Hibs midfielder gives honest verdict after semi-final defeat

The visitors struggled to meet the standards they set in recent games as Partick managed to get the better of the 10-player side across 90 minutes. Hibs arguably started the better, however, after Linzi Taylor’s opener followed by Leah Eddie’s red card, it made the task of reaching two consecutive finals difficult. Despite some good defending in the second period, Rosie Slater then confirmed Partick’s place in the final with a great ranged effort. 

“I don’t think we performed to our standards and we’ve ultimately let ourselves down,” Notley told HibsTV. “We’ve not progressed to the final which is what we wanted to do. All over the park, we were second to it. The first 15 minutes, we were on top of them but we didn’t maintain that for the game and didn’t do enough to get to the final.

“I don’t think we created enough in that time [first 15 minutes]. Even though we pinned Partick Thistle back, we didn’t really create any clear-cut chances that we could have taken to put ourselves ahead. We didn’t maintain it for 90 minutes and Partick Thistle capitalised on our mistakes and poor play.”

The game certainly seemed a tad out of character for a Hibs side that had been a dominant force in recent games. However, it was clear that Eddie’s red card had a massive impact on the final result. Now that the dust has settled, Notley insists Hibs need to focus on continuing the season in the best possible manner. 

“The [weather] conditions were the same for both teams; we can’t use that as an excuse,” she added. “The sending-off does change the game but again, we have enough quality to even compete with the sending-off. Obviously, it is a huge upward battle. Defensively, we limited them, the chances were more shots from a distance but they scored and that second one killed the game. 

“We need to reflect on this game and see what we need to do to improve. Take the one or two positives from the first 10-15 minutes and look to improve that. We still have a lot of games left in the league and are still in the Scottish Cup. We want to do as well as we can in the games we have coming up.”