By Gethin Thurlow (28/08/2025)
Above: Hibernian captain Rachael Boyle scores for Hibernian. Photo: HibernianWomen on X.
Glasgow City 0-2 Austria Wien
Two moments of quality saw Austria Wien move past Glasgow in a tight game.
Both teams imposed themselves on the game in the first half, with possession and
chances shared pretty evenly between the two teams. Neither of them could find the back of the net, and it was clear that it would take a moment of great quality to open the scoring. For the group hosts, that moment came early in the second half, with Katharina Schiechtl whipping a free kick past Lee Gibson in the Glasgow goal.
Glasgow did push for the equaliser, although they were never quite on top of their opponents as much as they needed to be. Sofia Maatta and Emily Whelan were both inches away from the scoring, but the other goal of the game was to be scored Maria Olsen of Austria Wien in injury time to secure the result.
For Austria Wien, they go on to a tie against FC Minsk to put them through into the third round of qualifying for the Champions League. For Glasgow City, they go straight into the first round of qualifying for the Europa Cup, which is a new second tier European competition. This is because they were only drawn into a group of three and thus there is no ‘loser’ from the first game to play to determine that third place.
Fortuna Hjorring 2-1 Hibernian
Goalkeeping errors proved costly as Fortuna snuck past Scottish Champions Hibs in a game were neither team showcased the performances that won them the subsequent league titles.
The first five minutes gave an indication of how the game was going to go. After a huge miscommunication at the back, Andreea Paraluta in the Fortuna Hjorring goal was caught on the ball by Rosie Livingstone, leaving the keeper no choice but to take her out and a penalty was given. The ever-reliable Kathleen McGovern stepped up and looked to have put Hibs in front with a nice powerful shot towards the top left corner. However, Paraluta redeemed herself with a fantastic save to push it over the
bar.
From the ensuing corner – as unbelievable as it sounds – Omewa Ogochukwu was played in behind the defence, and Noa Schumacher in goal for Hibs misjudged the situation, allowing Ugochuckwu to dribble past her. As the only option left, Schumacher rugby tackled the Nigerian striker to the ground and it was now a Fortuna penalty.
It is worth saying that this was much worse of an offence, denying a clear goalscoring opportunity and there was clearly no effort to play the ball – she was lucky to escape a red card. Ugochuckwo only went and blasted the ball over the bar after all of that drama to somehow leave the game 0-0.
Although it was played at night, the temperatures were 27 degrees Celsuis in Cyrpus and this massively affected the game. Neither team looked at their best, with no flow of possession ever being created. The whistle was blown a lot and no one put their mark of the game.
Hibs came out rejuvenated in the second half, partly because of the introduction of Caley Gibb, who defended brilliantly and provided most of Hibs’ attacking threat from the right back position. Indeed it was her work on the wing and cross which eventually found its was to Rachael Boyle, who put it home for her first goal in 934 days. This really settled Hibs and they started the take control of the game and were looking secure in their lead.
However, this game was never simple or predictable so when Ashley Reifner put a ball in to the edge of the box, Ugochuckwu beat the defence to get their first, but she was so far out that surely the keeper would easily save it. Noa Schumacher unfortunately has misread the cross and came sprinting out of her line, attempting to punch the ball away and thus when she didn’t reach it the ball was free to slowly roll in. If she had just stayed back it would have been an easy claim.
As both teams toiled even further, the game felt like it was going to penalties. Neither team seemed to have enough in them to string any passes or an attack together even in 30 minutes of extra time.
As time ran out, Schumacher did well to save a great long shot from Fortuna and the Danish side had a late corner. It was a great ball in from Nikoline Nielsen, but what defined the goal was another error rather than that skill. Clearly wanting to assert herself back into the game, Schumacher jumped and got a hand on the ball. As unlucky as it was for her, instead of punching the ball over, she ended up punching it straight into the goal, ultimately sealing the fate of her team.
Fortuna Hjorring go on to face Swiss side Young Boys, who beat Apollen 1-0 in an unconvincing win earlier on Sunday. Should they get past them, they will enter round three Champions League qualifying, but they can solace in the fact that if they lose Europe is still on the horizon as they will go into round two qualifying for the Europa cup.
Hibernian will face Apollen on Saturday, aiming to come third in the group and at least gain entry to round one of Europa Cup qualification.
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