Hibs Ladies beat Spartans to ensure city bragging rights

Hibernian Ladies defeated Spartans 3-1 at Albyn Park in the final Edinburgh derby of the season to cement their place as the city’s top club this term.

Hibs’ victory in the penultimate fixture of the campaign moves them into joint second in the SWPL alongside Celtic – their opponents in next weekend’s finale with Glasgow City already crowned champions – and boss Willie Kirk said: “We’re delighted to get back to winning ways after a testing few weeks. I thought we were excellent in the first half and Spartans rarely troubled us.”

Hibs took the lead midway through the first half when Sammy Hare latched onto a Joelle Murray corner to score from close range. Siobhan Hunter headed home a Lisa Robertson free kick shortly afterwards, before Spartans reduced the deficit on 72 minutes when Sarah Ewens burst clear of the Hibs defence to score.

However any hope Spartans had of rescuing the match was ended when Caroline Weir smashed a left-foot shot into the top corner.

Elsewhere, Hutchison Vale beat Falkirk 5-1 at Saughton thanks to goals from Jenny Rogers, Jen Malone, Tracy Donachie, Nicole Russell and Laura Gavin. “We played well, dominated the match,” said manager Ian McDonald.