First Round Down, What Have we Learned?

The season has broken up for an international break with everyone in the top flight having played everyone once. Here are three headlines we've picked out from the action so far.

The dust has settled on the first round of SWPL 1 fixtures, with SWPL 2 just one game short. As everyone is on equal standing, and we are headed into an international break, we wanted to take a look at the headlines from the first few months.

The Gap isn’t Shrinking

This time last year Scottish women’s football circles were awash with conversation on whether the gap between the top five and the rest had grown. This is something we discussed here with the conclusion that while it had grown, it hadn’t by as much as the hysteria made it seem.

Now we are back, about 14 months later, and this time the outlook is less rosy. Despite investment in the summer by Aberdeen and Motherwell to move further towards their goal of full time football, continued development at both Partick Thistle and Montrose, and a restructure that was designed to help bridge the gap, it appears to be growing once again.

At the equivalent point last season (after round 11 when teams had played everyone once¹) there was a nine point gap between Celtic in fifth and Partick Thistle in sixth. Just two points further back, with a game in hand, were Motherwell in seventh. This year the gap between fifth and sixth is ten, which may not seem like a huge leap, but if we work it out as a percentage last season sixth place had 60% of the points total of fifth after playing everyone once. This season it drops to 47%.

The same trend can be seen in the goal difference average of the clubs in sixth to tenth. Last season they averaged -16.2, while this season it drops to -20.8. Scoring less, conceding more. There’s been a notable drop in performances in games against top five opposition this season.

Hopefully it is just a blip. The difficulty of adapting to a more full time set up, new teammates, or a new league structure causing some teething issues that will be a distant memory in six months. Whatever the reason, performances need to pick up between now and the end of the season - even if only for [insert team here]’s chances of securing a top six spot.

Can Anyone Stop City and Kilmarnock?

Only two teams remain unbeaten at this juncture, Glasgow City and Kilmarnock. Both scorned by last season, both having recorded just one draw amongst their mountain of wins, and both looking untouchable by their peers as they hunt down the SWPL 1 and 2 titles respectively.

In the final game before this break, they were both tasked with big six pointers against teams that could have leapfrogged them with a win. To continue the parallels between their seasons, they both won by a single goal (although it could, and maybe should, have been more).

Glasgow City have been relentless so far, and don’t look like stopping any time soon. The addition of Abi Harrison raised questions of where she would fit in with Kozlova and Whelan, but now looks like a masterstroke with her providing a focal point for City’s attack. Holding up the ball, distracting defenders, and allowing Kozlova, Whelan, Määttä (more on her later), and co. to thrive.

Now let’s talk about City’s flying Fin… Prior to this season Sofia Määttä had recorded 13 goals and five assists in 55 senior games (spanning time at Ilves, Umeå, and Glasgow City). In the 2025/26 season so far she has notched three goals and eight assists in 13 games, all three goals and four of the assists coming in the nine SWPL games so far. Her blistering pace, and ability to drive forward on the ball, were already a serious threat in City’s arsenal but she has developed her end product this season. A development that has her in serious contention as one of the SWPL’s most deadly.

On top of all the attacking prowess City have only conceded three goals so far. The core unit of Golob, Smit, and Gibson providing a solid base for the rest of the team to perform on (despite Golob’s propensity towards a DOGSO red card).

Meanwhile, Kilmarnock are dominating an SWPL 2 that saw three top flight teams added following the restructure, with all three determined to return to the top flight at the first ask. The young core of their team continue their development under Jim Chapman, adding further consistency and end product to their (already exciting) games. Alongside the experienced leadership throughout the squad, they have set themselves up with the perfect start as they push to return to SWPL 1 for the first time since 2012.

Celtic Big Game Hoodoo

By the time they travel to Ibrox on the 14th of November it will have been 454 days since Elena Sadiku’s side celebrated a win over top four opposition, and 608 days since their last win over their opposition on the day, Old Firm rivals Rangers. A run of 17 games winless against Hibernian, Glasgow City, and Rangers, and a dark cloud over the team that has refused to disperse this season.

In their opening games against the three sides they have managed just one point, at home against Hibernian. What will be worrying for Celtic fans is the continuation of the flat performances we have seen continually in these games. This is backed up by the underlying stats, although the last half an hour of the City game may give some hope for a turn in fortune.

So far in these games the expected goals balance sits at 3.44 xG for, and 4.67 against², with Celtic only creating more chances than their opponents on one occasion (the City game in round nine). While game aren’t won or lost on expected goals, it is a useful metric to judge whether a team has just hit some bad luck, bad finishing, goalkeeping errors, or if there is something deeper going on. In Celtic’s case, removing the 1.18xG created in the last 30 minutes against Glasgow City when they were already 2-0 down shows a clear issue with the tactics deployed in these games.

With Sadiku preferring a 4-1-4-1 formation so far, there has been difficulty for the lone defensive midfielder to influence the game in and out of possession. It’s often a cliche that big games are won and lost in the midfield battle; placing the burden of that battle on one player has given teams an easy pressing target to stop Celtic build up, and allowed them to too easily play through the Celtic midfield to find space in attacking areas. It has also been notable how reserved both full backs have been in these games, with the wingers also asked to drop deep to provide defensive cover. With just a lone forward deployed, they become easily isolated while their midfield are completing more passes in their own half than in attacking areas to connect with the striker.

But, there is some light in that last half an hour against Glasgow City. While game state may explain some of City’s drop off in aggressiveness, Celtic were much improved at both ends of the pitch as they ramped up the tempo and took the game to their opponents. The goal may have come from a calamitous defensive error, but it was the increase in pressing that put Glasgow City under that pressure.

1. At that time Celtic, Motherwell, Aberdeen, and Queen’s Park all had a game in hand.

2. Stats via Sofascore