Hibernian Women sealed their spot in the Sky Sports Cup Final with a comfortable victory over Aberdeen at Meadowbank yesterday.
Hibs struggled in the first half and were unable to penetrate the Reds’ hardy defence, but Ciara Grant’s opener just before half-time allowed the team to settle and clinch a place in the cup final with two additional goals from Grant and Eilidh Adams coming in the final 15 minutes of the tricky tie.
“I’m really proud of the group,” head coach Grant Scott told Hibs TV after the final whistle.
“It was a tough match as we expected. There are a lot of improvements in the Aberdeen side.
“I didn’t think we were at our fluent best today, but credit to the players. They did not default to doing different things. We stuck to who we are.
“The opponent made it very difficult, but cup ties are all about progressing to the next round and we have done that.
“I’m delighted for the players, the staff, everyone involved, and the Football Club. We have a nice occasion to look forward to.
“Ciara is doing really well just now. She is playing a slightly different role at the minute, one she wasn’t brought here to do. We’ve had a slight laugh about that between us.
“[Her goals] shows her game intelligence. She has twice read a situation where we’ve hit areas in the box and the delivery has taken it elsewhere, and she’s got there at the back post on two occasions.
“She is smart player. A great person in our squad. A model pro. We are delighted to have her.”
Player of the Match Grant was understandably “delighted” to score twice.
“I’m just delighted,” Grant told Hibs TV at full time.
“This club has been to many cup finals, and won many, in the past. Just to get over the line today was just great.
“It was a tough first half. They’ve made some new signings, Scott Booth has came in and got them well-organised, so they were hard to break down. We came out in the second half much more calm and we executed our game plan.
“We have a good bit of experience in the team now in the squad. Everyone, even the young players, have learned a lot from last year and you can see that on the pitch.”
“It was just about staying calm and sticking to the game plan. We know we have been playing some really good football recently, so we know we had it in us to beat them and that is what we did in the end.
The professional performance sets up a Sky Sports Cup Final meeting with Rangers on Saturday 22 March – a repeat of Hibs’ last final outing in 2022, in which the Gers lifted the trophy.
“It’s great. Our track record versus [Rangers] this season has been quite good,” said Grant.
“We go in with confidence like we do with every game now.”
Before Hibs start looking ahead too far to the Final, next week sees league leaders Glasgow City visit Meadowbank. A home win would see Hibs cut the gap down to just two points heading into February.
Grant is excited by the prospect of giving the Petershill Park outfit a game, especially after a disappointing trip to Springburn earlier in the season.
“I think it has been a tough week with three games. No matter the scores, it is tough on our bodies, so we will recover for the next few days and enjoy the win before focusing on City.
“Last time we played them we did not do ourselves justice.
“We will be going in with a much better mindset to really have a go at 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.
