Latest news with #KathleenMcGovern
BBC News
13 hours ago
- General
- BBC News
First Scotland goal 'hasn't sunk in yet' for McGovern
Hibs striker Kathleen McGovern hopes her maiden Scotland goal is the first of many after opening her account on just her second international start. The 22-year-old received her first senior call-up for the final Nations League games against Austria and Netherlands and started both under new manager Melissa Andreatta. The forward, who last month helped Hibs lift their first SWPL trophy in 18 years, scored the equaliser in the 1-1 draw away to the Dutch on Tuesday night as Scotland secured their first point."It's been nice to start both games, something I didn't really expect," McGovern said. "It's been a privilege this week and it was just great to see the ball hit the back of the net. I don't really think it's sunk in yet."It was a great delivery by Emma [Lawton], she knew exactly where to put it, and I was just so happy to see it hit the back of the net and get a great result for the team."It's been good to work with her [Andreatta], she's had so much belief in me. I've learned so much, especially from her, and the players I've been working with. I hope there's many more to come."I was flying on confidence when I first came in. To end the season at Hibs on such a high to then get the call-up was amazing to top off a great season."I came in and didn't want to put too much pressure on myself. I feel like that's what I did in training, just showed my ability, and I've been grateful to start the last two games."
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
England miss out on semis - how Nations League unfolded
England beat Spain 1-0 in the Nations League in February but lost 2-1 on Tuesday [Getty Images] The Women's Nations League group stage is now complete after an eventful final matchday. France and Germany had already booked their place in the semi-finals with games to spare, but there were still two spots up for grabs. Advertisement World champions Spain defeated European champions England 2-1 in Barcelona to secure their place on matchday six, while Sweden thrashed Denmark 6-1 to top Group 4 ahead of their opponents and Italy. Scotland and Wales played for pride after their relegations to League B were confirmed on Friday night, while in League B, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland were looking to secure second-placed finishes in their groups to claim spots in the promotion play-offs. BBC Sport reviews the campaign and looks at how England and Wales are preparing for this summer's Euros in Switzerland. What is the Women's Nations League? The league was launched in 2023, with the inaugural tournament offering qualification spots for the 2025 Women's European Championship. Advertisement Countries are placed into groups of three or four teams, across three different leagues, with promotion and relegation between the leagues depending on the match results. And there's a lot at stake. Teams are not only competing for the Nations League title but their finishing position will also determine where they start in the league system for the European qualifiers for the 2027 Women's World Cup. What happened in the group stages? Scotland had nothing but pride to play for when they travelled to the Netherlands to contest their sixth match in Group A1, but emerged with a respectable 1-1 draw. Advertisement New boss Melissa Andreatta's side fell to a 1-0 defeat at home to Austria on matchday five, which confirmed their relegation to the second tier of the competition. Kathleen McGovern cancelled out Jill Roord's opener on Tuesday to give Scotland their first and only point of the campaign. Germany thrashed the Netherlands 4-0 in Bremen last week to confirm their passage as group winners with a game to spare, before demolishing Austria 6-0 on Tuesday. France continued their flawless record in Group A2 by claiming a fifth victory from five games with a 4-0 demolition of Switzerland, before scoring two late goals to beat Iceland on Tuesday with Chelsea's Sandy Baltimore on target. [BBC Sport] England began their Group A3 campaign with an underwhelming 1-1 draw in Portugal, but claimed an impressive 1-0 win at Wembley over reigning world champions Spain. Advertisement The Lionesses, who will defend their European title this summer, beat Belgium 5-0 at Bristol City's Ashton Gate in April but then fell to a 3-2 defeat by the same side four days later. After the shock retirement of goalkeeper Mary Earps just five weeks out from the tournament in Switzerland, Sarina Wiegman's side thumped Portugal 6-0 at Wembley. That victory set up a shootout with Spain for a last-four spot, but the Lionesses lost 2-1 and finished second in the group. It was all to play for in Group A4, with three of the four sides still in contention. Sweden and Denmark were joint top on nine points before the games kicked off, but the Swedes won their matchday six meeting 6-1 to reach the next stage. Advertisement Italy won 4-1 in Wales to finish second in the table behind Sweden. Rhian Wilkinson's side finished the campaign winless, and were already relegated to League B with a 1-0 defeat in Denmark on Friday night. [BBC Sport] In Group B1, Poland were promoted to League A with a 4-0 win over second-placed Northern Ireland on Friday. But Tanya Oxtoby's NI side claimed a promotion play-off place with a 1-1 draw against Bosnia-Herzegovina in their last group game on Tuesday. Meanwhile, the promotion race in Group B2 went down to the final round of matches. Emily Murphy's 89th-minute winner against Turkey on Friday completed a remarkable comeback to keep the Republic of Ireland within three points of group leaders Slovenia. Advertisement Carla Ward's side welcomed Slovenia to Cork on Tuesday knowing a big win would clinch promotion to League A. But a 1-0 victory - thanks to Saoirse Noonan's strike - meant their opponents pipped them to top spot with a superior head-to-head goal difference. The Republic of Ireland will go into a promotion play-off instead. [BBC Sport] How does the league work? Teams were placed in each league based on their rankings at the end of the 2024 women's European qualifying league stage. The four League A group winners will meet in two-legged semi-finals. The winners go into the final to decide who takes the Nations League title, while the losers go into a third-place play-off. Both the final and the third-place tie will also be played over two legs. Advertisement The teams who finish fourth in each League A group will be relegated to League B, and the League B group winners will be promoted. Each group winner of League C will be promoted to League B, with the teams finishing at the bottom of League B, as well as two of the lowest ranked third-placed teams, dropping to League C. Spain won the inaugural Women's Nations League title in 2024. How can teams qualify for Women's World Cup? The group standings at the end of the Nations League determine which teams are placed in each league for the European qualifiers for the 2027 Women's World Cup. There will be another draw in November 2025 to decide the groups within the three leagues. Advertisement Teams who finish in the top two in each League A group stay in the top league for the World Cup qualifiers. The top four teams in League B will be promoted. Third-placed teams from League A will have to play the second-placed teams from League B to decide which four teams claim the final League A spots. At the end of the World Cup qualifiers, the four League A winners will qualify directly for the Women's World Cup. Other teams will be entered into the play-offs to claim the remaining spots. When are the finals fixtures? Finals Semi-finals (two legs): 22-28 October Final/third-place play-off (two legs): 26 November-2 December Promotion / relegation play-offs Two legs in October 2025, exact dates TBC The draws for the ties will be made on 6 June.
BBC News
a day ago
- General
- BBC News
Netherlands 1-1 Scotland: Analysis
Not that it was a high threshold, but that was Scotland's best performance by a mile against a top-tier side in a fair old a side who have had challenge after challenge thrown at them - particularly in the last 24 hours or so - there was an energy, enthusiasm and excitement about Andreatta asked for a fast start and she got it, until they conceded that early goal, of course. When she made a tactical change at half-time, she got a response. When she pushed on for a strong finish from the touchline, she saw it full-time, smiles were ear-to-ear, hugs were full and happiness palpable. It's been a long time since such feelings were promised to support young players upon her appointment and tonight it paid McGovern, 22, showed the qualities Scotland have craved from a number nine. Kirsty Maclean, 20, provided the perfect balance in midfield to the magic of Caroline Weir and Erin Cuthbert. Mia McAulay, 18, on her first start carried the Scots up the park with her was so much to like about the performance, attitude and application of a side who stared adversity in the early days in the Andreatta reign, but if this proves to be benchmark she says it is, then better days are ahead.
BBC News
a day ago
- General
- BBC News
'All eyes on 2027 World Cup'
Captain Caroline Weir says "all eyes are on the 2027 World Cup" after Scotland closed out a disappointing Nations League campaign with a 1-1 draw against the Netherlands. The Scots travelled to Tilburg already relegated from Nations League A, the top tier of the competition, following their 1-0 defeat to Austria at Hampden on Friday night. Despite conceding early, Kathleen McGovern's equaliser proved enough to snatch a promising point to the team ranked 10th in the world. "We're happy with that result," the midfielder said. "We did have chances to nick it, especially in the end, but the Netherlands also had chances. To come away from home and get a point, it's massive for us. "In the end it doesn't mean anything for this campaign but going forward it's huge. It gives us confidence, we set a new baseline there we need to run with it and push on."It's been a tough campaign, we always knew it was going to be tough, but we finished the campaign off very well tonight."We had some challenges getting here, some logistical things which I think makes it even more impressive. I'm really proud of the performance of the players, the staff. we gave it everything tonight and to come away with the draw we're really proud of that."It wasn't ideal preparation but these things happen. We stuck together, you can see this group is special, we tried to be positive and at the end of the day we had 90 minutes to play, no excuses and I think we proved that tonight. I'm really proud of not just the performance but how we approached the game."Mel [Andreatta] has come in with so much energy, enthusiasm and she's so positive. She has so much belief in us and I think today showed that. It's a start, there's a long way to go but all eyes are on that World Cup in 2027. There's a lot of football to be played but draws like tonight really help."It's in Mel's mind, it's in my mind, that's what we're all here for. This performance is one we're going to come back to, be proud of and it's a benchmark for this squad."
Edinburgh Reporter
3 days ago
- Sport
- Edinburgh Reporter
Kathleen McGovern named ScottishPower Women's Premier League Player of the Month for May
Hibernian Women's striker Kathleen McGovern has been named the ScottishPower Women's Premier League Player of the Month for May. After winning the award for the first time in December 2024 and earning it once more in April, this is now McGovern's third Player of the Month award of the 2024/25 campaign. The 22-year-old has had an incredible season for the Hibs, with her 25 goals and two assists in the league crucial to the ScottishPower Women's Premier League title success. This excellent goalscoring form carried into the most important games of the season, as McGovern netted five times in four games during Hibs final run-in. An Edinburgh Derby brace at Oriam to defeat city rivals Hearts was promptly followed up by a vital finish against title challengers Glasgow City at Meadowbank Stadium. A second brace of the month for the number 10 was sealed in the final home match of the season, as Hibs sealed a pivotal 4-2 victory over Celtic leading into the final matchday. While not on the scoresheet against Rangers at Ibrox as the Hibs clinched the league title, McGovern was at hand to provide the all-important assist for Linzi Taylor's title-clinching strike. Six goal contributions across May 2025 – consisting of five goals and the most important assist of the entire campaign – has earned McGovern a first-ever Scotland 'A' Squad call-up. Including Abbie Ferguson and Eilidh Adams' respesctive award wins, Hibernian FC Women players have made up 50% of all winners of the SWPL Player of the Month prize this season after previously going two seasons without a single award. Like this: Like Related
