Hibernian vs Motherwell | Official Matchday Programme | April 11 2021

HIBERNIAN vs MOTHERWELL 11/04/2021 - KICK OFF 2PM

CLUB DIRECTORY Head Coach - Dean Gibson Assistant Coaches - Roddy Maughan, Neil Ross Goalkeeping Coach - Chris Flockhart Physiotherapist - Claire Rankin Masseuse - Laura Burns Kit Controller - Alan Todd General Manager - Stewart McGuire Secretary - Karen McEwan Chaplain - Catriona Lamont Marketing - Matthew Palfreyman Media - Jack Donnelly, Struan Garvie Creative - Dougie Penman, Callum Hanley

CLUB HONOURS SWPL 03/04, 05/06, 06/07 Scottish Cup 03, 05, 07, 08, 10, 16, 17, 18 SWPL Cup 05, 07, 11, 16, 17, 18, 19

CONTACT hibernianwomenmedia@gmail.com @hibernianwomen 0131 656 7062 Hibernian Community Foundation Easter Road Stadium 12 Albion Place Edinburgh EH7 5DG

NOTES FROM THE BOSS DEAN GIBSON Following defeat in an Edinburgh derby, Dean Gibson is confident his side will bounce back this weekend.

We need to win. It’s a game that we can’t afford to drop any points in, and three points is a must. If we play like we did during the first 55 minutes last week, I’ve absolutely no doubt that we will have a really good chance of winning the game. It’s up to the players to put it right. I have every confidence that is exactly what they will do.

Whenever you lose a game, you instantly look to the next one to turn it around. We are frustrated after last week and the players are desperate to get back on the pitch and get three points on the board - we know it will be tough, but we are more than up for the challenge.

Lack of match sharpness has been challenging but that’s the same for all clubs. We are all in the same boat. In an ideal world, you wouldn’t go two or three weeks without playing a competitive match. We just need to get on with it and the sharpness will start to come back over the next couple of games.

The problem all season has been that the percentage of chances we turn into goals is nowhere near high enough. As long as we keep creating, I’ve no doubt our luck/quality in front of goal will change.

The players have been in good spirits, we know the result last weekend wasn’t what we want or demand, but the performance wasn’t bad. As long as we are playing well, the confidence will

THE CHANGING ROOM RIA MCCAFFERTY

Our former Academy midfielder speaks about making her first competitive start, lockdown and this weekend's opposition.

After making the jump to the first team before the start of the season, Ria McCafferty made her first start for Hibernian in last week's 2-0 defeat to Spartans: "It was a really exciting moment. When I was told about starting, I felt like my hard work was paying off. Hopefully it won’t be the last!"

It's not been a normal first season at senior level for Ria - the COVID-19 pandemic and different lockdowns have left the 2020/21 campaign disjointed and disrupted. However, the midfielder has seen the positives: "I personally found that the lockdowns provided some time for myself to really work on me so that when we did make a return, I was fully fit and felt more confident in my ability."

There's plenty of football left to play from now until the end of the season - Ria's confident that the squad will be able to handle whatever is thrown their way: "I think one of the main goals is to continue building the confidence in our team, competing at the highest level and fighting for top spots in the league. There’s been a lot of curve balls thrown at us and we are only getting stronger."

As for this weekend's opposition, Ria is hoping that the win over Motherwell earlier in the season will instil a sense of confidence in the squad: "I’m really looking forward to Sunday's game - we can only take confidence in our previous result against Motherwell and I know we can do the same again this weekend and walk away with the three points."