By Dan Carter

18th Sep, 2023 | 9:10pm

Jo Potter most pleased by Rangers Women clean sheet after 12-0 thrashing of Montrose

Rangers Women headed into the international break top of the Scottish Women’s Premier League with a 12-0 win over Montrose, but Jo Potter was happiest about the clean sheet.

The Light Blues ran riot on Sunday (18 September) with Rio Hardy scoring four times alongside braces for Mia McAuley, Kirsty Howat and deadline day signing Libby Bance to ensure the Gers would be top of the league over the September international break.

There had previously been question marks over whether this Rangers team could finish teams off when they are on top, with both Potter and former boss Malky Thomson citing it as an issue. But despite the fireworks in front of the goal, the Gers boss was most impressed by her team’s defensive effort.

Quoted by the Daily Record (17 September) she said: “Ironically, it was the clean sheet that pleased me the most.  have spoken about being ruthless and not taking our foot off the gas. It is about the clinical edge that we have to put the ball in the back of the net.

“We knew it would be a tough week as three games in a week is never easy. I have been more than impressed. To finish off with nine points and 12 goals today is fantastic and I am very proud of them.

“Hopefully the players who are away come back nice and fresh and it is good for us to have a little refresh again and we can reflect on what we are doing well. I am happy with where we are at.”

Good start

It has been as close to a perfect start as Rangers were likely to get to the season, the only blight on their otherwise exemplary record being two dropped points in their draw with Glasgow City earlier in the season that would have seen them extend their lead at the top.

Having played one more game than either of their city rivals, the one-point gap at the top of the league means either Celtic could leapfrog the Light Blues if they were to win their game in hand, while Glasgow City are unlikely to have a beige enough goal swing to better the Gers’ goal difference.

That is one factor that cannot be ignored in Foster’s side’s win on Sunday, to put 12 unanswered goals past Montrose has hugely reduced the gap between Celtic and Rangers’ goal difference. The difference before a ball was kicked on Sunday was 11, now it is only three.

With new signings getting on the scoresheet and six different goal scorers, there is truly a feel-good factor around Foster’s team at the moment and they’ll be hoping to profit from that when they return to action after the international break against Hearts in the League Cup.

In other Rangers news, Ben Davies has revealed just how close he was to leaving Ibrox this summer