Hearts ready to put in a complete performance in Edinburgh derby

In their last clash, Olid’s side fell to a 1-0 defeat at Tynecastle as Charlotte Parker-Smith’s own goal was all that could separate the sides. Hearts’ lack of a clinical touch was one of the main catalysts for their downfall that day, with the hosts having more possession and efforts on goal than their rivals. However, as the Jambos prepare for Saturday’s showdown Olid believes that her side has grown greatly as a team over the last couple of months.

“There is just maybe one match that we did not agree with our result and performance, she said. “Against Hibs, we know that we played really well and had a good performance but we had to be more clinical.

“At the end of the day, football is all about the goals. You can play really well, but if you don’t score, you don’t get the points. We know that a draw against Montrose was not what we expected but after that, the team had a reaction and improved a lot as a team. Sometimes, those things have to happen to grow more as a team.”

Hearts certainly have seen a reaction from their side lately. After their defeat at Tynecastle, the Jam Tarts only won one of their next four games. This included crashing out of the Sky Sports Cup and drawing 3-3 to the recently promoted Montrose despite leading by two goals early on. Since then, Hearts have been magnificent. They came from two goals down to beat Spartans, beat Motherwell 5-1 and took their first-ever point off Glasgow City last game.

“Both teams have arrived in good shape,” Olid added. “They are scoring a lot of goals and we are having good results too and a lot of goals too. Last match against Glasgow City, we got that point. Both teams come in with high confidence and anything can happen.

“After Glasgow City, it is massive. We knew that we were creating a lot in attack but we had to improve in defence. After Glasgow City, we felt like we had in attack what we wanted and now we have in defence what we were looking for to improve. Now we feel ready for this Saturday.”

Many of Hearts’ signings over the summer have also stepped up in recent weeks. Olufolasade Adamolekun was instrumental in their comeback against Spartans while former Hibee Katie Lockwood scored two and assisted one against Motherwell. At the back, upcoming stars Lizzie Waldie and Carly Girasoli did magnificently to keep Glasgow City’s attack at bay at the start of the month.

“We are a team with a mixture of experience and young players,” Olid explained. “We are still working with a lot of young players, I love working with young players but you always need that experience and more so in these matches. I feel that the young players every time are more experienced and they are ready for these occasions too.”

This Saturday, Hearts will travel to Easter Road with the aim of continuing their recent form. 5000 tickets have already been claimed free of charge thanks to Baillie Gifford. The attendance record for the derby currently sits at 8,066 which both clubs set at Easter Road last season. Hearts are hopeful that more people will continue to claim their tickets over the coming days as they look to break the record again.

“We love playing in the stadiums and we would like to do it every weekend,” Olid stated. “It is an amazing feeling when you play in a stadium and see that people are supporting not just the team but women’s football. We want more people to come every time to watch us and watch in general women’s football matches. That is what we are fighting every day for.”