U17s through to League Cup Final
The U17s swept through to the League cup final on Sunday after a deserved win against Falkirk Academy at Boness on Sunday.
The girls returned to the venue of their opening day league fixture looking to emulate that first day win and book a place in the League cup final. Although the pitch itself was in great condition, the lack of width in the playing area would guarantee a hard and tricky days work was in store.
With Falkirk playing on their home ground, they settled into their game from the start and their determination and no nonsense approach paid of early in the match. The girls struggled to cope with the slippery conditions and limited space in the opening stages and went behind from a well placed Falkirk chip from the edge of the box. With Falkirk pumped up and in the lead, they looked to further their advantage but instead found Hibs slowly customising themselves to the conditions. Hibs only fell behind once in this game but uncharacteristic individual errors gifted Falkirk a couple of lifelines throughout the game.
Falkirk's initial burst of superiority slowly waned and had they taken advantage of their good spell, the outcome of the day may well have been different. However, Hibs deservedly equalised through a Walkingshaw volley and quickly added another through Anja McConnachie. Anja doubled her tally for the day to put the girls 3-1 up and take a commanding grip of the game only for a defensive error to gift Falkirk a goal and a way back into the match. Hibs were in full control up until Falkirk's second and were looking to add to their own tally but Falkirk's energy levels were given a boost through Hibs' own making.
At the half time break, the mood in the camp was one of delight for the 3 goals the girls had scored but frustration for the generosity shown for both the Falkirk goals.
In the second half, Hibs doubled their efforts and played out most of the 40 minutes in the Falkirk half and quickly regained their two goal advantage through a Siobhan Hunter header from a corner. Rachel Walkingshaw also notched up a brace for herself before Siobhan helped herself to another through a penalty after Shannen Lamb was upended in the box. With the score now at 6-2 in favour of Hibs, the tie was never in doubt although the days scoring was far from over.
Falkirk didn't cave in and to their credit snatched a third to give the tie life again although in reality, the task of scoring another 3 would have been a tall order. Any idea of Hibs conceding their 4 goal lead like their professional counterparts did at Motherwell was scuppered when Caroline Weir danced through the opposition's rear guard and coolly drilled her drive into the bottom corner. It was a deserved goal for her day's efforts but her celebrations were cut short when Falkirk again slotted home after Hibs' last charitable act of the day. For all the frustrating moments throughout the game, in the end the girls fulfilled their objective and march on to the final.
Hibs now meet Hearts in the final at Stenhousemuir on the 27 June. For the girls to lift the trophy, it would do them well to be less benevolent to their opponents on the day.
Hibs Squad: Sam Eyeington, Ellen Reid, Shannen Lamb, Yasemin Emek, Anna Green, Rebecca Murdoch, Amber Hunter, Ciara Donaldson, Siobhan Hunter, Caroline Weir, Rachel Walkinshaw, Lucy Brown, Gemma Craig, Anja McConnachie, Marsha King
08 June 2010