Hearts Women got back to winning ways on Sunday afternoon with a convincing 3-0 victory over Partick Thistle at Petershill Park.
Eva Olid made four changes to the side that lost to Glasgow City a fortnight ago. Katie Lockwood, Jess Husband, Monica Forsyth and Danni Findlay all came into the side, as Cailin Michie, Lizzie Waldie, Addie Handley and Megan Bell dropped out.
It was a quiet opening ten minutes, but the first chance arrived on the 15-minute mark for the home side. Imogen Longcake made good ground down the left and pulled the ball back for Clare Docherty, but she opened up her foot too much and her side-foot effort flew well wide.
Up the other end, the Jambos were inches away from opening the scoring on 19 minutes. Sade Adamolekun delivered a wicked in-swinging delivery from the left and after a good punch from Megan Cunningham, the rebound dropped to Georgia Timms. Her effort was brilliantly blocked from close-range by some last-ditch defending from Thistle.
Hearts did open the scoring just four minutes later. It was excellent play down the left-hand side from Husband, she got to the byline and stuck a perfect cross up to the back post where Danni Findlay was waiting to head home from close range.
Much of the Jambos’ joy was coming through the wing backs and Forsyth had two further half chances to double their lead before the interval.
Firstly, on 26 minutes, she cut inside of Docherty and curled just wide of the far post, before trying an ambitious effort from distance, that was straight at Cunningham, five minutes later.
The game continued to be of the scrappier variety, but it was Hearts who fashioned the better openings after the interval.
The Jambos had struggled to get their more creative players involved all afternoon, but Katie Lockwood almost added to her sizeable goal tally for the season on 55 minutes.
It was good pressing from Hearts, and when the ball dropped to Lockwood, 25 yards from goal, she forced Cunningham into a smart stop.
The press almost paid dividends again for the women in maroon five minutes later. This time it was substitute Kathleen McGovern who robbed the Jags backline, but she couldn’t keep her effort down from a tight angle and it flew over Cunningham's goal.
Hearts needed the second goal to settle the nerves and it arrived courtesy of the returning McGovern on 69 minutes. Once again, the build-up came from a wide area and the Hearts striker was in the right spot to poke home Lockwood’s cross.
Thistle continued to work hard and showed no signs of a hangover from last weekend’s Sky Sports Cup Final defeat to Rangers. Carla Boyce almost halved the deficit out of nothing, but her effort from distance came back off the crossbar.
Hearts wrapped the points up five minutes from time. Megan Bell delivered a low cross from the right as both Lockwood and McGovern slid in, in an attempt to bundle the ball home. The ball ended up in the back of the net, but we’ll leave it to the forward pair to decide who got the final touches on another three points for the Jambos.
Partick Thistle: Cunningham, Lawton, Docherty, Henderson, Adams, McAllister, Taylor, Ferguson, Boyce, Longcake, Sinclair
Subs: Easdon, Slater, Hay, Bulloch, Wright, McQuillan
Hearts: Parker-Smith, Brownlie, Hunter ©, Grant, Forsyth (Handley, 72), Timms (McGovern, 59), Lockwood, Adamolekun (Bell, 67), Girasoli (Waldie, 72), Findlay (Mooney, 59), J. Husband
Subs: Johnstone, Penman, Rennie, Waldie, Handley, Mooney, Bell, McGovern, E. Husband
