WOW! What an ending to the season. If SWPL Managing Director Fiona McIntyre could’ve scripted a dramatic conclusion to the top flight, being in a taxi en route to Celtic Park then changing direction to head five and a half miles towards Ibrox wouldn’t have been in her head.

The fact that Celtic Park and Ibrox themselves were hosting the critical final title deciding fixtures is a sign of how much exposure the Women’s game has come over the last five years. It’s not too long ago that Glasgow City were clinching titles at public parks (Leanne Crichton told this podcast about the 2019 success where they sealed the title with a 10-0 win over Motherwell at Wishaw Sports Centre). Yesterday, they claimed their 16th SWPL1 title at Ibrox.

Lauren Davidson’s 91st minute winner was akin to that of Sergio Aguero and Michael Thomas, snatching the title when it looked as if their hopes were about to fade away. Losing the title to Rangers, and ending a run of 14 consecutive SWPL1 successes, was tough for them to take, so to wrestle it back from them at the clubs natural home will, arguably, go down as their sweetest one yet, particularly when you take into account the money Rangers and Celtic have thrown into the Women’s game over the past three to four years. This years title is also another reminder never to write them off and they won’t go away quietly.

For Celtic, it’s a tough one for Fran Alonso and his girls to take. On 90 minutes, a first ever league title was theirs to add to a monumental cup double of last season. A minute later, it was snatched away from them. Then there was confusion. Celtic fans were celebrating what they thought was a Rangers goal (that’s strange in itself), only to find out that it was ruled out for a foul on City goalkeeper Lee Gibson. They put a lot into this title race and recognised the growth in the Women’s game to host their last two home matches at Celtic Park, with yesterdays 2-0 victory over Hearts attended by 15,822 spectators, a record for a club match in Scotland. They do have the consolation that they have Champions League football to look forward to next season and still have an opportunity of ending the season with silverware in Sundays Scottish Cup Final, and their time will come to become league champions, yesterday just wasn’t meant to be.

Rangers will be undoubtedly disappointed at losing their grip on the title that they lost a year ago, and missing out on another crack at the Champions League will be another bitter pill for Malky Thomson’s side to swallow. Losing it in front of an impressive crowd of just under 8500 and seeing City lift the trophy at Ibrox will have no doubt have rubbed more salt into the wounds. However, they can take comfort from another progressive season that’s saw them win the Sky Sports SWPL Cup for the first time in their history, and still have a chance of a historic Cup double as they look to see off Celtic in their first Scottish Cup Final.

There wasn’t much between the three sides in the final standings and their respective head-to-heads all ended on even terms (Glasgow City and Celtic two wins a piece, Glasgow City and Rangers one win a piece and two draws, and likewise in the Rangers v Celtic fixtures). In the end, Celtic’s goalless draw with Motherwell in January and Rangers two draws with Hearts in January and April respectively proved to be costly, whereas City didn’t drop any points to those outwith the top three (how crucial did Jenna Clark’s 95th minute winner over Motherwell way back on matchday two in August prove to be?). Those stats emphasise not only the gulf between the top three and the rest but how close those sides are.

In terms of the rest of the league, there were plenty of positives. Hearts improvement under Eva Olid was a standout as they finished ten points ahead of their city rivals Hibernian to be best of the rest. Given they’re relatively new to the women’s game, certainly in comparison to the Hibees who boast a proud history in being Glasgow City’s main competitors for trophies throughout the 2010’s, it’s a remarkable achievement as well as being unbeaten in the four Edinburgh derbies, three of which were played at either Easter Road or Tynecastle. Hibs, meanwhile, can look back on a campaign that saw them reach the Sky Sports League Cup Final, and will be entering a period of transition with Head Coach Dean Gibson stepping aside.

This season saw the introduction of the split, and it was Partick Thistle who grabbed that final top six spot on the final day before the split. It’s a remarkable achievement for a club who only gained promotion to the top flight at eleven days notice last year due to the unfortunate demise of Forfar Farmington. Manager Brian Graham, who combined his duties as striker for the men’s team with his managerial role, can be proud of the fact they saw off tough competition in Spartans and Motherwell to earn their right to sit at the top half of the table. Spartans can also look back with a great deal of pride with a strong ending to the season, winning nine and drawing one of the last ten games, and reaching a Cup Semi Final in the Sky Sports League Cup, whilst Motherwell can say they got to play at Hampden by reaching the Scottish Cup Semi Finals and competing well against Rangers before going down 2-0.

At the bottom, there was plenty of drama. Sadly not in terms of relegation as Glasgow Women lost all 32 games in their debut season in the top flight, an indication of how far behind they were compared to their more established opponents in the league. However, the battle to avoid the playoff against the SWPL2 runners up Gartcairn was an intriguing one that went to a last day shootout between newly promoted Dundee United and Hamilton Accies at Gussie Park. Despite losing a late goal, United got the point they needed to achieve their objective of the season in survival, whilst Hamilton face a nerve wracking 90 minutes to avoid the drop.

Despite finishing fifth in their first season after back-to-back promotions a year ago, it was a difficult campaign for Aberdeen, culminating in them parting company with Emma Hunter and Gavin Beath in November. Head of Youth Gavin Levy held the fort for the remainder of the season and did enough to keep them away from the dreaded 11th spot, but they’ll be looking for much better next season. They are signalling that intention with the announcement that they are looking for a full time manager to take the team forward, which can only benefit the club long term and signals their commitment to growing the women’s game in the Granite City.

There’s lots that the SWPL can be proud of this season as we saw more clubs open the doors of their main stadiums at least once during the campaign, and more people attending than ever before. Of course, there’s still work to do, and I’m sure Fiona McIntyre won’t stand still as she, along with her team at the league, will look to break down more barriers to continue the games growth. Those numbers this season prove there’s appetite for Women’s Football in Scotland and we need to keep driving that message forward.

And it’s not done yet!

This Sunday sees the Scottish Cup Final come to Hampden for the first time where Rangers meet Celtic. The signs are that this is going to be a well attended match with it falling on a bank holiday weekend and no clash with the mens sides. We will bring our preview show this Friday to look forward to a great showpiece event at the National Stadium, as well as an extensive review on an enthralling SWPL1 season that culminated in “Taxi Sunday!”