Hearts moved up to second in the SWPL after a stunning second half comeback secured a 3-1 victory against Hibernian at Easter Road.
A goal from Bayley Hutchison and a brace from Carly Johns saw Hearts move two points clear of Hibs who dropped to third.
Grant Scott made two changes to the Hibs side that beat Hearts at Oriam last week, bringing in Tiree Burchill for Eilidh Adams and Scarlett Herron for Linzi Taylor.
Eva Olid brought in Joely Andrews for the injured Jenna Slattery, with Monica Forsyth also featuring in the side for the game in place of Sade Adamolekun.
First Half
Hibernian started strongly, controlling possession in the early stages and the first significant opportunity of the game came in the 13th minute but the headed attempt on goal failed to find the target. Kathleen McGovern then stepped up to take a freekick at goal but her long range strike was comfortably saved by Rachael Johnstone in goal.
A largely uneventful first half was briefly interrupted as McGovern was forced off through injury in the 42nd minute. Midway through the four minutes of stoppage time, Hibernian took the lead as the Hearts defence failed to clear the ball from a corner. Siobhan Hunter found the captain Ellis Notley at the back post who headed into the net to claim her third goal in the last three league games.
Second Half
The dynamic of the game began to shift in the second 45 as Hearts showed early signs of their attacking potential.
The equaliser arrived in the 57th minute as Johns converted from a low driven cross. This was followed by a second three minutes later as Hutchison added to the scoresheet at the near post from a corner.
Shortly after, Hibs would come close to equalising. Quick, one-touch passing opened up space behind the Hearts defence, but Johnstone would once more prevent a goal as she stopped the Hibs attack with an impressive save.
The Hibernian fans soon became restless as their team continued to lose the ball in the second half and their frustration turned to despair as a deflected shot fell to Johns who passed the ball neatly into the bottom left corner.
Post Match
After the game, Grant Scott was visibly disappointed. He said he was “surprised and yet not surprised” at the performance.
“My biggest frustration, the result’s frustrating, but my biggest frustration is that that’s not the first time this season we’ve done that. We’ve either had a poor first half and gone in the second or vice versa, and we’ve done it again today.”
A similarly dejected Ellis Notley said: “the second half was unacceptable from us as a whole.”
Eva Olid reflected on her side’s win: “the derbies are difficult because it’s more about battles than football. We need to adapt to that, and I think in the second half we won the battles and that is what made us win.”
Hibernian will travel to Petershill Park next week to face the undefeated league leaders, Glasgow City. However, Hibs will look towards this game with confidence, having been the only side in the league that Glasgow City have failed to beat thus far.
Meanwhile, Hearts will look to extend the pressure on Glasgow City with a win against bottom side Hamilton Academical.
