Hibs Ladies hit seven – but gaffer Kirk wanted more

Hibs haven’t lost to Spartans since October 2010 and there was never any hint that Spartans would end their dismal derby record on Sunday.

The Easter Road side controlled most of the match, with Susan Fairlie (3), Kirsty Smith, Caroline Weir, Lizzie Arnott and Katey Turner all on target for the girls in green, while  Alana Marshall netted the visitors’ consolation.

Kirk said: “We had so many opportunities to score that it’s strange to come away disappointed after such a convincing win. We scored seven but we also hit the woodwork three times, missed an open goal and the Spartans goalkeeper made a string of super saves.

“The variety of goals we scored was very pleasing and I’m delighted we put in such a terrific performance against one of our title rivals because it reinforces the belief that we are good enough to achieve success here.”

Spartans manager Debbi McCulloch was at a loss to explain her side’s poor display. “We let ourselves down in the way we played as this wasn’t our usual level of performance,” she said.

“We really struggled to handle Hibs’ pace and passing. It’s difficult to know why we didn’t perform and we will just have to put it down as a bad day at the office. Now, we have to dust ourselves down, learn from it and refocus for our next game against Falkirk.”

Elsewhere, Hutchison Vale put in a good performance but ultimately slipped to a 3-0 defeat against Celtic at Lennoxtown. After defending solidly throughout the first half, a lapse in concentration allowed Abi Harrison to break the deadlock for the Hoops. Emma Brownlie and Suzanne Grant sealed the win.

Hutchie boss Ian McDonald said: “We are obviously disappointed with the result but that in itself shows how far we have come that we are leaving feeling we could have taken something from the game.”