Hibs v Hearts: Eva Olid on why derby win would be "massive" and performance levels required

Hearts manager Eva Olid wants to see a reaction from her players in the Edinburgh derby after last Sunday’s defeat.

Going into the Capital Cup clash on Sunday, Hearts have the chance to consolidate their fourth place position in SWPL1 and create a seven-point gap between their rivals. A 3-0 defeat to Celtic last Sunday ended a three-game winning streak in the league for the Jam Tarts and was also the most goals they had conceded in a game all season. Olid now wants her team to bounce back from that “unrecognisable” performance and create a comfortable points gap between their rivals.

“Last Sunday, I did not recognise my team”, she told Edinburgh Evening News. “We did not play our game, but I want to take that and get a good reaction this week. We committed some mistakes, but we are not going to commit these mistakes this week. We are going to learn and put in a performance for this Sunday.

“We know if we win on Sunday, we will be seven points in front of Hibs. For us that is massive as we know Hibs are always in the top four and we could be seven points in front of them. In this league, anything can happen. They can lose games and we can lose games too, and because of that it's so important we get the seven-point gap.”

Eva Olid believes it's important for Hearts to create a seven-point gap between themselves and Hibs. Picture: Malcolm MacKenzie

This fixture will also be the first to contest the Capital Cup which was introduced at the start of the season for the derby. Not only will Hearts be able to obtain local bragging rights if they win but they would also be the first side to win the silverware. Olid believes the addition of the trophy to the fixture is positive.

“The Capital Cup has come about because of the support of people who want to help women’s football, which is so positive”, she stated. “It is not necessarily extra motivation as we are already so motivated for the occasion. Of course it is something nice, it is something that you can win.”

The Edinburgh derby kicks off at 4:10pm this Sunday at Easter Road. A record crowd is expected, with over 11,000 free tickets secured for the fixture.