Aberdeen Women suffered defeat on the road in SWPL1, losing 1-0 to Hibernian at the Tony Macaroni Arena.
It didn’t take long for Hibs to take control of the game as the home side dominated possession, forcing Aberdeen to play on the backfoot from the first whistle.
The Dons were saved by the woodwork after Ellis Notley’s shot from close range ricocheted off the crossbar, preventing the Hibees from taking an early lead.
The best chances continued to fall to Hibs with several dangerous set-pieces, but Aberdeen crowded the box with all eleven players in the area to defend any threat.
Aberdeen struggled to create any clear-cut chances in the final third, with Hibs keeper Gabby English getting her first touch of the game in the 30th minute to collect a misplaced pass from Jenna Penman.
Loren Campbell and her backline had been impressive and disciplined, but could do nothing to prevent Hibs from taking the lead in the 36th minute.
Hibs’ SWPL 1 Player of the Month nominee Colette Cavanagh did well to take the ball from the right hand side on to her left foot before curling the ball beyond Gail Gilmour in the Aberdeen goal to make it 1-0.
📂 Another one for the "Cav Screamers" folder!
💪 @colettecav doing what she does best and giving us the lead!
— Hibernian Women (@HibernianWomen) October 17, 2021
Aberdeen defender Donna Paterson tried her luck from distance in the opening minutes of the second half, but her effort from 35 yards flew over the bar, landing on the top of the net.
Hibs continued to be the livelier of the two sides after the interval, with play mostly taking place in Aberdeen’s half, but the Dons did well to thwart chances from Cavanagh, Alexa Coyle and Notley.
Aberdeen’s best spell of possession came in the 80th minute, with Francesca Ogilvie doing well to move the ball from her own defence into Hibs’ final third, but substitute Hannah Innes’s stray pass gifted the home side possession once again.
The Dons best chance of an equaliser fell to Eva Thomson in injury time, but her scuffed shot proved to be no real threat to English, who made a comfortable diving save at her near post.
A performance to build on
Aberdeen’s Donna Paterson insists her side can be proud of their defensive performance, but will be looking to improve upon their mistakes when they play Hibs in the SWPL Cup on October 31.
Speaking to the AFC website, the defender said: “It was chalk and cheese defensively compared to last week. We all stuck together and there was a real togetherness in the team today. We felt we were a wee bit unlucky to lose the goal when we did and we could’ve maybe nicked a goal at the end.
“We needed a good performance today to bounce back from last week (heavy loss to Rangers) and it’s just a pity we couldn’t get something from the game.
“Hibs are a top side that were playing in the Champions League a few seasons ago, so there’s no shame in only getting beat 1-0 here, but we’ll look to do better when we play them again in a few weeks’ time.”
Elsewhere in SWF
In Championship North, Inverness Caley Thistle continued their fine goalscoring form, beating Stonehaven 9-0.
Buchan continue to climb up the table after an impressive 9-0 win against Dundee City West. However, Westdyke did not have the same luck against the league’s other Tayside side, losing 11-1 to Dryburgh Athletic.
Grampian’s fixture against SWF Championship North’s bottom side Dunfermline Athletic was postponed due to a Covid-19 outbreak in the Fife team.