Video: Cross or shot? Celtic FC Women star Warrington scores wonder-goal in pre-season

By Euan Davidson

July 23, 2021

It’s undoubtedly an exciting time to follow the Celtic Women team. After a season with an extremely competitive title race, Champions League qualification and new household names emerging, Alonso’s side are building on a solid foundation.

They’re bringing in international players, like María Catharina Ólafsdóttir Gros and Shen Mengyu, the UK’s first professional Chinese women’s footballer. That’s exciting enough, but now Celtic players are scoring absolute worldies in pre-season. And they might not even mean to be.

Just look at this finish from Chloe Warrington. She picks up the ball on the left flank, just outside the box. A perfect crossing opportunity, you might think. But no, Warrington skilfully scoops the ball over the Sunderland goalkeeper.

It’s beautiful. What’s more, she meant it.

Right?

The club themselves aren’t entirely sure. They’ve left it for Twitter to decide, and we thought we’d help expedite the process.

For me, it’s a shot. There’s not much curve on the ball, and it’s propped up at a beautiful height to beat the keeper. Also, there’s nothing in the way the ball is kicked to suggest she’s sliced it, if you ask me. It’s a strike. No? It has to be, look at it.

But, ah: was it? If Warrington was aiming for the back post, it would kind of make sense. Celtic clearly have two strikers lining up to nod it in, something we saw a lot of last season. There’s no doubting the crossing prowess of the Ghirls midfield. Fran Alonso likes his side to get balls into the box, as shown by several shellackings handed out to teams across the SWPL. So maybe it is a mistake.

But then…

Warrington absolutely meant it, as she helps Celtic FC Women build on an impressive SWPL campaign

If Warrington is going to insist on scoring debatable worldies, the time to do it would be against Levante. The Celtic FC Women face the Spanish side in their first ever Champions League qualifying game, on the 18th of August [Celtic FC Women].

In a somewhat convoluted qualification process, Alonso’s side have to come through a mini-tournament before they reach the next stage of qualification.

However complicated it is, you can follow all of it. The UEFA Women’s Champions League is being broadcast for free on YouTube.

Then, league action starts in early September [Celtic FC Women], with newly-promoted Aberdeen visiting the Penny Cars Stadium for the SWPL1 opener.

It’s all stations go for the Women’s team. And if Warrington is capable of beating goalkeepers from that range, then we’ve plenty to be excited about.

Even if it wasn’t on purpose.

But it was, though.

In other news: Who is the 23-year-old midfielder being recommended by Emilio Izaguirre?