Hibernian 0-1 Internazionale
By Gethin Thurlow at Easter Road for Impetus (18/9/25)
Above: The Hibs starting lineup in Edinburgh Photo: @HibernianWomen on X
Hibs were knocked out of the Europa Cup after a 1-0 defeat to Inter Milan at Easter Road. Coming into the game trailing by three, Hibs played with intensity in attack and stayed solid at the back, and were unfortunate to come away with a loss on the night.
The Matchup
Inter took control of this tie in the first leg, which was in Italy. Scoring two goals within 10 minutes, they asserted themselves on the game from the start. A very spirited response from Hibs brought the game to close at 4-1, with Eilidh Adams grabbing their only goal, scoring from the edge of the box
This presented a mammoth task for the Edinburgh club in the second leg, and different game plan possibilities for Inter Milan to consider. Going into a game three goals up is very different to starting from scratch, and taking advantage of that that was probably the only hope that Hibernian had of causing a shock.
The Teams
Grant Scott made a number of changes from the 5-0 blowing-away of Montrose that his team delivered on Sunday. Particularly notable was the absence of Tegan Bowie, the left winger who provided assists for three of those goals, with Rosie Livingstone and Tiree Burchill preferred on the wings instead.
Rachel Boyle being on the bench was another boost for the hosts, as she has missed the last few weeks with an injury picked up in Champions League qualifying.
Inter Milan meanwhile went full strength as they looked to keep that European run going. They managed to win 4-1 even without Belgian superstar Tessa Wullaert in the first leg, so her return to the starting 11 gave the Italian team even more confidence that they could advance to the next round of the Europa Cup.
The Action
The difference in what both teams needed from the game was clear to see from the off. Hibs were showing clear intent, pushing aggressively forward, going in for every tackle, leaving it all out there essentially. While Inter were not overtly time-wasting, it was clear they were more interested in keeping the ball rather than creating lots of chances.
It was however the visitors who got in early. Papadopoulos held firm to deny Magull, after the Italian side counter attacked from a corner, and Schumacher did well to save a shot from Wullaert as she was played through on goal moments after.
Hibernian had clearly learnt from the first matchup, and were very disciplined in holding a defensive line, catching the Inter Milan attack offside six times in the game.
They knew that good defending couldn’t eradicate a three-goal deficit and began to get more creative in attack, trying anything that could get them a goal and bring that glimmer of hope. Siobhan Hunter attempted a cheeky chip from the halfway line, after McGovern was fouled, but Iceland international Runnarsdottir was not to be caught out.
Chances did come though for the Hibees. Eilidh Adams received an inch perfect pass from Ciara Grant, which allowed her to move past Runarsdottir, but her touch was too big and by the time she shot the angle to the goal was closing and her momentum was taking her away, which resulted in a very easy effort for Inter to defend.
Hibernian also looked in at one point, with a four-on-four counterattack situation, but some indecisiveness from Burchill allowed the defence to take shape again, and Rosie Livingstone miscued a difficult volley from the ensuing cross.
The game looked to have flipped on its head in one single moment when Adams was played behind the defence and Runarsdottircame sprinting out of her box. Lunging in, she missed the ball and Adams went down but the referee remained unmoved, and replays showed that was the correct choice, as they were never contact between the two.
Hibs were just three 50-50 moments away from being level but ultimately had not made dent into the gap by half time.
Despite the scoreline, there was no panic from Hibs and at half time they stuck with the players which had challenged the Inter team in the first 45.
Hibs did start to dominate the game and were able to control the ball in the visitors’ half throughout the first 20 minutes of the second half. In key moments however, Livingstone, Adams, Grant and Burchill all failed to provide the quality needed to get Hibs on the scoreboard.
As the minutes ebbed away, it was clear how much effort Hibernian had put in, and that the whole team were completely physically and mentally exhausted. They still pushed all they could, but any hope of putting together an attack and having enough quality to score was gone.
The end of the match was overshadowed by Noa Schumacher receiving a red card. Ellis Notley badly underhit a back pass, forcing Schumacher to come out of her box. She clattered down Glionna as the ball ran past; however, Linzi Taylor was behind Schumacher, meaning the goalkeeper was not the last line of defence anymore and that a red card was not necessary.
With a number of mistakes in that Champions League qualifier against Fortuna, it has been a very Jekyll-and-Hyde European campaign for Schumacher. She has made plenty of impressive saves, showing off her flexibility and diving ability, while at the same time making some really costly errors in situations where she’s coming out to meet players, and dealing with crosses.
17-year-old Rowena Armitage was thrust into the action and could do nothing to stop Tomasevic’s strike to give Inter the lead, which did a disservice to the full performance from Hibs.
Overall, Hibs can be proud of a very valiant display, where they never gave up the fight against a very good Inter Milan side. The final result was certainly not a reflection of the entire game, in which there wasn’t much between the sides. While the context of the scores did affect how Inter approached the game, they still pushed hard and would have preferred to wrap up the win before they eventually did.
Teams HIBERNIAN (4-2-3-1): Schumacher, Gibb, L Taylor, Hunter, Papadopoulos, Grant, Notley (c), Adams, Burchill, Livingstone, McGovern Substitutes: Bowie (for Livingstone 69’), Boyle (for Gibb 69’) Armitage (for McGovern 81’), Fitzgerald (for Burchill 88’), Morrison (for Adams 88’)
INTERNAZIONALE (4-4-2): Runarsdottir, Ivana, Milinkovic, Pleidrup, Robustellini, Schough, Magull, Csiszar (c), Vilhjalmsdottir, Bujega, Wullaert Substitutes: Tomasevic (for Magull 61’, Detruyer (for Vilhjalmsdottir 61’), Santi (for Wullaert 71’), Glionna (for Bugeja 71’), Bartoli (for Robustellini 71’)
Scorer: Tomasevic 90+2’
Referee: Riem Hussien (Ger)
Attendance: 1,606.
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