Hearts win SWPL as defeat vs Hibs can't spoil title party after astonishing Rangers collapse
Hearts and Hibs collided on the final day of the SWPL season.
Hearts have won the SWPL title for the first time on the final day of 2025/26 season, despite a 2-0 defeat by Hibs in the Edinburgh derby.
Hibs went two goals up inside 32 minutes at Meadowbank in a clash where a win for Hearts would cement glory. Attentions turned to second-placed Rangers’ clash with Glasgow City, where victory for the Light Blues coupled with Hearts losing would see them pip Eva Olid’s side to the post. City raced into a three-goal lead and defeated Rangers by an astonishing 6-0 margin to help seal silverware in Gorgie, irrespective of the derby outcome. Hibs meanwhile consolidated fourth place under head coach Joelle Murray.
It was simple arithmetic for Hearts as a win in Olid’s final game before a planned summer exit would see her depart on the ultimate high. Drawing last weekend against Glasgow City when having the chance to win the league proved it would not be easy. Hibs were keen to rain on their rivals’ parade by ending their season with a big win but it was Georgia Timms who came closest to getting a maroon party started early.
How did Hearts win the SWPL?
She flashed a shot across goal that narrowly missed the net as Hibs started to unsettle their rivals who were having to cope with thoughts of glory. Those were threatened when Hibs’ Rosie Livingston was brought down in the box by defender Danique Ypemba in the Hearts box and Eilidh Adams cooly converted. It got worse just after the half-hour mark as Tegan Bowie’s teasing cross was turned into the net by Hearts defender Carly Girasoli.
That own goal looked likely to derail Hearts’ chances of keeping the silverware in their own hands but Glasgow City had stormed into a three-goal lead against Rangers. It had been a disappointing half for Hearts as Hibs overwhelmed them but it looked likely to matter little to the overall objective of the day.
Rangers would ship a further three as Hearts grew in confidence over their second half as champions chants began to ring out. There was emotion for the hosts too as Ciara Grant brought the curtain down on her playing career after two years at Hibs, having featured for the Republic of Ireland at the World Cup, alongside title glory in Leith last year. The Jambos had won 20 of their 27 matches ahead of the final day and that work was enough to get them over the line. Olid now leaves Hearts as a legend after building the women’s team up to Scottish title winners over her almost five-year tenure.
Olid told BBC Alba post-match: "I'm still in shock, you come with the mindset of winning the game, and then you don't win, but you win the league, it's a strange feeling. It's a long way, we were the most consistent game. It was not a good game. The last two weeks, you could tell the players were nervous, and that's normal. It's a young team, it's probably the first time they've been in this position. We won the league, though, that's bigger than one game of football."
Hibernian XI: Armitage, Herron, Gibb, Hunter, Grant, Fitzgerald, Adams, McGovern, Livingstone, Boyle, Bowie
Substitutes: Schumacher, Papadopoulos, Bryson, Notley, Jordan, Doran-Barr, Burchill, Morrison, Ramsay
Hearts XI: Johnstone, Ypema, J. Husband, E. Husband, Shore, Timms, Wade, Dolan, Andrews, Girasoli, Johns
Substitutes: Thomson, Hunter, Fulton, Forsyth, Adamolekun, Jardine, Richards, Burn, Slattery