Clint Lancaster admitted Aberdeen Women were second best in their 4-0 defeat by Celtic at Balmoral Stadium.
The Dons defended resolutely for the opening 40 minutes but Celtic took the lead five minutes before half-time through a Chloe Craig header.
Fran Alonso’s side doubled their advantage after 75 minutes with a close-range Shen Menglu effort.
Celtic scored two goals in quick succession with substitute Jenny Smith netting Celtic’s third two minutes later before adding another in the 85th minute.
The defeat means Aberdeen drop to seventh in the SWPL ahead of the international break, while Celtic sit second – one point behind, but with a game in hand over leaders Rangers – with their 100% record still intact.
Lancaster said: “On the whole, they had a lot more of the ball than us, had more chances and were just the better team.
“Celtic are a very good team – our plan was to stick in there and have a good go. At 1-0 at half-time we said let’s see how far we can go with it and see if we can go and get something back.
“It’s been a tough couple of games for us and with injuries. After the injuries we come and play Celtic, and that’s not ideal.
“As a group I thought we did well, but it was going to be a hard ask for us. It wasn’t to be for us, so now we just have to move on from that,”
Dons put in defensive shift
Lancaster made three changes from Wednesday’s defeat to Hibernian, as goalkeeper Annalisa McCann and midfielder Phoebe Murray made their first starts of the season, while defender Aimee Black also came into the starting XI.
The first real chance came after 13 minutes when Celtic’s Natalie Ross, who hails from Ellon, shoved Black off the ball to play through Amy Gallacher.
Gallacher, who has just been called up to her first senior Scotland squad, was denied by a last-ditch block from Dons skipper Nadine Hanssen, before McCann gathered Kelly Clark’s header from the resulting corner.
The same Celtic duo linked up again with Gallacher finding an incoming Ross at the back post, but she sliced her effort over the bar.
After 25 minutes, Nour Imane Addi, who was unmarked in the Dons box, saw her shot diverted wide thanks to an Aberdeen deflection.
Celtic would have been 1-0 up after 32 minutes had it not been for a superb stop from McCann. Colette Cavanagh found Kit Loferski in the box, but her effort was clawed out of the air and off the line by the young Dons goalkeeper.
The away side finally got the opener after 40 minutes with Craig heading home the rebound after Addi’s shot came back off post.
Celtic went close to doubling their advantage when Gallacher hit the post with a curling effort right on the stroke of half-time.
In the second half, the Dons enjoyed a decent spell in possession during the opening stages which resulted in their first opportunity to trouble Chloe Logan in the Celtic goal, however, Hannah Stewart was called offside as she unleashed her strike.
Gallacher almost got on the scoresheet for Celtic’s second, but was again denied by the woodwork as her sliced effort clipped the post.
Another Celtic chance was cut out by some impressive Aberdeen defending when Black made a superb block to divert Maria McAneny’s shot a couple yards out from the back post.
A moment of individual brilliance saw Celtic double their advantage as Menglu twisted and turned in the box before slotting the ball beyond McCann at her near post.
It was another solo moment which saw Celtic go 3-0 up with second-half substitute Smith nicking the ball in midfield before hitting a strike which soared into the back of the Aberdeen goal.
Smith secured her brace as she scored Celtic’s fourth with another superb strike from just outside the area.
It took until the 88th minute for Aberdeen to win their first corner of the match, but Francesca Ogilvie’s inswinger evaded all the red shirts in the Celtic box, as the Dons finished the match without a single shot on target.
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