Eva Olid makes big Hearts claim ahead of derby in the Scottish Cup

The Jam Tarts have enjoyed a fantastic rise over recent years under the guidance of Olid. Hearts now consistently occupy themselves in the top half of the SWPL1 and were the only team outside of Celtic, Rangers and Glasgow City to take points off all of the top three in 2023. Olid now has her eyes on silverware as she challenges her squad to break more records in the Scottish Cup. 

“It is the first round after the Christmas break and it is a good game to restart for the second half of the season,” she told the Edinburgh Evening News. “We are looking forward to getting underway. 

“It is a competition where we have a lot of expectations. We would like to go as far as possible. Why not play another semi-final or get to our first final? We are looking forward to starting the Scottish Cup.”

Sunday’s tie will see the Jambos host fellow fourth-tier neighbours Edinburgh Caledonia in the competition. The visitors sit 2nd in League One and have enjoyed a fantastic season under the guidance of Euan Cole. With the tie being such a monumental occasion for Edinburgh Caley, Olid is wary of the fixture but plans to some “deserved” minutes to different faces in the third round. 

“From our experience, these types of games are never easy,” Olid added. “They are always so defensively organised, and it is not always easy to break their defensive block. We will look to try our best as always and be as competitive as possible.

“We will do some rotation to the team. We want to give some opportunities to some under 18s players. They have been training with us this season and they deserve some minutes. There will be some rotation.”