a speedy recovery for Ireland’s two friendlies next month after missing the final day of the season with a knee injury.
The 23-year-old has been an ever-present in Thomas Frank’s side throughout this campaign but played no part in Sunday’s 4-2 home defeat to Newcastle which saw the Bees finish the season in 16th.
“Nathan has a minor knee injury from the Bournemouth game. It’s not big, but (it) does rule him out today,” said Frank.
The Leixlip native will hope to be back fit in time for Ireland’s upcoming window, which will see John O’Shea’s side host Hungary in the Aviva Stadium on June 4, before they take on Portugal away on June 11, the final outings before the Nations League campaign gets under way at home to England in September.
Elsewhere, Josh Cullen and Dara O’Shea concluded the Premier League season with a 2-1 defeat at home to Nottingham Forest, with Cullen netting his side’s only goal of the game. The Clarets now drop to the Championship.
Despite a difficult campaign which saw the club finish in 19th, the Ireland pair did come in for praise from manager Vincent Kompany following the final game of the season.
“Cullen and O’Shea, for example, have risen as the season has gone on this year and new leaders will come through,” he said.
Ireland winger Chiedozie Ogbene also started in Luton Town’s final game of the season, a 4-2 home defeat to Fulham, with the Hatters also dropping down to the Championship after one season in the top flight.
Ireland skipper Seámus Coleman captained Everton in their final day defeat at Arsenal, as the Donegal man considers his future at Goodison Park having been offered a new contract to remain at the club he originally joined from Sligo Rovers in 2009. Earlier this week the defender did hint at staying on at the club, admitting “this football club means everything to me. As I said before when I signed my last contract, it is hard to walk away from something you love.”
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