Inside Hibs SWPL title win as 'stuff of dreams' has dressing room on cloud nine with gaffer standing proud
Head coach Grant Scott and Linzi Taylor have reflected on a historic day for Hibs after they were crowned as SWPL champions.
An emotional Linzi Taylor hailed a united effort at Hibs Women, as they claimed the SWPL title on the final day of a historic season.
Faced with a challenging visit to a Rangers side that had condemned them to a heavy defeat in the SWPL Cup final earlier in the season, Grant Scott’s side showed all of the grit and determination that had taken them to within touching distance of seeing off a number of big spending rivals to land the title with a narrow victory at Ibrox.
Roared on a strong travelling contingent, Hibs held firm throughout a surprisingly low-key opening 45 minutes before Taylor came to the fore with just over 15 minutes remaining as she broke out of defence and made her way towards the hosts area. After getting on the end of a cross from Kathleen McGovern, the Hibs skipper directed the ball beyond home keeper Jenna Fife and inside her far post to give her side the goal and win they needed to claim a first SWPL in 18 years.
Reflecting on a historic moment for herself and the side she has led throughout a remarkable campaign, Taylor praised key figures across the Hibs setup after they all played a part in a title triumph very few predicted ahead of the campaign.
She told Sky Sports: “Honestly, (I am) a bit emotional, I don’t think it’s sunk in yet. I’m delighted for that group of players, the staff, the fans that have followed us near and far. I can’t believe it, it’s the stuff you dream of when you’re a wee girl and I think for anybody watching today, young girls and boys, this is the stuff of dreams. What had that cushion, we knew a draw would have got us a win, but we came here for three points and that’s exactly what we’ve done.
“I think a lot of people wrote us off, especially when you look back to the 4-0 game at Easter Road. You look at how far we have come as a team, we are so together, everybody is in it for each other. That’s from the coaching staff to the medical team, they bandage people up, they’ve kept people going through the season, sports scientists and stuff like that. This isn’t just the players, this is absolutely everybody as a club and thankfully, we’ve went and shown what we can do.”
“The togetherness in the group”
For head coach Grant Scott, the title win is the result of a remarkable response to the deeply disappointing cup final defeat his side suffered against Sunday’s hosts in March.
After guiding Hibs to their first title since a Kim Little-inspired side won every game during their 2007 league campaign, Scott revealed what he felt had been the key ingredient in an unexpected success that had been predicted by few ahead of the season.
He said: “I think the togetherness in the group, that galvanisation. We’ve had a few knocks this year, we’ve had a few really poor performances. In the cup final I felt Rangers were great on the day and we hadn’t really turned up. But the reaction to that, that’s all you can ask your players to do. We’ve gone about our business consistently, the group’s performed consistently Monday to Friday and we’ve turned up almost every week. So they deserve so much credit for that.”