Hibs Women enjoyed a comfortable 5-0 victory over Motherwell at a rain-soaked K-Park on Sunday.
Kathleen McGovern starred, scoring her first Hibs hat-trick, with further goal contributions coming from Michaela McAlonie and Eilidh Adams.
Head Coach Grant Scott was delighted with the performance at a difficult venue.
After the final whistle he told Hibs TV: “We knew it would be tough. It was a real potential banana skin for us.
“They are a tough opponent, as we saw in the early period of the game. It was a sticky one.
“I’m throughly impressed with the girls today. They played some really exciting football with another clean sheet.”
Erin Clachers and Kirsty Morrison both recovered from injury troubles for the match, with the former making her Hibs debut from the start.
“Erin was back on the pitch today after checking her fitness. Noa [Schumacher] has done really well so those two are now fighting for the number one jersey. It’s great to see they’re both able to step in.
“Kirsty is one of those invaluable players for us. She goes about her business really well every day. She’ll do well again this season, I have no doubt.”
Scott was quick to compliment McGovern and McAlonie, who combined excellently throughout the rout, but also heaped praise on substitute Adams – who scored her fifth goal of the season after her introduction.
Those two have a real good partnership going. They seem to know where each other are, which is really important in those forward areas. We brought Kathleen here to score goals and she’s started to do that.
“And I have to give credit to Eilidh again coming off the bench. I said to her that I thought there was another goal or two in the game for her.
“When your forward players are scoring and your defenders are keeping them out, it’s a good recipe.”
Speaking to HibsTV following the match, McGovern admitted her delight at comfortably dispatching a very capable and dangerous ‘Well side.
“It was a good performance from the team. I’m pleased to grab three myself but I also think everyone contributed very well today.
We expected a tough game. They’ll be pushing for top six this season, so we thought it would be one of our bigger challenges over the past two weeks.
“We came in taking it very seriously. We knew the game wasn’t over after two, but after getting the third we knew we could push on.
“It’s been a hard week. To get three wins is very good ahead of the next two weeks with difficult opposition coming up.”
Whilst aiding by all in the team for her goals and chances, McGovern was often linking up with Michaela McAlonie in forward positions – an on- and off-pitch link she is well aware of.
“We have a good connection. She is always looking for me and I am always looking for her.
“It’s been good playing with her and you can see the connection starting to build on the pitch; with assists coming from her and I’m obviously happy to score three today.
Looking ahead, McGovern is optimistic ahead of what is undeniable the Hibees biggest test yet in the league: a trip to the Albert Bartlett Stadium to take on league holders Celtic.
“We’ll be going into the Celtic game with positivity.
“We have 12 points on the board – especially with that performance there as I thought we were very good.
“We gain confidence from that and hopefully we will push on this Friday.”
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.
