Spartans boss hopes club legend Rachel Harrison can replicate stunning display against Celtic

Rachel Harrison put in “one of the best goalkeeping performances” manager Debbi McCulloch had seen in their cup victory against Celtic last October. Now the Glaswegian giants return to Edinburgh for revenge and Spartans hope that the performance can be replicated.

Harrison made some outstanding saves as the Edinburgh side dumped Celtic out of the SWPL Cup the last time the two teams met. The Glaswegians led for the majority of the game until Louise Mason equalised in the 90th minute with the side preceding to win on penalties. However, the Hoops come into this game on good form, sitting second in the league and recently ended Hearts unbeaten run at home.

“We know they will be coming for us”, McCulloch told the Edinburgh Evening News. “The last time we played them, obviously, it was a fantastic historic win for us. That will give us belief. However, we are under no illusions and try to absolutely batter us. Defensively we will have to be extremely strong, but also concentrate on putting the ball in their net too.

“It was one of the best goalkeeping performances I have ever seen in my coaching career. We will be looking for something similar in every single position. If we can replicate that, it will take us somewhere positive on Wednesday.”

Rachel Harrison was the first Spartans player to become a double centurion in 2021. Credit: Malcolm Mackenzie

Spartans are one of only two teams this season to beat Celtic and are one of only three to score past them in all competitions. Harrison insists Spartans go into every game believing they can get three points.

“We know it’s going to be a difficult game and we know Celtic are going to have quite a lot of possession,” she said. “But we have already beaten them this season. We go into every game believing that we can win. We need to keep that momentum going forward.

“We’ve had a good run of results over the past few weeks so we are going to go in with confidence. We go into every game thinking that we can win otherwise there is no point in us turning up.”

The Edinburgh side go into the game on good form. They are unbeaten in their last three games, which includes a brilliant 2-1 away win to rivals Hibs. Sunday’s 1-0 win against Hamilton propelled Spartans into the top half, a long-term aspiration as they aim to remain sixth before the league split in March. Now that only five games remain before the SWPL’s split, form has come at the right time for McCulloch’s side.

“We obviously have a round of fixtures to come on Wednesday night”, McCulloch added. “With us out of the cup, it gives us an opportunity to rest and recover which is really important in this league. Again it gives us more chance to focus on the games leading up to the split. We know where we want to be and we know it’s going to be a challenge. We have got seven points out of a possible nine and only conceded one goal, that’s a real positive.”