Furious Sadiku Slams Celtic Players

Elena Sadiku didn’t mince her words after watching her Celtic side fall to a disappointing 1-0 defeat to Hearts, describing it as the “worst performance” she has ever seen from her squad.

The defeat, which came courtesy of a deflected first-half strike from Kayla Jardine, leaves Celtic six points adrift of league leaders Rangers and five behind second-placed Glasgow City. Both of the top two sides had shared the spoils in a 1-1 draw at Ibrox on Saturday. Although Celtic do have a Game in hand to narrow that gap.

Sadiku, clearly frustrated, couldn’t explain why her side underperformed so drastically. After a midweek Champions League loss to FC Twente, this latest defeat adds pressure on Celtic ahead of their trip to Spain for a daunting clash with Real Madrid on Thursday. Speaking after the Hearts match, Sadiku didn’t hold back.

“The first half is the worst performance I have seen,” Sadiku told CelticTV. “It was not Celtic at all. There was no energy, no confidence. I don’t know why.”

Despite her side improving after the break with some tactical changes, they couldn’t break down a resolute Hearts defence, who held on for all three points. “The second half was much better. There was only one team on the pitch, and we created enough chances to win the Game, but it wasn’t to be,” she added.

The defeat is a significant one, as it allows Hearts to leap into third place, narrowing the gap on the league’s top sides. Meanwhile, in other fixtures, fourth-placed Hibernian cruised to a 4-0 victory over Spartans, with Eilidh Adams bagging a hat-trick and Michaela McAlonie adding a fourth. That win puts Hibs just two points behind Hearts.

Sadiku remains resolute in her determination to turn things around. “It’s not good enough,” she admitted. “But I’m glad we’ve got players like Amy Gallacher and Lucy Ashworth-Clifford coming back – they’ll bring energy and quality. I’m very disappointed, but we have to learn from this and make sure it never happens again. I will make sure it never happens again.”

As Celtic look to regroup before their European test against Real Madrid, Sadiku’s challenge will be to reignite the energy and confidence that was sorely lacking in this latest league outing.