#SBSSWPL: Rachael Small at a loss to explain Hibs’ league form…
Hibernian defender Rachael Small says she can not explain why her side are unable to recreate their cup dominance over Glasgow City in the league.
Small scored as Hibs clinched the Scottish Cup with a 3-0 win over City last Sunday, making it a cup double for the second season in a row.
However, they could not stop City making it 11 league titles in a row.
“For some reason we just can’t do it in the league, we can’t put on that kind of performance,” said Small.
“I don’t know what it is. We know how we can play against them.
“Our aim at the start of this season was a treble. We let ourselves and our standards drop with that, so next season I don’t see why we can’t go for the same.
“We’ll definitely be targeting that, and the league will be our priority as we want to get back into Champions League football and the changing room deserve to be in there.”
Hibs may have won four domestic cups in a row but they lost all three league games to City, including a 3-0 reverse two weeks before the cup final, and finished five points behind in the title race.
What makes it all the more puzzling is that they have had City’s number for two years now in the cup competitions – winning the last three finals between the pair.
The three goals Hibs scored to clinch the Scottish Cup through Small, Abi Harrison and a stunning Siobhan Hunter free-kick, were made all the sweeter because their opponents had not conceded a goal domestically since 17 May.
Small told BBC Scotland: “After the heartbreak two weeks before, losing the league to them in the fashion that we did, to come out and put on that performance – we basically blew them away.
“They (City) were going on about it (the run of clean sheets) when they won the league, and once the season was finished they were going on about how well they were defending.
“I think it just showed the quality in our team to come out and score three quality goals, and I think we could have scored more.”
Report & Picture: Andrew Southwick
BBC Scotland
