With a thrilling victory against rivals Celtic, Rangers guaranteed their place in the Sky Sports Cup final.
In front of divided and impassioned supporters, a crazy cup tie resulted in three penalties and a victory at stoppage time.
Chloe Craig scored a penalty kick following a handball against Kathryn Hill to give Celtic an unexpected lead in the second half.
Shortly after, though, the Rangers defender made up for her mistake as she forced over the line following a stramash in the box.
Ten minutes from time, Rio Hardy cut back for Kirsty Maclean, who coolly tapped into the bottom corner to give Rangers a one-sided lead.
Despite TV replays indicating Tessel Middag had more than a fair touch on the ball, Celtic was awarded a second penalty with one minute remaining. This time, Middag was found to have fouled in the box. Craig leveled again without error.
After 95 minutes, though, Rangers would get the final laugh as they sealed the victory with a penalty of their own. After Hardy was taken down in the box by Caitlin Hayes, the Rangers striker scored to seal the victory and advance her team to the championship.
There were always going to be two outcomes for Elena Sadiku, the new Celtic manager.
Either a heartbreaking loss, or a great victory in her dugout debut against rivals Rangers.
But nobody could have predicted such a tough loss, especially since the losing goal came with just seconds remaining in extra time.
Sadiku still has the goal of becoming the Celtic Queen of Queens, but as the Excelsior showed, there will inevitably be obstacles in her path.
Rangers complete the task.
Rangers’ 12 goals in their previous two games made it inevitable that they would score.
The relatively blatant attack, as Jo Potter’s team tried to establish a winning edge, was maybe less expected.
The outstanding Kelsey Daugherty and the Celtic defense let up several chances and blocked others.
Crucially, though, Rangers managed to find a way. Hill forced the issue first, and Maclean had a fantastic finish after that.
And Hardy made no mistakes at all when it came to the critical moment.
Amazingly entertaining
A thrilling rivalry, three penalties, and end-to-end play without VAR all seem like a recipe for a good time.
Fortunately, Rangers defeated Celtic in an incredible 97 minutes of play at the Excelsior in the Sky Sports Cup.
With BBC Alba broadcasting the match live, there was a healthy dose of nervousness, quality, and questionable judgments all coming together to make for a fantastic advertisement for women’s football in Scotland.
An amazing cup tie was just another way to show that the product exists because our women’s game doesn’t get the attention it deserves.
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