Heartbreak for Hibs Ladies as they lose Scottish Cup final in last minute to Glasgow City

Hibs Ladies were left disconsolate at full-time. Pic: Lisa Ferguson

Hibs Ladies’ reign as SSE Scottish Cup holders is over after an agonising 4-3 defeat to league champions Glasgow City.

The Hibees were chasing their fourth consecutive cup success, but lost out in cruel fashion as Republic of Ireland international Clare Shine’s superb strike in the final minute at Tynecastle Park ensured a league and cup double for Scott Booth’s side.

After a fairly low-key opening, a seven-goal thriller unfolded in front of more than 3,000 in attendance as the lead changed hands several times.

However, it wasn’t to be for Grant Scott’s side, who finish the 2019 campaign on a disappointing note. They did, however, manage to retain the SWPL Cup for a fourth time in May.

Scott said: “It was quite frantic if I am honest. The result is everything in a cup final so I am very disappointed. The goals we lost weren’t good from our perspective so we should maybe just see out the game with so little time to spare. It’s a tough one to take.”

Shine had the first attempt on goal after almost 25 minutes as her drive from distance flew past Jenna Fife’s right-hand post.

Hibs grabbed the initiative on the half-hour mark when the sprightly Jamie-Lee Napier cut through the heart of the City midfield and played a perfectly weighted pass to Colette Cavanagh, whose first-time ball across the six-yard box was deftly prodded home by Amy Gallacher.

City’s response was emphatic. Eilish McSorley lashed the ball past Fife to equalise after Hibs failed to clear a free-kick into the box and the game was turned on its head just minutes later when Leanne Crichton turned in Hayley Lauder’s cross five minutes before the interval.

But the Capital outfit were level four minutes after the restart after Shannon McGregor broke free of the City defence and slid the ball into the path of Napier, who placed the ball under Lee Alexander to level it up at 2-2.

Gallacher’s deflected shot then had Hibs ahead with the second half barely ten minutes old but this City side, who have qualified for the Champions League quarter-finals, are a resilient bunch and Shine headed home Lauder’s corner to square the tie up once more.

And it was Shine who grabbed the headlines when her well-placed finish won it right at the death.

Goalscorer Napier said: “We just have to keep our heads up and build towards next season. We have to work on things that we didn’t do well, like losing the last-minute goal. We’ll rest up and get ready to go again next season.”

Glasgow City: Alexander, McLauchlan, Lauder, Love, Crichton, Howat (Foley 78), Shine, Docherty, Ross, Kerr, McSorley (Clark 66). Subs: Sinclair, Reid, Girasoli, McLintock, Clachers.

Hibs Ladies: Fife, Muir, Hunter, Napier Michie, McGregor, Cavanagh (Leishman 73), Gallacher (Davidson 89), Murray, Cornet, Boyle. Subs: Tweedie, Currie, Notley, Higgins, Adams.

Referee: Lauren Whitehead.

Attendance: 3,123.