Murieston - Hibs
Match Report - 01 Oct 2006

From the start, Ellen Pia laid it off to Moriah, who scored the first goal within minutes of the kick off. It was a blistering run by Moriah who struck the ball brilliantly, giving the keeper no chance.

Five minutes later a Murieston player was down after she clashed with the Hibs attack, there was no suggestion of a foul either on the defender or by the defender, but this lead to a bit of confusion between Hibs and Murieston alike. However, the referee played on and Rebecca Zoltie crafted a beautiful 15 yard flick which found Moriah in a great position to score the second.

Despite the strong early start by Hibs, the Murieston heads never went down and they won a corner after about 20 minutes. Stacey Stirrat took a great corner which found a Murieston attacker but Nicky Boyle judged the strike well and was able to block.

Soon after this incident Rebecca Zoltie went on an exciting run and found Moriah again with another great pass, but the Murieston keeper judged the run perfectly and dived bravely at Moriah’s feet to block an almost certain goal. Nadia Russell is without doubt one of the best Under 15 keepers in the league and is fearless. This incident lead to a brief period of injury as a consequence of her heroics.

Due to a good performance at the back from Mirren Fisher and from Nicola Hardie and Stacey Stirrat in the middle for Murieston, Hibs Girls were forced to make great use of their two wide players. One of the great strengths of Hibs this season has been the wing play of Gemma Robb on the left and Bryony on the right. Both girls have got excellent control and fast feet. The lay offs and first touch passes from both girls yesterday was a delight. Bryony Ross had another outstanding game for Hibs Girls and Gemma caused Murieston all sorts of problems on the left. Gemma and Bryony were both rewarded with goals. Gemma’s goal was a delightful strike as she placed the ball into the back of the net with great precision. Bryony’s came from fantastically judged run. Bryony’s timing was perfect and her goal was a gem.

One of the stand-out players for Hibs in this game was Rebecca Zoltie who put in her best performance of the season. Her tackles and running were strong, her passing was precise and her work rate was dynamic. Her efforts were rewarded with a classic Zoltie strike from distance adding to Hibs goal tally for the day.

Later on in the second half, after a good run, Claire McEwan placed a perfect pass to Gemma Robb who flicked the ball to Hibs top scorer Ellen Pia. Ellen struck the ball well only to bring off another fine save from Nadia Russell. Ellen Pia’s strike rate has been exceptional this season but Nadia Russell made sure Ellen did not add to her impressive tally.

Midway through the second half, Nicola Hardie went on a great run for Murie and struck the ball well, forcing Nicki Boyle to make a great reaction save. Nicola Hardie put in a good performance in the midfield, her fighting spirit and sheer workload for the whole game made her Hibs counterparts work hard for this result.

The Hibs Nicky had an excellent game for her team and she appears to be improving as a keeper every game. Later on in the game, Nicky was forced to make a fine save from a strike by Murieston’s Kirsty McArthur. Nicky held onto the ball, kicked it up the field to find Ellen Pia who controlled the bell well and laid a great pass to Gemma Robb who fired a powerful shot which brought off a fine save by the Murieston keeper. Moriah picked up the rebound but her shot just missed the target.

Stacey Stirrat of Murieston was involved in a great move were she moved up the middle of the pitch and fought bravely past two Hibs players. She eventually scrambled a pass whilst on the ground to create a chance which was eventually shot wide of target.

The final goal came from Anja McConnachie near the end of the match. Anja ran 20 yards skilfully taking the ball round two players and struck the ball well. However, the bain of Hibs attack keeper Russell got a hand to it and the ball deflected of the post and bounced across the goal only for Anja to strike the ball into the net from an acute angle.

In summary it was a good performance by Hibs on a heavy autumn pitch. The grass was a bit longer than usual because of the recent rain and made passing a bit more difficult. All members of the team put in a solid performance. So far, in five games, Hibs have only conceded 2 goals. The teams defenders and defensive midfielders deserve special praise for this. Credit must also be given to Murieston. The whole team worked hard throughout the game. Hibs had to work hard for their win. Murieston players of note were Stacey Stirrat (captain) in midfield, for her sheer determination and never die attitude. The previously mentioned Nicola Hardie demonstrated great resolve, workrate and fighting spirit. Nadia Russel was impressive in goal ably supported at the back by Mirren Fisher in defence.