Hibs Ladies relishing Capital derby '“ with Hearts or Hutchie

A second-half hat-trick from teenager Abi Harrison saw Hibs overcome Celtic 3-1 at Albyn Park on Sunday to book their place in yesterday’s draw at Hampden.

The Hibees are battling it out on three fronts with the club five points adrift of reigning champions Glasgow City in the league title race and there is the small matter of next month’s Champions League Round of 32 clash with German giants Bayern Munich to contend with.

Hibs will play their last-four clash against Hearts or Hutchison Vale on Sunday, October 16 at Ainslie Park, just four days after the return leg in Germany.

However, Roberts admitted he wouldn’t want it any other way at this late stage in the season.

“The semi-final is lodged right in amongst some really tough games for us next month. We’ve got a run of games including Forfar, Bayern Munich, Celtic, the return leg against Bayern, the Scottish Cup semi-final and then Glasgow City so it’s a real testing few weeks for us,” he said.

“We don’t have a big squad but we’ve got some real quality. It’s as challenging a period I have certainly faced as a manager. We’ve also got some players in our development squad we can call upon and we’ll need them as we’ve got a lot of games in such a short period of time.”

On the draw itself, Roberts added: “People will be looking at the tie thinking Hutchie or Hearts are from the division below but it will be a really tough tie whoever we face. If Hutchie get through then it’s an Edinburgh derby but if Hearts do then it’s a real Edinburgh derby and a bit of a glamour tie in that sense. But I’m happy with the draw and we want to be in that final. The Scottish Cup is a huge priority for us.”