Motherwell were blown away as Celtic racked up four first-half goals and a further four in the second half to clinch a dominant victory at K-Park.
A Clarissa Larisey double, with further strikes from Caitlin Hayes, Chloe Craig, Jacynta and Lucy Ashworth-Clifford sealed a disappointing evening for the women of steel.
Celtic looked to impose themselves in the early stages, with Motherwell soaking up much of the early pressure deep into their own half.
Taylor Otto latched onto Gill Inglis’ misplaced pass deep into Motherwell territory before teeing up Larisey at the edge of the box, but the strikers curling effort was superbly denied by Emily Mutch in the Motherwell goal.
The visitors continued to dominate much of the ball and almost netted the opener midway through the first half. Tegan Bowie’s chipped through ball left Larisey free to race through on goal, but another exceptional reaction save from Mutch kept the scoreline intact.
However, Celtic finally found the breakthrough from the resulting corner kick. Ashworth-Clifford’s floated corner kick sailed invitingly into the path of Hayes, who powered her header into the top-right corner beyond the reach of Mutch.
Fran Alonso’s side soon doubled their advantage less than a minute later. Liv Chance worked her way into the box before drilling her strike across the face of goal, but despite being denied on three occasions by Mutch, Larisey was on hand to convert at the back post.
Motherwell boss, Paul Brownlie was sent to the stands in the immediate aftermath after being shown a straight red card for questioning the referee’s decision to allow the goal despite Larisey netting from an offside position.
As the half time whistle loomed, Celtic added a third. Ashworth-Clifford’s delivery fell kindly to Larisey in the box, and the striker coolly picked out the corner from close range.
Seconds from half time, it was four. Ashworth-Clifford’s cross continued to cause the Motherwell defence problems, and Hayes was on hand to net her second of the afternoon.
As the second half resumed, Celtic added their fifth on the hour mark. Ashworth-Clifford’s corner kick again caught out the Motherwell defence, and substitute Craig prodded home from a few yards out.
A terrible collision in the box forced goalkeeper Emily Mutch off midway through the second half, with substitute and academy graduate Skye Johnston making her senior debut.
Celtic continued to threaten the Motherwell penalty area, and quickly found their sixth of the afternoon. Substitute Jacynta worked her way into the box before dispatching her effort into the bottom left corner.
With less than 15 minutes remaining, the visitors had seven. Chance’s low cross fell to the feet of Jacynta who converted for her second of the game.
With the final few seconds ticking away, Ashworth-Clifford fired into the top-right corner to seal a disappointing evening for the women of steel.
