Glasgow City v Hibernian

Glasgow City 1-1 Hibernian Ladies
SWPL1
Petershill Park
Sunday 13th May 2018

These two sides have been playing each other a lot recently, with a 2-2 draw at Ainslie Park in the league four weeks ago followed up with a 3-0 win for Hibs in the SWPL Cup semi final two weeks later. This is the second of three league meetings between the two teams this season, and with the third not scheduled until the penultimate weekend in October, this match will go a long way to shaping the course of the season ahead.

The Venue

The new Petershill Park was opened in 2007, replacing the cavernous old stadium of the same name. Home to junior side Petershill, the new facility has also played home to Rossvale, Rangers Ladies and as a temporary venue for various other sides. The facility is used extensively by youth and amateur setups as well. Glasgow City moved back here towards the end of last season when the synthetic pitch was relaid, after a spell out of town in Airdrie.

The main feature of the ground is the 500 seater stand which runs for about half the length of one of the sides. The seats are a mixture of fold down plastic seats in the middle section and padded benches on the end sections. There is a small area of flat standing room at the back of the stand. The stand offers great protection from the elements, and with the ground nestled at the top of a hill, this is more than welcome. The views from the stand are excellent, although annoyingly there is a large net in front of it for “supporter protection.” It’s the only place I can think of that utilises such a net, and although you get used to it fairly quickly, it can be a bit distracting.

There is a small area of flat standing behind one of the goals, as well as the rest of the stand side, and the other side of the pitch contains a couple of steps of terracing. The capacity is listed at either 1,000 or 1,500 depending on where you look, and I would guess that it’s somewhat closer to the latter. I understand that the ground doesn’t have the same charm, character or atmosphere as the old Petershill, but the facilities are top class, and it’s a really good place to watch a game being played. I like it here.

The Teams

Given that I’ve written about both teams very recently, I’m going to swerve the usual details. Since I last saw these two, Glasgow City have beaten Celtic by 3-0 in the league, while Hibs defeated Stirling University by the same score. Both sides sit with 16 points from their six games, with City on top of the table on goal difference. Grant Scott has also been promoted to head coach following his successful spell in caretaker charge.

Sometimes at Petershill, the earlier games have run on slightly, and you get some bonus football. Today we caught the last 15 minutes of Thistle Weir’s 2-2 draw with Queens Park in the SWFL Division One North. It was a fairly decent wee game, with Thistle equalising really late in the day.

The Game

The first thing I noticed this afternoon was Scott Booth’s decision to start with a front-line of Donna Paterson and Maddie Hill, two naturally defensive players. I can only assume that it was to put a bit of height up against the Hibs defence, but it seemed to be a strange tactical choice.

The game had only just kicked off when City were handed a golden opportunity to take an early lead. Poor ball retention by the Hibs backline led to Abbi Grant being presented with a chance from the edge of the box. Hibs keeper Hannah Reid was equal to Grant’s effort though and the score remained level. With five minutes played, Hayley Lauder created space for herself on the right, but her cross was headed wide by Paterson. After ripping City to shreds in the SWPL Cup semi-final two weeks ago, Abi Harrison took just six minutes to make her first mark on the game, forcing a good stop from Lee Alexander after breaking free of the defence.

Hibs had managed to get a grip on the game and Lizzie Arnot and Cailin Michie both caused problems for the City defence as the visitors asserted themselves on the game. Their energy and drive was rewarded with 17 minutes gone. A defensive mix-up between Megan Foley and Jo Love allowed Arnot to pick up the ball on the left hand side. She took advantage and cut into the box before finishing low under Alexander to give Hibs the lead. City had a chance to equalise five minutes later, but Paterson somehow managed to head Lauder’s cross past the post.

That chance was about as good as it got for City in the first half, as Hibs dominated possession and were causing all sorts of problems to an out of sorts City defence. Harrison and Shannon McGregor both created good chances before half time and in truth the visitors should have been more than just one goal to the good going into the break.

A nasty looking injury to Donna Paterson just before half time saw the introduction of Kirsty Howat for City and with a natural striker on the pitch, the home side improved markedly as the second half began. With just five minutes of the second half gone, City were level. Hill picked up the ball on the right hand side and passed to Howat inside the box. Her cut back landed at the feet of Hayley Lauder who finished off an excellent team move.

Both sides created chances as a much more even second half played out, but neither side could quite find the breakthrough. With only seconds left to play, City almost snatched the win, but Howat couldn’t squeeze the ball over the line after Reid had flapped at Lauder’s cross. Hibs will be ruing not taking advantage of their first half domination as a huge chance to lay a marker down was missed. It happened in unfortunate circumstances, but Howat’s introduction into the game, completely changed the momentum, and City were a completely different side in the second half. I expect it to go right to the wire between these two again this season, their third and final league meeting will be back here at Petershill on the penultimate day of the season.

The Pies

It seems to be about 50/50 when City are playing whether the servery will be open. It wasn’t today, and the inside bar had no hot food available. So it was vending machine fare or nothing today. We had stopped for a McDonald’s on the way in case this happened. Which was a good shout.

Admission: £5
Programme: None (but “SheKicks” magazine available for free on entry)
Pie: None
Bovril: None – coffees available from bar inside
Attendance: 125 (approx)