Hibernian 3-2 Rangers
By Gethin Thurlow (12/10/25)
Above: Hibs celebrate Eilidh Adams’ goal which gave them the lead on Sunday Photo: @HibernianWomen on x
Goals from Rosie Livingstone, Kathleen McGovern and Eilidh Adams gave Hibs a memorable comeback win at home over rivals Rangers, having been 2-0 down in a game where club legend Siobhan Hunter took centre stage. The result leaves Hibernian third, trailing Glasgow City by five points with Rangers a further position and two points back.
The Teams
Having successfully moved past Motherwell in the SWPL cup last weekend with a 9-0 victory, Grant Scott’s side took confidence into the game, and he went with the team he seems to have settled on this year. Key in this was a front four with Livingstone and Bowie on the wings, and Adams in attacking midfielder behind Kathleen McGovern, who continued her reign as the only Hibs player in Melissa Andreatta’s Scotland squad for the upcoming window.
Rangers also eased through the SWPL cup round of 16 with a 12-0 hammering of St Johnstone. Having lost their last league game though, Leanne Crichton opted for a number of changes, with ex-Hibernian centre back Leah Eddie replacing Jess Pegram, and Mengwen starting at right back.
The Action
As the game kicked off, it was a physical fight in the middle for control, with Notley and Grant from Hibs and McLeary and Cruft from Rangers winning the ball back and forth. Eilidh Adams even dropped back to try and add some strength to the middle of the park and did a good job considering her natural position is a striker. While Hibs tended to have the ball in attacking areas more in the first 10 minutes, it was the away side that had the first real chance.
Mengwen and Mia McAuley down the right were a threat to Bowie and Papadopoulos throughout the first half. The first time they properly moved up the wing, Mengwen got free and was able to pick out Katie Wilkinson in the middle, who found the gap between Taylor and Hunter at the back and directed her header perfectly into the side of the net, giving Schumacher no chance.
The game went on in this manner for the next 20 minutes or so, with neither side able to break through the opposite defence. Hibs came closest to scoring though, as McGovern had a strong header well saved by Jenna Fife and Linzi Taylor’s shot following a cross was bundled away by the Rangers defence.
It had been an interesting decision to start Eddie against her old club at the back given the form of Pegram recently, but her height was crucial and she quickly proved Crichton right.
With Bowie unable to get into good areas of the left, it was only the right-hand side of Gibb and Livingstone providing forward momentum for the hosts. However, despite both players being good crossers of the ball and the great heading duo of Adams and McGovern awaiting them in the box, the height of Rangers’ defence and keeper Fife meant they were able to dominate in the air and Hibs main attacking threat was thwarted.
As Rangers attacked just past the half hour mark, Siobhan Hunter looked to have cleared any danger with a header back for Schumacher to come and claim. However, she didn’t put enough on the ball, with McLeary running onto it, and after Hunter grabbed slightly at the Rangers midfielder, the referee’s whistle sounded instantly. While she did go down softly, that type of contact is always going to end in a penalty given the context of the situation.
Despite a valiant effort from Schumacher who dived the correct way; Katie Wilkinson tucked her penalty so far into the bottom right corner that it was unsavable.
With Hunter picking up a yellow card for the incident and Papadopoulos collecting her own just minutes later, it looked like Rangers were going to return to Glasgow with three points.
In an almost mirroring incident, Rangers centre back Hill under-hit a back pass to Fife, allowing Rosie Livingstone to nip in and get the ball. Just like Hunter did, Hill’s flailing arm found the back of the Hibs winger who subsequently went down. The referee was unmoved this time and while half the home bench was screaming for a penalty, Livingstone herself stood back up, won the ball, shot against the post before eventually rolling the rebound into the net.
Coming on the stroke of half time, the goal couldn’t have been timed better to motivate Hibs and disrupt the plans of Rangers. With the home fans jubilant and the home players enjoying new-found belief, their second half performance was unrecognizable.
Tegan Bowie had been outstanding recently, but in the first half she spent much of the game dropping deeper to support Papadopoulos in defence and struggled to get herself into space which is where she thrives. McGovern had struggled for touches and ended up in her defensive half many times due to her pressing commitments, which often resulted in Hibs turning the ball over but having no players in the final third to play in.
Both of these players fortunes were transformed in the second half. Bowie caused Li Mengwen all sorts of issues, with her pure speed, strength and skill giving her a range of ways to beat the Chinese international, all of which she employed. McGovern meanwhile, was able to get interlink play between her wingers and Adams behind her without compromising her position and this combination play gave Hibs another means of creating chances – beyond crosses which the Glasgow side were still defending well.
Given this new space created in the middle, Linzi Taylor lobbed a ball up to Adams, who was able to beat Hill at the back easily, sprinting to the by-line inside the box, she pulled the ball back onto a platter for McGovern, who was on the same wavelength as her striking partner and had made that exact run, allowing her to smash the ball home and levelling the tie.
The Rangers side which had carried out Leanne Crichton’s plan so brilliantly in the first 43 minutes of the game looked like a different side and offered no resistance to Hibernians attacking avalanche.
Tegan Bowie’s contribution in the 63rd minute summed up her entire second half performance. Grant played an ambitious ball in front of the winger, and Mengwen had a head start in reaching the ball. She was no match for Bowie though, who fought to get there first, before nutmegging the defender which gave her acres of space in the box. With plenty of time, she rolled the ball across into the path of Adams who lifted her shot into the roof of the net, sending Meadowbank into a frenzy.
Pegram and Berry were brought on to turn the game back around for Rangers, but they had no impact as Hibs continued to create all the chances. McGovern twice shot from long range when she could’ve played her teammates into better positions, while Burchill couldn’t direct her sliding effort into an empty net following a ball across the face of goal. Jenna Fife remained dominant from corners, which is a notable strength of Grant Scott’s side.
Despite all the pressure, Rangers actually had the chance to level the game with the final kick. After a desperate free kick from half time took two fortuitous bounces, Laura Berry was in on goal but she aimed her effort straight at Schumacher who gratefully held on to the ball.
Player of the Match Siobhan Hunter
This was not just for her play on the pitch, but rather how her passion and fight gave Hibernian the impetus they needed to get back in the game.
Supporting Hibs as a child and playing for them throughout her career, Hunter is about as much of a Hibernian legend as you’re going to find. With this comes an absolute undying love for her club and a passionate hatred of anything that opposes that. She wants nothing more than success for her team and will do anything for that.
This makes her a divisive figure. If you support Hibs, you probably adore her, but if you play for a rival there’s a real disdain there. When she wins she’ll rile you up but when she loses you’ll take glory in witnessing it.
All those emotions were on display in this game. After the first goal went in, ‘Shiv’ was furious at the defence around her for letting it happen, it’s fair to say she was less then impressed with McLeary after the penalty was given and there was a moment where she was shielding the ball from an attacker in the box, hoping goalkeeper Schumacher would come and pick it up. When she stayed back, Hunter cleared the ball then gave the American and ear full of what she thought of the decision.
On the flip side, after the penalty was converted, she took the ball and ran straight to the half way line signalling Hibs’ readiness to restart and fight back into the game. While she is not the captain, she is absolutely a leader and an example-setter in this manner and her side needed no more geeing up. After celebrating Livingstone’s goal with the team, Hunter turned to the crowd and roared the home support on.
This was the case with every possible opportunity in the game after this, riling Hibs’ fans and Rangers fans equally positively and negatively. By the time the final whistle came and Meadowbank was serenaded by the chant of “she’s in your head, in your head, shivy, shivy shivy-y-y” to the tune of Zombie by the Cranberries, the game felt more like Siobhan Hunter versus Rangers than the actual fixture, and she was more than happy to play into this.
Where this leaves the teams
It was an absolutely massive result for Grant Scott and his side. Having faced no resistance from any non-professional sides this year, they have yet to secure a league win against a fellow title-challenger. At 2-0 down, many would have been suggesting this was just natural for Hibs to come back down to earth after the miracle run last season, and that it was just a fluke after all.
The fight and tenacity to come back and get goals through any means looked much more like the Hibs of last year, who have now beaten Rangers in four league games in a row. It also proves that this team can produce in tough games as well, and with Melissa Andreatta watching on, it was perhaps a chance for Caley Gibb, Eilidh Adams, Tegan Bowie and Rosie Livingstone to show that they should join Kathleen McGovern as a member of the senior Scotland squad.
Losing against a great team by one goal is not devastating by itself, but the manner of this one will be for Leanne Crichton. A 2-0 advantage is invaluable in such a title race, and Rangers cannot afford games like this. When Hibs came out in the second half a new team, Rangers could do absolutely nothing to alter the momentum of things back in their favour despite adjustments from Crichton and that’s a damning reflection of the team.
At seven points, the gap to Glasgow City is closable but the last two games – which Rangers could so easily have come away with four or six points from – sum up where the team has been the last few years. A fantastic footballing side full of quality, but there’s something holding them back in those crucial moments. A coaching change doesn’t seem to have addressed this and if Crichton will focus on anything specific to turn the season around perhaps it must be that mental resilience.
Teams: HIBERNIAN (4-2-3-1): Schumacher, Gibb, L Taylor, Hunter, Papadopoulos, Notley (c), Grant, Livingstone, Adams, Bowie, McGovern Substitutes: Burchill (for Livingstone 81’), Fitzgerald (for Gibb 89’), Morrison (for Grant 89’), Jordan (for Adams 90+5’)
Scorers: 1-2 Livingstone 41’, 2-2 McGovern 59’, 3-2 Adams 63’
RANGERS (4-2-3-1): Fife, Mengwen, Eddie, Hill, Docherty (c), McLeary, Cruft, McAuley, Shin-Ji, Arnot, Wilkinson Substitutes: Berry (for Arnot 64’), Pegram (for Eddie 64’), Sabajo (for Mengwen 80’)
Scorers: 0-1 Wilkinson 12’, 0-2 Wilkinson 32’
Referee: Mark Daly
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