Hibernian Ladies have qualified for the last 32 of the Uefa Women’s Champions League after beating Pomurje 2-1 in Beltinci in their final group game.
This follows victories over Cardiff Met and Tiblisi and Hibs will now join Glasgow City in the competition.
Manager Grant Scott revealed that his squad are looking for a glamour tie but he is happy to take whichever opponent come out of the draw.
After the final whistle Scott told BBC Sportsound: “With Cardiff Met being a British side, we could find out bits and pieces about them, we watched footage of them but the two foreign sides – quite frankly, we weren’t sure if the Tbilisi team existed at one point, so it was really tough. We used our resources, everyone that we know in the game but we came up with nothing so it was a bit of a shot in the dark.
“We’ve got a reliable group; a really talented squad. We’ve lost a few down south to professional teams but we’ve got a good habit of bringing in young players and developing them, and growing our own players through our academy.
“We’ve let ourselves down and the old adage of having a young team and inconsistency. I think we’ve had that. We’re able to compete but we’ve had a few poor performances. We’ve competed for long spells, it’s just naivety letting us down. We’re a work in progress, but it’s going well.”
“The players want a glamour tie and possibly a wee night under the lights at the stadium. I’d would rather get a chance to go further and then get the glamour tie, but we’ll take what we get at this point.
“You can only develop and learn from challenging yourself against better opposition and better players, so [whatever happens] we will use that as a positive for the team.
“We’ve got a batch of players who probably want to push into the national team very, very soon – there are certainly players who I think will be on the radar – and they need exposure to something more than the domestic game – this [Champions League] is the perfect platform for them.”
John graduated from Telford College in 2010 with an HNC in Practical Journalism and since then he worked for the North Edinburgh News, The Southern Reporter, the Irish News Review and The Edinburgh Reporter. In addition he has been published in the Edinburgh Evening News and the Hibernian FC Programme.
