THE prospect of the women’s and men’s Scottish Cups being in the Easter Road trophy room at the same time will be a powerful incentive for Hibernian when they play Glasgow City at Hamilton’s Superseal Stadium tomorrow afternoon.
The two clubs have dominated the competition in the early years of this century, having won the cup five times each. Hibs have only once beaten City in the final, and that was when Kim Little was in the side in 2007.
The Glasgow club will be going for a sixth successive winning final, and the evidence suggests they still hold the upper hand. Their domination of the domestic trophies was brought to an end when they were beaten 2-1 by Hibs in the League Cup final in June – but against that the newly crowned 10-times league champions won all three SWPL1 games comfortably.
Hibernian midfielder Lucy Graham, who levelled the scores at 1-1 in the League Cup final before Lizzie Arnot went on to notch a very later winner, admitted: “The scorelines in the league have gone against us, but I think it’s because as a team we’re going for it so much.”
Unlike other players in her side, including central defenders Joelle Murray and Siobhan Hunter, the 20-year-old wasn’t a girlhood Hibs fan, having joined the club from Forfar Farmington in 2013. But she can see the bigger picture.
“It’s something dreams are made of if we could tie the two stories together by beating Glasgow City,” she said.
Hibs will again have midfielder Chelsea Cornet out through injury, while it’s a similar position with Julie Fleeting at Glasgow City.
Head coach Scott Booth is confident that goalkeeper Gemma Fay will be available despite missing training on Wednesday and Thursday with flu symptoms.
It has been a long season for the players involved in international games and Booth said: “Obviously it’s the last game, so the players are focusing on finishing on a high before their break.”
The two teams also met in last year’s final, when a Clare Shine hat-trick helped win the trophy for City.
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