Hearts aim to end Ainslie Park curse in derby

Hearts are aiming to bounce back from last weekend’s poor result by finally ending their winless streak away to Spartans.

Hearts celebrate their second goal against Montrose. Credit: (© ScottishPower Womens Premier League | Malcolm Mackenzie)

The Jam Tarts have typically struggled against their neighbours and only claimed their first victory against Debbi McCulloch’s side last season in a 2-0 win. Now, the two Edinburgh sides will meet for the first time this campaign on Sunday as Hearts travel to Ainslie Park.

“Spartans have always been a difficult opponent for us,” Eva Olid told the Edinburgh Evening News. ‘We have never won on their pitch, I think we have just lost. It is always a competitive game, they are a physical team, they fight every match, and we will need to give our best if we want to get three points on Sunday.

Spartans haven’t had much luck at home this season and are still searching for their first win. A recent 3-0 loss to Glasgow City kept them ninth in the SWPL1, five points below Hearts in sixth. However, with Spartans boasting a good defensive line, Olid understands that despite their mixed start to the season, the hosts could easily cause problems.

“We are trying to work on that [their physicality] because we are a ball team, we like to have possession of the ball,” she explained. “We need to learn that there are a lot of moments in the match where you won’t have the ball and you need to fight. This is one of the things we are trying to improve. Although we try to dominate, there is 30-40% of the match where you don’t have possession and we are working a lot on that. This week in training we have worked hard on how we have to be out of possession.”

Hearts will also be aiming to get their form back on track after some poor results. Olid’s side have won one game in their last six and were denied all three points in the 89^th minute last weekend as newly promoted Montrose salvaged a 3-3 draw. With the club having dreams of reaching the top three in the coming seasons, runs such as these need to be ironed out. After now having time to reflect on last week’s game, Olid insists it was a ‘learning curve’ for her side as she looks forward to a positive reaction on the weekend.

“We had a bad result on the weekend and when that happens you are just looking forward to the next match,” Olid added. “That is what we are feeling, we can’t wait to arrive on Sunday and have a good reaction.

“It was a big learning curve and that’s what happens in life sometimes. You have a bad moment, and you see the things that you need to do better and where you have to learn. Sometimes these things need to happen to have that reaction then going forward, we can do things how we really want.”