Thistles too sharp for the Gems on Day 2 of Celtic Cup
8th November 2024
The Scotland Thistles recorded their first win of the Celtic Cup Friday evening defeating the Zimbabwe Gems 55-45 at Emirates Arena in Glasgow.
Both the Thistles and Gems matched goals through the opening six minutes until the home team were the first to string together back-to-back goals via some wonderful pressure through the midcourt defensively from Hannah Leighton. The Thistles continued to ratchet up the pressure and another burst of goals saw the home side take a hard-earned 17-8 lead into the quarter time break.
The second quarter was back and forth as the Gems matched the hosts goal for goal throughout the 15 minutes. The Gems active hands over ball made passing lanes difficult for the Thistles and the error rate from Scotland increased as a result. In the waning moments of the half Cerys Finn had her second interception of the quarter to re-establish a margin for the Thistles at the long break. 14-all in the quarter and 31-22 after 30 minutes of play.
The Thistles attacked the third quarter with an unchanged seven and stretched the margin out to 12 goals within the first six minutes. For the remainder of the quarter the teams exchanged goals with neither team scoring more than two straight. Kelly Boyle entered the fray at WA for the Thistles and the last two goals for the quarter went Scotland’s way for a 12-10 quarter and a 43-32 lead with 15 minutes remaining.
The Gems came out of the blocks quickly in the final quarter and trimmed the margin to 9 in the blink of an eye. The Thistles steadied through the term started to string together cohesive passages of play as they extended the lead out to 14. The Gems refused to go away quietly and spurred on by a singing band of loyal supporters they played the 60 minutes right out. 13-12 for the Gems in the last quarter was a testament to their play throughout.
Thistles Co-Captain Emily Nicholl was named player of the match for her efforts at GD.
Milestones: Thistles players Hannah Leighton and Iona Christian earned their 25th cap tonight. The two also made their debut together (Thistle #220 and #221). Coach Kath Tetley recorded her first victory at international level.
Day 3 action will see Wales play Zimbabwe at 2.00pm while Northern Ireland will battle with hosts Scotland at 4.00pm. The Saturday matches will determine the matches for Sunday and who will contest the first ever Celtic Cup Final.
All matches can be viewed on BBC iPlayer.
Lineups:
Zimbabwe: Thandazile Ndlovu (GS), Ursula Ndlovu (GA), Anifa Luya (WA), Nicole Muzanenamo (C), Zimusi Takadanaighe (WD), Felistus Kwangwa (GD), Elizabeth Mushore (GK), Sharon Bwanali, Chipo Shoko, Upenyu Myambo, Nobukhosi Ndlovu, Tafadzwa Mawango
Scotland: Emma Barrie (GS), Niamh McCall (GA), Iona Christian (WA – Co-Captain), Hannah Leighton (WD), Emily Nicholl (GD – Co-Captain), Cerys Finn (GK). Kelly Boyle, Emma Love, Anna Fairclough, Evie Watts, Charlotte Dunkley
Shooting statistics:
Scotland
Emma Barrie 24/31
Niamh McCall 31/35
Zimbabwe
Thandazile Ndlovu 36/39
Ursula Ndlovu 6/6
Sharon Bwanali 3/3
