Glasgow City v Hibernian

Glasgow City 1-3 Hibernian Ladies
SWPL Cup Semi Final
Falkirk Stadium
Sunday 29th April 2018

The draw for the semi-finals of this year’s SWPL Cup has already thrown up the second battle of the big guns of the season. Following the teams’ 2-2 draw just two weeks ago in their first head to head meeting of 2018, all eyes are on the Falkirk Stadium for act 2.

The Venue

My last visit to the Falkirk Stadium was also the second post I made on this blog. Having already spoken about the ground, albeit in less detail than I’ve gone into with subsequent posts, there’s not a whole lot more ground to cover. I will though mention one of my favourite rumours I’ve heard about any stadium. While there has been a temporary stand in front of the fence on the east side of the ground in the past, the ground is currently three sided. It’s a bit of an urban legend that while Falkirk own the ground behind the east side fence, the reason they haven’t expanded the stadium isn’t financial. The rumour says that if they built the fourth stand in line with the other three, it would end up in the blast zone of the Grangemouth refineries, while not having a stand there means that none of the stadium sits in said blast zone. Perhaps my favourite thing about this rumour is that I’ve never been able to find any evidence to debunk it. Whether it’s true or not, it’s a great story, and an amusing thought that if there was to be a major explosion during a game, no matter where you were sitting in the stadium, you could watch the chaos unfold in safety.

The Teams

City started their SWPL Cup campaign at home to newly promoted SWPL2 side FC Kilmarnock. Goals from Kirsty Howat (4), Abbi Grant, Joanne Paton and Magan Foley saw City cruise to a 7-0 win. Their quarter final tie saw them travel to Ainslie Park to take on Spartans. A Leanne Ross penalty was added to by goals from Howat and Paton to seal a 3-0 win to set up the semi final. City have won the competition on a record six occasions.

Hibs began their defence of the SWPL Cup away to Edinburgh rivals, SWPL2 side Hearts. Despite being held for the first 73 minutes, goals from Shannon McGregor, Lia Tweedie, Katey Turner and Kirsty Smith saw them run out 4-0 winners. A home quarter final against Rangers, played just after the Spartans v Glasgow City quarter final at Ainslie Park, was a tense affair, with Lucy Graham’s goal being the difference. Hibs have won the cup on five occasions. Today’s teams have won the SWPL Cup on eleven of the sixteen times it has been contested, and every year since 2008.

The Game

Both sides started with their usual second choice goalkeeper for this cup semi, with Erin Clachers in goal for City, and Hannah Reid for Hibs. City had the best of the opening exchanges, with Abbi Grant and Hayley Lauder combining well early, but they couldn’t break down the solid Hibs defence. With eleven minutes gone, City were handed a golden opportunity to take the lead when Christie Murray was tripped by Reid while heading away from goal. Despite the Hibs’ fans protestations, the penalty was given, and City captain Leanne Ross stepped up. The former Scotland international, usually so reliable from the spot, saw her effort well saved low by Reid, however, and the game remained goalless.

Hibs gained momentum from the missed penalty, and the always impressive Abi Harrison immediately began to cause City problems. Harrison used all her speed and strength to muscle through the midfield before being tackled well by Donna Paterson on 13 minutes, and four minutes later she almost turned provider as her ball to Lizzie Arnot resulted in a shot that was well blocked by Jo Love. City were to pay the price of not staying close enough to Harrison though with 21 minutes gone. A mix up in defence saw the ball break to the Hibs striker, who ran into the box and unleashed a shot. The strike was blocked by Paterson, but Harrison pounced on the rebound and fired it past Clachers.

The next ten minutes were a cagey affair, with neither side really able to win the midfield battle. Hayley Lauder had a decent chance from distance after Hibs could only half clear a corner, and Harrison got herself on the end of a long Ellis Notley ball before being called for offside. With just over half an hour played, Hibs capitalised on another defensive mistake, as Kirsty Smith picked up an errant pass on the left hand side. Her surging run down the left led to a cross that was met by the head of Harrison who powered home her second of the afternoon. City looked shellshocked, and Harrison was looking like she could take on their entire team on her own.

City did manage to press before the break, winning a series of corners that were just about cleared by Hibs. Sam Kerr had the best chance as a half cleared corner landed under her feet, but she wasn’t able to set herself quickly enough to get a clean shot away. Harrison had another chance at the other end after beating Nicola Docherty on the turn out wide, but her shot sailed past, and another questionable piece of defending allowed Rachel McLauchlan a chance to shoot just before the whistle. Despite being fairly even in terms of possession, Hibs were well ahead at the break, with City looking decidedly off the pace.

City brought on Megan Foley in place of Leanne Crichton at half time, but just 30 seconds after the restart found themselves further behind. Smith again found space on the left and her cross was once more met by the head of Harrison, who’s header squeezed past Clachers to make it 3-0. The hat trick was no less than Harrison deserved, as she looked dangerous every time she picked up the ball. City tried in vain to respond, but all too often found themselves outmuscled and outworked by the Hibs midfield and defence. Lauder did force a good save from Reid just a few minutes into the half, but City were in large part being restricted to long range efforts and crosses that failed to find their target.

With 67 minutes gone, there was a glimmer of hope for City when Grant broke down the left wing. Her cutback was met by the onrushing Kerr, who slammed a shot past Reid from the edge of the box. The goal seemed to revitalise City, who started to play with more urgency and fluidity. But within ten minutes, Hibs had regrouped and were managing to neutralise the threat again. Maddie Hill was introduced to give City some height up front, but too often she was being left isolated and her knock downs from long balls were being mopped up by the Hibs defence.

Smith and Kerr had half chances at either end as the game drew to a close, but the game fizzled out, with City looking well off the pace and Hibs deserving winners. Harrison in particular had a stand out game up front, and it’s easy to see why she won her first senior Scotland caps at the end of last season. We didn’t stick around for the second semi, where Celtic defeated Forfar Farmington 4-1 to set up a repeat of last year’s final back here at Falkirk on May 20th.

The Pies

There was a full catering service at Falkirk today, which was much appreciated. Kaitlin and I plumped for the same pies as on our last visit and once again both the steak and macaroni varieties were excellent. The pies here don’t necessarily look the best, but on taste they can’t be faulted.

Admission: £5
Programme: Free
Pie: £1.90 – £2.50
Bovril: £1.60
Attendance: 320 (approx)