Hutchison Vale Ladies 3,  Hearts Women 1

From Hearts News at Saughton Enclosure.

Hearts made the short journey to Saughton to take on Hutchison Vale Ladies and despite a brave showing against the league's form team came off second best.

The hosts had impressed with a recent 8-1 thrashing of Falkirk and a 6-3 victory at Toryglen but found their guests in noo mood to suffer a similar beating.

Straight from the kick-off, Hearts set about getting the ball forward at every opportunity and were quick to close down their opponents when not in possession.

Midfielders Borthwick and Paterson were at the heart of most the play during the early stages and the first real chance of the match fell to Hearts when Borthwick evaded a tackle wide on the right and played a great cross into the six-yard box which found Wilkins, whjo failed to make the most of her opening.

Midway through the half the home side took the lead when poor marking at a throw-in provided the opportunity for the Hutchison Vale player to unleash a shot from the edge of the box that gave keeper Milby no chance.

That goal appeared to be the turning point in the match as the home side were very much on top at this stage and it was no surprise when they doubled their lead eight minutes later following a good ball into the inside-right channel that the Hutchison Vale striker neatly tucked away into the corner of the net.

With only six minutes of the half remaining Hearts gave themselves a lifeline when Rogers broke free on the right after a great pass from Piaskowski. The big striker drove into the box before sending her well-placed shot beyond the reach of the keeper.

It was end-to-end stuff after the break with the home side creating the better chances and the contest was over as a contest when the home side scored a third goal with only 12 minutes remaining, a low shot from 25 yards beating Milby at her near post.

Coach Tam Milne said: "I thought we played well and up until they scored I thought we were on top but they have very good players in the right areas and it is easy to see how they have been getting good results.
"We now have to put that behind us and prepare for very important matches coming up in the next few weeks, including a Scottish cup-tie in Aberdeen."

Hearts: Milby, Gill, Johnston, Campbell, Buchanan (Ward), Piaskowski (Anderson), Borthwick, Paterson, Jackson (Hurst), Rogers, Wilkins (Cunningham). Subs: (not used): Porteous.

On Hearts.TV today, an exclusive interview with JJ as he prepares to take on Hamilton this weekend.