Hibs took home the Scottish Women’s Football Youth Cup as they defeated their traditional club rivals Hearts 1-0 at the Oriam Performance Centre in Edinburgh. Eilidh Adams’s second-half finish was enough to earn her side the trophy.

 

Hibs saw off Celtic and Hearts got the better of Rangers, both after extra time, in two thrilling semi-final matches. Whilst the decision to move the finals to Oriam was made before these teams had even played their quarter-final matches, it certainly paid off in terms of the crowd this match attracted. The stand was packed in what may well have been a record crowd for a Youth Cup match.

 

Whilst the green and maroon halves of Edinburgh are rivals historically, this game had a slightly different slant to it with many players close friends, playing for the same regional squads. However, the match kicked off and it was clear from the first whistle that this one would be extremely competitive.

 

After a cagey opening five minutes, Hibs carved out the first chance of the match when Anna Dickov slipped Tegan Bowie through with a neat pass. Bowie’s shot was comfortably saved and it proved to be Bowie’s last act of the game as she suffered an injury and was taken off, Phoebe Friend taking her place. The early blow necessitated a change of shape for Hibs with Friend going out right and McFadden switching to the left.

 

It didn’t seem to faze Hibs however as they began to exrt more control over the match. Through Amy Hay in particular. The centre mid was pulling the strings, always looking for the defence splitting pass and even coming close to a goal when her 25-yard volley landed on the roof of the net. Carys Grieve had the best chance of the opening half, when she was put one-on-one with Alicia Yates, but the Hearts keeper stood strong to deny her the goal.

 

Hibs didn’t have it all their own way however. Hay’s opposite number Emma Yorkston had Hearts’ first effort on target when she took advantage of some confusion in the Hibs box following a free kick, but her tame effort didn’t trouble Mia Smith. The keeper also saw little danger from Caitlyn Wilson’s curling shot which sailed harmlessly wide.

 

The first half ended all square and with no team able to claim dominance. 

If the first half started quietly, the second half was positively silent. In the opening 20 minutes neither side could muster as much as a shot on target, with moves breaking down in the final third more often than either side would have liked. Hearts took off one of their strikers, Caitlin Black, and replaced her with another midfielder, Heather Munro, so they could match their city rivals in the middle of the park. 

 

It was a move meant to stifle Hibs attacking intent, but despite Hearts’ best efforts, the game got the goal it badly needed. An incisive move down the right wing saw early substitute Friend hit the byline, turning several Hearts defenders inside out before cutting it back to Eilidh Adams to finish from close range.

 

With time running out on their cup final dream, the expected Hearts onslaught never came. They were unable to bring their attack into the game in any meaningful way, with Hibs always fully in control. For their part, Hibs never looked like scoring a second with only a couple of long range efforts that drifted high and wide as the game fizzled out to a dour close.

 

Not that Hibs would be complaining as they saw the game out for a famous victory and Scottish Cup triumph.