Ciara Grant bridges an 88-year gap by making Rangers debut

Ciara Grant made her Rangers debut on Sunday afternoon - becoming the first Irish international in 88 years to play for the club.

Grant played the second half of a 3-1 derby win over Glasgow City as Rangers maintained their place at the top of the SWPL.

Grant is the first Irish international to play for Rangers since Alex Stevenson, the Dubliner who was at Ibrox from 1932 to 1934.

The 28-year-old Letterkenny woman almost made it a dream debut, but hit the post with a cracking effort on 76 minutes.

Goals from Lizzie Arnot and Jane Ross, as well as an own goal by Niamh Farrelly, gave Rangers the win that keeps them ahead of their rivals.

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“It was a great game to come on in,” Grant said.

“I wanted to get some game time. We had a game plan and we stuck to it. From the get-go, we played the way we’ve been training all week and it was just class to see.

“It was my fist time playing in a while. I’m just delighted to get back on the pitch. I’ve been feeling good so it was nice to put that all together on the pitch.”

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Rangers face a busy period now with Hamilton next up on Wednesday, but new addition Grant is relishing the task.

She said: “I think the depth of the squad is massive. We have three games in seven days and the management are happy to rotate the team. So many players can play and it’s great for the team when there is so much competition for each place. The standard of training is really high.

Grant made her return to the Republic of Ireland senior women’s squad having impressed for Shelbourne in the Women’s National League. Grant was a WNL winner with Shels in 2021, but the Reds were denied by Wexford Youths in the WFAI Cup final.

While eyebrows might’ve raised when Grant made the move to Rangers, the midfielder has enjoyed her opening few weeks at the club.

She said: “From the first day, everybody has been so nice. It’s been top class and I’ve found my feet. I’m comfortable with the set-up and I’m looking forward to the rest of the season.”

Also in the SWPL, Tyler Toland played the 90 minutes as Celtic defeated Spartans 2-0 in Edinburgh with Maria Olafsdottir Gros and Clarissa Larisey scoring the goals for the Hoops, who are four points behind Rangers with a game more played.