Grant Scott says Hibs Women will “dust themselves down and go again in the new year” following yesterday’s 2-1 defeat to Celtic at Meadowbank.
This follows a run of tough results to wrap up the year.
The Hoops took the lead inside five seconds following Maria McAneny’s instant opener before Saoirse Noonan rebounded in her own penalty to nullify Scarlett Herron’s earlier equaliser.
After the final whistle Head Coach Grant Scott said: “Well, it’s a strange one. I’ve seen that [shot from kick-off] attempted only a few times in my career, certainly. And that’s the only time I’ve ever seen it work. So fair play to them doing that.
“But I think if you’re going to lose a goal early, you’ve got the rest of the game to come back. I thought we did that really, really well.
“We reacted well after that. It’s a real punch in the nose inside less than a minute. In the main, we’ve bounced back okay in the game, but that is kind of sloppy from our part.
“We’re not switched on from the first minute. It’s an unexpected one, but we just need to be aware. It’s disappointing.
“I’ve been thinking it for a few weeks now, and we’ve discussed it with the players,” Scott continued. “I think we’re not about to make excuses for it, but I think we’ve moaned a little bit internally about those small margins.
“I don’t believe we’re a worse football team this season. I think there’s just a clinical edge missing. And we’re certainly playing the game in the right areas of the pitch, maybe not breaking down the opponents as we once were.
“And it’s stuff we’ve got to look at and improve on. It’s disappointing, again, to have probably quite a good bit of territory and not create enough opportunities.
“The team’s strong. I think the team’s good. I believe we’re still a good football team.
“It’s been a historic year but it’s not been without challenge. And I think the bit of history we made last year in winning the title in 2025 was incredible for the group.
“It’s been tough since. You’ve definitely put a target on yourselves at that point. And teams always seem to raise their game against us. But that’s to be expected. We’re well briefed on it. We know what’s coming.
“And it’s on us just to do better. And I think, probably similar to today, disappointingly, we’ve not risen to that challenge enough this season so far.
“But look, there’s enough good players, there’s enough quality, there’s enough experience, there’s enough youthful energy in there.
“We’ve got a good balanced squad that the girls should dust themselves down from this one. It’s certainly tough, but they should dust themselves down and go again in the new year.”
