Kelly Clark Anticipates Champions League Debut at Celtic Park

Kelly Clark, who first lifted the SWPL trophy at Celtic Park in May, is urging her teammates to leverage their prior experiences of playing at the venue. The captain’s appeal comes as the SWPL champions are set to compete on the Parkhead turf for their inaugural Champions League appearance tonight. She stated, “To have the whole team experience it is definitely a positive because I remember it being quite daunting when we did it for the first time with a big crowd.” Elena Sadiku’s squad previously played their initial match in Europe’s premier competition at their new home, New Douglas Park in Hamilton. However, the Champions League anthem will be heard across Glasgow’s East End tonight with the arrival of Chelsea. Celtic has not competed at the stadium since the SWPL flag was unfurled on the season’s opening day against Dundee United, yet Clark is encouraging her colleagues to recall that triumphant occasion. The defender commented, “We don’t play here every week, so I think it was good we played the first game of the season here because it means everyone in the squad has experienced it.” She further remarked, “Twente was very loud, but there’s potential for it to be even louder on Wednesday night and it genuinely does change the game because you can’t communicate the way you usually do and obviously, it’s a bit of a mental game. You have to know what to expect to kind of ignore it. It’s brilliant and you use it for energy, but in the grand scheme of things it’s 11v11 like any other game, as hard as that is to put into practice.” Celtic secured their first league championship in May, which led to their Champions League qualification. Clark asserts that tonight’s event is on par with that historic day. She stated, “It’s the stuff dreams are made of.” She continued, “Seeing the Champions League branding everywhere, to walk out to hopefully hear a big crowd cheer, to see my parents in the stand, my family, my grandparents, aunties, uncles, cousins, the lot, it’s a huge occasion and I can’t wait for it.”