Hibs Women set new crowd record as fans snap up tickets for Easter Road derby

Hibs have smashed their attendance target for next week’s Edinburgh derby at Easter Road between Hibs Women and Hearts Women.

Hibs chief executive Ben Kensell with Hibs Women defender Siobhan Hunter, and Hibs Women coach Dean Gibson

Club chief executive Ben Kensell had spoken of his desire to break the previous women’s record crowd of 2,551 set at the October 2016 Champions League clash against Bayern Munich and with more than a week until the Capital rivals meet, more than 3,000 briefs have been shifted.

Hibs are working on a more integrated approach including bringing all teams closer together under the one club banner and announced that tickets for the Scottish Women’s Premier League clash would be free of charge.

Speaking on Monday as he helped preview the highly-anticipated clash Kensell said: “It's a big day for Hibs, it’s a big day for women's football in Scotland. It's probably long overdue.

"It's going be great under the lights and hopefully, we can get a record-breaking crowd. When we played Bayern Munich, we got just under 3,000 so we'd love to get more this time round. It's free to get in, so we're hoping for a big crowd; we're hoping for a great performance and of course, we're hoping for a win.”

While the attendance could yet rise with a full seven days to go until the fixture, many of the Hibs Women players will be playing in front of the largest crowd of their career.

Dean Gibson’s side are playing home matches out of Livingston’s Tony Macaroni Arena stadium this season and while sharing Easter Road may not be a viable option, Kensell is keen to explore alternatives.

“Firstly, we've got to look at how we transition the team into the Hibs family of teams that we have, and teams that we have.

"I think it's important that we transition things slowly, make improvements all the time with everything we're trying to do.

"Whether Easter Road could actually be their home or not, there's obviously logistical challenges with the weather, with the pitches, and with the facilities that we've got here and the fixture congestion that exists within the different leagues.

"But it’s an option that we’ve got to look at.”

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