Glasgow City 0-0 Hibernian
By Gethin Thurlow (23/11/25)
Above: Tiree Burchill and Hayley Lauder battling for the ball Photo: Hibernian FC
Facing an ever-increasing injury list, Hibs held SWPL leaders Glasgow City to a draw at Petershill Park with a battling performance. The result kept Hibs 8 points off the top of the table, while Rangers, Celtic and Hearts all closed the gap to City with wins.
The Teams
Despite a late Wednesday night finish in Portugal, Leanne Ross surprisingly made only one change, as Erin McLaughlin replaced Linda Motlhalo in the midfield. Clearly, they felt that those players were rested and recovered enough, but it was certainly a departure from the heavy rotation that City have opted for throughout the season so far.
After losing Eilidh Adams and Linzi Taylor last week, Hibernian’s injury crisis only continued, as star striker Kathleen McGovern and Jess Fitzgerald missed out on the matchday squad and Caley Gibb, who went down with an injury last week was on the bench. Without a recognised striker to pick from, Grant Scott gave Tiree Burchill the start in the middle, although her preferred position is on the wing.
Lauren Doran-Barr got her first start of the season at right back in the place of Gibb while Rachel Boyle started in attacking midfield, and while she is a right back normally, this is not unfamiliar for the club captain. This would obviously have a significant effect on how Hibs played, but with a full week to prepare, they would hope to look better than in the Edinburgh derby last weekend once McGovern left the game.
The Action
As was to be expected, City had the bulk of possession early in the match. They occupied their opponent’s half, as Hibs settled back and looked for chances on the counter. Unfortunately for the visitors, Burchill and Boyle struggled to receive and hold up the ball in the way Adams and McGovern can, and this meant they couldn’t sustain possession and pressure upon the Glasgow City defence.
It was a defence however that looked vulnerable and has been known to be sloppy with the ball at their feet at times. The Hibees were clearly aware of this and made sure to be alert to such opportunities. While they did manage to pick up a fair few lose balls, Notley, Boyle and Grant all miscued passes into the box and they weren’t able to test Lee Gibson in goal.
Glasgow City also had difficulty creating chances, with McLaughlin and Kozlova’s wildly high shots their only notable advances into Hibs’ box. Although, on the stroke of half time a cross looked to have fallen for Harrison inside the six-yard box, before it was cleared desperately by the defence.
The first half did not look like a battle between first and third, as both teams were clearly affected and out of their usual sorts. It was a 45 minutes played between the boxes, full of poor touches, overhit passes and lots of contact.
The introductions of Motlhalo and Sofia Maatta at half time steadied City and they started to create some chances. Maatta had two chances shortly after the break. After a cross from Amy Muir on the left, her angle to shoot was so tight that she could only fire into the side-netting. Just moments later, Muir made a great run, cutting inside on her right foot and scything a pass through the Hibs defence into the Polish winger. Being the only thing left in between Maatta and the goal, Noa Schumacher bravely came out and smother the shot wide.
Seeing the ease with which Kozlova and Muir were getting past Doran-Barr, and considering she was on a yellow, Scott brought Caley Gibb on before any more damage could be done. It was the left side of Hibs’ defence that would come under pressure next, as Kozlova moved into the box and shot. She scuffed the shot, but it fell to Natalia Wrobel, who had a seemingly open net in front of her – with Schumacher out of position after the first effort. Luckily for Hibernian, Gibb was there to heroically clear the ball off the line.
As Glasgow City improved, so did the away team. Tegan Bowie started to pick up the ball earlier, and caused havoc with her speed and skill, including on one occasion, where Smit had to cynically hack down the young winger before she could enter the box. Rosie Livingstone also got more involved down the right, combining well with Gibb as they got some good crosses in for really the first time in the match.
Glasgow looked to be in again, but hanging around at the back post was Caley Gibb again, who headed the ball and took a brutal hit from Kozlova, who was late going for the header.
The end-to-end nature of the final 15 minutes suited Hibs, and it was them challenging the City backline. The pace of Gibb on the right allowed Livingstone to take up more central areas, while Burchill’s pace and energy meant she could keep chasing every long ball against a tiring defence. The closest the reigning champions were to scoring was a low cross from Livingstone that Bowie touched wide in injury time.
Player of the Match Noa Schumacher
Although it was a difficult start to the season for the American goalkeeper and she is by means a complete player yet, she was outstanding today. There were a few tricky balls over the top that she had to judge perfectly and she did. Her main problems this year have been giving away penalties from these situations, so it was significant to see City target this and Schumacher show improvements.
Her shot-stopping is up there with the best and that has never been in question. Schumacher one again showcased this today, as well as that courageous save from Maatta early in the second half. Something else that she did well was kicking; there was a dodgy backpass each from Hunter and Papadopoulos, but she stayed calm and blasted the ball away to safety.
Where this leaves the teams
After a tough week physically and emotionally, drawing with a title rival is absolutely an acceptable result for Leanne Ross and her side. Hibs might be weakened at the moment, but battles between the professional clubs are always close and this proved no different.
If there’s anything to be concerned about for City it is that they struggled to create anything in the first half, and although they played better in the second half, that scoring touch was still missing. They still hold a strong position in the table, with two draws against Hibs their only dropped points the entire season, so the club should be full of excitement and pride as the international break hits.
Hibs have really suffered the last two weeks with injuries and today had the potential to almost eliminate them from the title race altogether. Drawing with comfortably the best side in Scotland this year so far is a good result in that context. The performance was probably the best aspect of the day, as this team proved they can take on anyone even with so many key players injured.
Teams: GLASGOW CITY (4-3-3): Gibson (c), Evans, Golob, Smit, Muir, McLaughlin, Wrobel, Lauder, Whelan, Harrison, Kozlova. Substitutes: Motlhalo (for McLaughlin 46’), Maatta (for Whelan 46’), Forrest (for Harrison 63’), Anderson (for Lauder 68’), Warrington (for Evans 87’), Clachers, Boyes, Tanaka, Brownlie.
HIBERNIAN (4-2-3-1): Schumacher, Doran-Barr, Hunter, Herron, Papadopoulos, Grant, Notley, Livingstone, Boyle (c), Bowie, Burchill. Substitutes: Gibb (for Doran-Barr 58’), Reilly (for Boyle 67’), Ramsey (for Grant 87’), Armitage, Smart, Morrison, Boughton, I Taylor.
Referee: Mark Daly
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