Hibernian 3-0 Partick Thistle
By Gethin Thurlow at Meadowbank for Impetus (2/11/25)
Above: Ellis Notley celebrates with Ciara Grant and Tiree Burchill Photo: @HibernianWomen on X
Fresh from her fourth straight start and second goal for Scotland in the international break, Melissa Andreatta’s favoured striker Kathleen McGovern scored a brilliant header as Hibs eventually overcame a strong Partick Thistle defence, with Ellis Notley starring for the reigning champions.
The Teams
After a week off, Hibs went for a fairly standard team, with the normal back line, Grant, Notley and Adams. Kirsty Morrison was given the start on right wing ahead of Livingstone, with Bowie and McGovern completing the lineup.
The visitors went unchanged from their last game, which meant Scottish hero Jo Love missed again through injury. Ex-Hibee Lia Tweedie and attacker Erin Rennie would carry the main goal threat for Partick.
The Action
It was an open game early on, with Thistle trying some direct balls and successfully getting in for the first couple chances. Hunter and Taylor are a centre back duo that can be exploited in behind, so the degree to which Grant Scott’s side sit with the entire team in the opposition half is often managed.
As is normally the case, Hibs focused their attacks down the wings, with the attacking-minded full backs offering some relief and overlapping runs. Jeni Currie was called into action early on, as Papadopoulos’s cross was met by Kirsty Morrison from the right side of the box. Currie got down to save that one, but when a corner was cleared out, Siobhan Hunter floated a challenging ball in, Grant and Currie came for it, made contact and the ball fell to Morrison who smashed it in.
In particular, the host were finding a lot of success down the left side, with Papadopoulos pushing high, meaning that while Slater was marking Bowie, the Australian left back had space to play with, and vice versa. Partick’s central back three headed just about every cross away, giving McGovern and Adams no sniff of a headed goal.
Hibernian continued to heave crosses into the box, with Caley Gibb miscuing a few efforts from the right-wing position. Ellis Notley also enjoyed the opportunity to take a few wide free kicks and corners, but Thistle’s defence stayed strong.
Something that did work for Hibs was limiting their opponents’ goal threat. The high press of Adams and McGovern, with the help of Grant and Notley gave Partick no out-ball, meaning they were suffocated before they could try and attack.
At half time, Hibs were well in control of game but only had a one goal lead – and a narrow lead that didn’t deserve to be bigger.
In the second half, Hibs clearly came out with a new plan. Moving through the middle and getting the ball to the feet of Kathleen McGovern and Eilidh Adams as much as possible. On one such occasion, Notley quickly rolled it across to the fan favourite ‘McGov’, but the training-ground routine could not fool Jeni Currie. She also dived to save a long shot from Adams as the Hibs shot count started to rise.
In a rare moment of Partick Thistle pressure in the second half, a slightly underhit back-pass from the Hibs defence gave Schumacher limited time to clear, and her clearance hit an oncoming Rachel Donaldson, bouncing up and allowing Robinson a free shot at goal. Saving the American keeper’s blushes, she scuffed it and Hibs stayed in the lead.
The home team still dominated the ball however, and David Elliot’s team could not muster another opportunity. The introductions of Burchill and Livingstone on the wings and Fitzerald in midfield forced Hibs to focus more on dribbling rather than playing long balls in behind.
As the end of the match approached, Ellis Notley had yet another corner. She picked out Kathleen McGovern at the front post, who flicked her header into the roof of the net to essentially guarantee the three points.
That extra goal seemed to relax Hibs and they played with much more freedom. Noa Schumacher absolutely launched a ball forward, which beat the defence and Rachel Boyle latched onto it. She found Adams with a through ball, who laid it off for Notley to lace it into to bottom corner from outside the box.
The final kick of the game was a free kick by Linzi Taylor, who curled her effort into the outside of the side netting – something which the home fans didn’t realise initially. Regardless, the whistle blew instantaneously.
Player of the Match Ellis Notley
She’s had to cover injuries in midfield and defence this year, but with Kirsten Reilly’s absence she has made that defensive midfielder role her own. Stepping into corner and free kick-taking duties, Notley has been racking up goals and assists recently. Today however, she was in control of the entire match.
In what was physical battle all game long, Notley held her own, winning the ball and protecting it from a hungry Partick midfield. Notley took up positions all over the pitch, dropping deep at points, as well as providing some width. She took all 13 corners and the majority of 19 free kicks too. Never earning too much attention for her performances in green and white, Notley has been a quiet hero of Hibs’ title push this year.
Where this leaves the teams
Grant Scott will be relatively satisfied with the result, although there is some concern to be had over the difficulty they faced trying to break down Partick in the face of a stout aerial defence. The goals did come in the end, and they really embraced the mantra ‘defending from the front’, which cut off any Partick Thistle resistance. They stay second in the league and ensure Glasgow City didn’t get any further away in their dominant 5-0 victory at the same time.
It was a rather spirited defensive effort from David Elliot’s squad in the face of a tough run. Currently sitting in ninth place in the league, Partick have been a step below the other competitors for that sixth place, and they will be disappointed with that fact.
This game was always going to be on where points were difficult to achieve, but with a solid back five and a dominant performance in the air, there are some building blocks for Thistle to push off of as they look for clean sheets and wins against other teams in and around them to avoid that ninth-place playoff.
Teams: HIBERNIAN (4-2-3-1): Schumacher, Gibb, L Taylor, Hunter, Papadopoulos, Notley (c), Grant, Morrison, Adams, Bowie, McGovern Substitutes: Fitzgerald (for Grant 63’), Livingstone (for Bowie 63’), Burchill (for Morrison 63’), Boyle (for Gibb 71’), Boughton (for McGovern 86’)
Scorers: 1-0 Morrison 11′, 2-0 McGovern 79′, 3-0 Notley 90+1′
PARTICK THISTLE (5-3-2): Currie, Slater, Fraser, Falconer (c), McCulloch, Handley, Donaldson, King, Robinson, Tweedie, Rennie Substitutes: English (for Robinson 86’), Syrjanen (for King 86’)
Referee: Blair McAlpine
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