Ladies
Lucky Seven
Hibernian
Ladies were going for a tenth consecutive Scottish Women’s Premier
League win this season when they faced Glasgow side Arsenal North on
Sunday. Hibs retained the same side that defeated Raith Rovers last
weekend, still missing from the side through long-term injury were
McCandlish, Burns, and Ross with Pearson also missing due to work
commitments.
Arsenal
and Hibernian clashed on the tight compact pitch at Glasgow Green and
Hibs adopting their usual 3-5-2 formation. Right from the start
Hibernian were the better side and the Edinburgh side were dominating
all over the park. Arsenal trying to deal with the power and skill of
the Hibs side were sitting with eleven players behind the wall in an
attempt to make it difficult for Hibernian to break them down. In the
early stages this tactic was to work for the home side although Grant
and Little both went close for Hibs.
Hibernian were spraying passes around the park with confidence but they
were becoming frustrated in the final third with a stubborn Arsenal
defence standing firm but in twenty minutes the visitors were to open
the scoring. A throw in from McBride found Cook stepping forward from
defence, the defender played a pin point ball into the feet of Little
who took one touch and fired the ball into the net to give her side a
deserved lead.
After making the break
through, Hibernian seemed a more relaxed side with the pressure of
breaking Arsenal down off their shoulders. Burns who has been in fine
form in recent weeks was again at the heart of everything Hibs did and
soon after she sent a long range drive just wide of the Arsenal goal.
Five minutes later a ball from the back was only partially cleared and
fell for Ferguson who read the path of the ball, the midfielder smashed
an unstoppable half volley into the back of the net from the edge of the
penalty box, giving the goalkeeper no chance.
Hibs were in total control and it was no surprise when they added a
third goal before the half time break, the ball was played out wide to
Joelle Murray who crossed first time for Little to smash her second of
the game from close range. The referee’s whistle signalled and end to
the first half with Hibs producing a fine performance to kill of Arsenal
before the interval.
Half Time: Arsenal North 0 Hibernian 3
The second half began as the first had ended with Hibernian pressing
forward, the movement of forwards Grant, Little and Kennedy was causing
the Glasgow side no end of problems. Grant went close for Hibs when she
dragged her shot wide after good build up play by Burns. Chances were
coming thick and fast for Hibs but they were failing to add to their
goals tally.
It was only a matter of time before Hibernian added a fourth goal and it
duly arrived when Murray was fouled just over the half way line. From
the free kick, Murray found Ferguson who had stole in behind the Arsenal
defence, she took the ball on her chest and blasted the ball past the
keeper for a stunning strike. With the game wrapped up, Shelley Grant
came on, with Cook moving to midfield and Burns moving up front.
Burns twisting a turning was pulling the Arsenal defence all around the
park and her unselfish play set up Little but the youngster was denied
her hat-trick by the goalkeeper. Hibs grabbed a fifth when a ball from
wide saw Cook burst forward and her pass found the feet of Grant who in
turn slotted the ball past the out coming goalkeeper for a goal her
overall play had deserved. There was no let up in Hibs play and they
continued to press forward in search of more goals.
Hibernian’s sixth goal came at the end of a great team move, a ball
played from McBride found the feet of Ferguson, who found Burns. She
played the ball in for Little who turned her marker and smashed the ball
into the net for her hat-trick. Credit must go to Arsenal and in the
dying minutes it took good defending from Brown and Robertson to keep
them at bay as they went in search of a consolation goal.
With Arsenal pressing forward Hibernian countered attacked, the ball
from defence from was played out to Little who beat a defender before
finding Grant. A goalmouth scramble ensued and with Grant’s shot
coming back off the defender, the ball fell kindly for Ferguson who hit
the ball sweetly into the back of the net off the post to grab a
deserved hat-trick and her ninth of the season.
Full Time: Arsenal North 0 Hibernian 7
Hibernian Ladies: Debbie McDonald, Suzy Robertson, Frankie Brown, Stacey
Cook, Mandy Burns, Julie Ferguson, Kirsty McBride, Joelle Murray, Kim
Little, Laura Kennedy, Suzanne Grant. Subs: Ali Donnelly, Louise Young,
Shelley Grant
Defender Shelley Grant commented after the game: “In the end we won by
seven goals but it could easily have been double figures. Overall, it
was a good performance but there were times when we did try the hard
pass instead of simple passing. It was still a good game and even though
I only played the last twenty-five minutes I felt I played quite well.
We now look forward to the Scottish Cup next weekend.”
Hat-trick hero Julie Ferguson was delighted with her sides performance,
saying: ”Our game against Raith Rovers was our first back and we were
pleased with the performance, so going into the Arsenal game we wanted
to build on that. We could have scored more in the game as we created a
lot of chances. We overran Arsenal and with them playing with everyone
behind the ball, they did not create very much until the latter stages
of the game. We were really pleased with our performance and we never
stopped pressing the game or looking for more goals. All the girls are
looking forward to the cup game and we hope that we can go further than
we did last season, the cup is a great occasion and we want to do well
this season.”
Richard
Payne