It was a disappointing afternoon for Hearts Women as they were defeated 3-1 by Hibernian at Oriam on Sunday.
Eva Olid made three changes to the side that faced Celtic during the week as Jess Husband, Kayla Jardine and Naomi Powell all returned to the XI in place of Monica Forsyth, Joely Andrews and Bayley Hutchison.
Derbies are so often about winning the midfield battle and Eilidh Shore almost put down an early marker inside five minutes. She pinched the ball from Ciara Grant in the middle of the park and after driving forward, spotted Noa Schumacher off her line in the Hibs goal, she let fly, but her effort dropped just wide of the post.
Seconds later, Hibs were inches away from opening the scoring themselves. Former Jambo Kathleen McGovern was sent clean through on goal and after a neat touch get herself away from Lizzie Waldie, she fired her effort off the crossbar.
Hearts didn’t take early warning and McGovern got across the Hearts backline on 18 minutes to turn home Tegan Bowie’s dangerous cross from the left and open the scoring for the visitors.
The striker doubled her tally for the afternoon on the half hour mark, latching on to a ball over the top, she beat the onrushing Johnstone to the ball and prodded it over the stopper and into the empty net.
The Jambos pushed for a route back into the game before the interval and the closest they came was when Georgia Timms looked to make contact with Danique Ypema’s cross, but the striker couldn’t get the desired purchase and her header was routine for Schumacher.
Half-time: Hearts 0-2 Hibernian
Olid made the changes at half-time in search of a route back into the game with Sade Adamolekun and Bayley Hutchison introduced, but it was Hibs who had the first chance of the second period as Grant tried her luck from distance and with Johnstone beaten, the crossbar again rescued Hearts.
The Jambos pulled one back, seven minutes after the interval. Adamolekun was involved with a lovely diagonal out to Jess Husband, Emma Brownlie got round on the overlap and her cross was perfect for Lauren Wade to turn home at the back post.
The women in maroon had the momentum at this stage but Hibs quickly regained their two-goal lead as Eilidh Adams raced through on goal and slotted the ball past Johnstone on the hour mark.
Hearts had created the better openings after the break and they spurned two golden opportunities midway through the second period. Adamolekun looked destined to pull one back when getting on the end of Jess Husband’s cut back, but from point-blank range, Siobhan Hunter produced a goal-saving block to deflect the ball over the top.
From the resulting corner, Hearts came even closer. Ypema’s header dropped to Lizzie Waldie but from a matter of yards, she volleyed over the bar.
Monica Forsyth and Joely Andrews were introduced as Hearts through everything at it in the second half, but the first half proved too big a hill to climb as Hibs took all three points.
Hearts: Johnstone, Brownlie ©, Robertson, Shore, Timms (Andrews, 80), Wade, Waldie, Ypema, Jardine (Adamolekun, 46), J. Husband (Forsyth, 80), Powell (Hutchison, 46)
Subs: Parker-Smith, Forsyth, Adamolekun, Handley, Andrews, Hutchison, Young, Slattery
Hibernian: Schumacher, Hunter, Grant, McAlonie, Adams, McGovern, Gibb, Doran-Barr, Bowie, Taylor, Reilly
Subs: Armitage, Papadopoulos, Ferguson, Tweedie, Notley, Livingstone, Morrison, Ramsay, Taylor
