Match Preview

MATCH PREVIEW: Hibernian (H)

Sunday 21st January, 2024 at 10:01am

This Sunday 21st January, PTWFC take on Hibernian in the Sky Sports Cup semi final at Petershill Park in a 16:10 kickoff.

Having beaten our nearest top 6 contenders Aberdeen in convincing fashion in our last outing, the Jags will be going into this historic fixture with confidence as we look to reach the first national cup final in our club’s history.

ℹ️ Fixture Information

📍Petershill Park
🕐Sunday 21st January 2024 4:10pm
🎟️ £7 / £5 – http://bit.ly/PTWSemiTickets
🆓 Kids go FREE!
📺 BBC ALBA
💻Updates on Twitter
💻️Highlights and reaction post match

🆚 Our Opponents: Hibernian

Hibs have had a good season so far sitting 4th in the SWPL1 with 32 points, 2 more than Brian Graham’s side. Having gained victories over Aberdeen and Dundee United en route to the semi-final,

Grant Scott will be feeling confident as his Hibs side travel over from the capital. Having played some great football in recent weeks, including a 4-0 win away to Hamilton Accies last weekend, Hibs will look to secure their place in the final of the cup. Possessing a great defense as well as attack, Grant Scott’s outfit have scored 21 goals in their last 3, without conceding. It will be up to Brian Graham to field the strongest side available to overcome the Hibees.

Hibernian’s squad has a lot of talented individuals with the likes of Jorian Baucom, Leah Eddie and Michaela McAlonie receiving praise from pundits and fans alike over the past few weeks while former Jag Abbie Ferguson has been a major part of Grant Scott’s tactical setup throughout the season. Stewart Hall also remains a key part of the Hibs backroom having been former assistant manager at Thistle before leaving just before the split last season.

The Jags gained victory in the capital in our last meeting with super sub Lucy Sinclair scoring a brace and securing a massive victory for Brian Graham’s side. The gaffer will be looking to take the positives from this game as we approach this historical fixture.

📈Thistle so far

Aberdeen made the trip down to Glasgow in some cold wet and overall horrible conditions to face a fired up Jags side. Only one change was made to Brian Graham’s side as Kodie Hay made her way into the starting 11 in place of Imogen Longcake who dropped to the bench through illness. Deploying a back 3 formation, Aberdeen had one clear gameplan: frustrate the Jags and hit long balls towards their hitman Bailey Hutchison, currently with 13 goals for the season.

The Dons threatened early on as Hutchison forced a great save from Megan Cunningham to deny an early lead. Though, this would prove to be a wakeup call for Thistle with Aberdeen rarely threatening after this and falling victim to a great offside trap from our backline several times. A great piece of play down the right hand side allowed Cara Henderson, on her 50th appearance in red and yellow, to hold up the ball well and lay off Linzi Taylor who beat Jennifer Currie giving the Jags the lead after 7 minutes.

Thistle would continue their attacking onslaught and, much like the reverse fixture, Rosie Slater put the ball in the back of the net and gave a 2 goal lead for PTW. Thistle were very unlucky to keep the game at just 2-0 as Kodie Hay continued to put in a number of dangerous balls into the box and some heroic goalkeeping from Jennifer Currie prevented the game from getting to an outrageous number.

Debuts for new signings Carla Boyce and Rebecca McAllister were met well by the Thistle Faithful who welcomed the pair with cheers and applause as they joined the action from the bench.

Strong Followings from the Red and Yellow army have helped our girls all season long. This is as big a game as it gets. A spot in the final of the tournament and a trip to Tynecastle for the final await the girls and it could be secured this Sunday. With your support and noise, let’s help fill Petershill once more and make history.

🗞 Team News

Almost a full squad available for Brian Graham this weekend for this cup fixture. New signing Carla Boyce is cup tied for this game while Claire Adams could make her long awaited return to the squad having just missed out against Aberdeen.

With this huge cup tie approaching, it will be up to Brian Graham and the rest of the
management team to field the best possible side heading into this fixture and hopefully secure history in the process.