2018 Scottish Women's Premier League
# 2018 Scottish Women's Premier League

The 2018 Scottish Women's Premier League season was the 17th season of the SWPL, the highest division of women's football in Scotland since 2002. The league was split into two divisions of eight teams each, SWPL 1 and SWPL 2.

Glasgow City had won the 2017 SWPL1 title unbeaten, their eleventh consecutive championship. After a tight title-race with Hibernian, Glasgow City successfully retained the title, on the last matchday of the 2018 season. Hamilton were relegated from SWPL 1, while the promoted team was their Lanarkshire rivals, Motherwell.

## Teams

### SWPL 1

| Team | Location | Home ground | Capacity | 2017 position |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| Celtic | Glasgow | K Park Training Academy, East Kilbride | 1,000 | 3rd |
| Forfar Farmington | Forfar | Station Park, Forfar | 6,777 | 1st in SWPL 2 (promoted) |
| Glasgow City | Glasgow | Petershill Park, Springburn | 1,000 | 1st (champions) |
| Hamilton Academical | Hamilton | New Douglas Park | 5,510 | 7th |
| Hibernian | Edinburgh | Ainslie Park, Edinburgh | 3,000 | 2nd |
| Rangers | Glasgow | New Tinto Park, Govan | 2,000 | 6th |
| Spartans | Edinburgh | Ainslie Park, Edinburgh | 3,000 | 5th |
| Stirling University | Stirling | The Gannochy, University of Stirling | 1,000 | 4th |

### SWPL 2

| Team | Location | Home ground | Capacity | 2017 position |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| Aberdeen | Aberdeen | Heathryfold Park, Aberdeen | 2,200 | 8th in SWPL1 (relegated) |
| Central Girls Football Academy | Grangemouth | Indodrill Stadium, Alloa | 3,100 | 1st SWFL North (promoted) |
| Edinburgh University Hutchison Vale | Edinburgh | Peffermill Sports Ground, Edinburgh | 1,000 | 4th |
| Glasgow Girls | Glasgow | Greenfield Football Centre, Carntyne | 1,000 | 2nd |
| Hearts | Edinburgh | Kings Park, Dalkeith | 1,000 | 6th |
| Kilmarnock | Kilmarnock | Rugby Park, Kilmarnock | 17,889 | 1st SWFL South (promoted) |
| Motherwell | Wishaw | Ravenscraig, Motherwell | 13,677 | 3rd |
| St Johnstone | Perth | McDiarmid Park, Perth | 10,696 | 5th |

## SWPL 1

### Format

Teams play each other three times. The top team wins the championship and qualifies for the Champions League. The bottom placed team is relegated to the SWPL2 at the end of season.

The SWPL2 plays the same format with the winning team being promoted and bottom two teams being relegated.

### Standings

Teams play 21 matches each.

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Glasgow City (C, Q) | 21 | 19 | 2 | 0 | 75 | 12 | +63 | 59 | Qualification for the Champions League Round of 32 |
| 2 | Hibernian (Q) | 21 | 18 | 2 | 1 | 80 | 17 | +63 | 56 | Qualification for the Champions League Qualifying Round |
| 3 | Celtic | 21 | 11 | 3 | 7 | 41 | 31 | +10 | 36 | |
| 4 | Rangers | 21 | 8 | 1 | 12 | 33 | 46 | −13 | 25 | |
| 5 | Forfar Farmington | 21 | 7 | 2 | 12 | 20 | 45 | −25 | 23 | |
| 6 | Spartans | 21 | 4 | 4 | 13 | 23 | 46 | −23 | 16 | |
| 7 | Stirling University | 21 | 4 | 3 | 14 | 17 | 54 | −37 | 15 | |
| 8 | Hamilton Academical (R) | 21 | 3 | 3 | 15 | 17 | 55 | −38 | 12 | Relegation to SWPL 2 |

### Statistics

**Top goalscorers**


    As of 15 November 2018.

| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Abi Harrison | Hibernian | 25 |
| 2 | Abbi Grant | Glasgow City | 15 |
| 3 | Rachel McLauchlan | Hibernian | 10 |
| 4 | Hayley Lauder | Glasgow City | 9 |
| 4 | Jade Gallon | Rangers | 9 |
| 5 | Lizzie Arnot | Hibernian | 8 |
| 5 | Kirsty Howat | Glasgow City | 8 |

## SWPL 2

### Standings

Teams play 21 matches each.

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Motherwell (C, P) | 21 | 18 | 2 | 1 | 90 | 19 | +71 | 56 | Promotion to SWPL 1 |
| 2 | FC Kilmarnock | 21 | 10 | 5 | 6 | 41 | 32 | +9 | 35 | |
| 3 | Heart of Midlothian | 21 | 10 | 4 | 7 | 39 | 30 | +9 | 34 | |
| 4 | St Johnstone | 21 | 9 | 4 | 8 | 39 | 40 | −1 | 31 | |
| 5 | Edinburgh University Hutchison Vale | 21 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 55 | 43 | +12 | 30 | |
| 6 | Glasgow Girls | 21 | 8 | 4 | 9 | 43 | 48 | −5 | 28 | |
| 7 | Aberdeen (R) | 21 | 4 | 3 | 14 | 29 | 53 | −24 | 15 | Relegation to SWFL Division 1 – North |
| 8 | Central Girls (R) | 21 | 2 | 2 | 17 | 24 | 95 | −71 | 8 | |

* 1 2 FC Kilmarnock were awarded a 3–0 win against Motherwell on 22 February 2018 after they failed to hand a team line to their opponents and the referee 45 minutes before kick-off. The match had finished 2–1 to Motherwell.
* ↑ Three Aberdeen victories in August were annulled due to fielding an ineligible player, but the original results were reinstated on appeal.

## Awards

### Monthly awards

| Month | Player of the Month | Player of the Month | References |
| - | - | - | - |
| Month | Player | Club | References |
| March | Chelsea McEachran | Central Girls | |
| April | Lauren Evans | Glasgow Girls | |
| May | Colette Cavanagh | Celtic | |
| June | Jade McDonald | St Johnstone | |
| August | Abbi Grant | Glasgow City | |
| September | Lisa Swanson | F.C. Kilmarnock | |
| October | Bayley Hutchison | Aberdeen | |

### Annual awards

| Award | Winner | Club |
| - | - | - |
| SWPL 1 Golden Boot | Abi Harrison | Hibernian |
| SWPL 2 Golden Boot | Suzanne Mulvey | Motherwell |
| SWPL 1 Player of the Year | Nicola Docherty | Glasgow City |
| SWPL 2 Player of the Year | Suzanne Mulvey | Motherwell |
