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CELTIC bowed out of their maiden Women’s Champions League group campaign without a point as Twente won comfortably in Enschede.
Kayleigh van Dooren fired a deflected effort on to the crossbar before turning in Twente’s opener with a powerful left-footed shot.
Danique van Ginkel netted from an offside position soon after but Twente kept pushing.
Goalkeeper Lisa Rodgers punched a swirling Van Dooren corner into her own net for the Dutch side’s second.
Natalie Ross turned another fierce corner past team-mate Rodgers as Celtic toiled towards half-time.
The visitors rallied after the break but could not claw back their hosts.
And a late Nikee van Dijk shot trickled wide of Rodgers’ goal.
Joran Pot’s Twente side finish with six points, six below Real Madrid and 12 off Group B winners Chelsea, who completed a 100% record with a 2-1 victory in Madrid despite Scotland international Caroline Weir’s opener for Real.
Twente are fourth in the Eredivisie and can force their way into next season’s Champions League qualifiers with a top-two finish.
Strong Twente start too much for Celtic
Competing in Group B was always going to be a tall order for Elena Sadiku’s side, with last season’s semi-finalists Chelsea as well as Real Madrid and Twente boasting more experience in the tournament.
Sadiku had hoped for “a great performance” in the final game and was proud of how her squad had “grown” during the campaign.
But Twente were also keen to finish with a flourish and had got the better of Celtic with a 2-0 win at New Douglas Park on matchday one.
Van Dooren in particular impressed in this second meeting of the teams and gave the Celtic defence a torrid time before coming off after 72 minutes.
Should Celtic return to the competition next season they will need to improve at both ends of the park, with only one goal scored and 17 conceded in their group stage debut.
They return to SWPL action on Sunday away to Spartans (13:00 GMT). Sadiku’s defending champions are fifth in the table, a point off Hibernian and five behind Hearts, but have a game in hand over Hibs and two games in hand over the top three.
What they said
Celtic captain Kelly Clark told Uefa: “It’s disappointing to end the campaign this way, but I’m proud of my team. We’ve shown what we’re capable of.
“We have a very young, inexperienced team, but we’re growing. We show such character in the second half and fight to come back. We really made it difficult for them. That’s something we need to remember.”
Twente captain Danique van Ginkel told Uefa: “This is the perfect way to end the campaign at home. We’ve finished third, taken six points and kept a clean sheet – that’s the cherry on top.
“We could have extended the score even further, but fatigue did play a part. Our matches against Chelsea and Real Madrid at home will stay with me. Twente can be proud of this campaign. We’ve shown that we’re a strong team.”
– bbcsport
A.I
Dec. 18, 2024
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