Grant Scott was full of praise for his defence and his 'risky' substitutes as Hibernian Women edged an attritional Edinburgh derby 1-0 to win the SWPL Capital Cup at Tynecastle and exact some revenge on Hearts after their resounding win at Easter Road earlier in the season.

An 81st-minute goal by substitute Rosie Livingstone was the difference; the 19-year-old slotting home after a shot by Stacy Papadopoulos had ricocheted off a Hearts defender.

“We came here hoping to win the three points and the players, to their credit, executed everything we asked them to do and we've got the result. So, job done,” said a delighted Scott afterwards.

Bold substitutions pay dividends

His substitutions - Rosie Livingstone for Abbie Ferguson on the hour mark, and a triple change in which he introduced Eilidh Adams, Rachael Boyle, and Mya Christie for Kathleen McGovern, Lauren Doran-Barr, and Tegan Bowie - played a big part in turning the game in Hibs' favour and Scott was effusive in his praise for those who climbed off the bench and kept things ticking over.

"It was just about changing things up," he explained.

"We didn't think we were under a massive amount of pressure but I don't think we'd applied a lot of threat to them either, so with 20 minutes to go myself and Stewart Hall, and Joelle Murray were chatting away: do we sit tight and not risk disrupting things, or do we make the changes and try to win the game and get some fresh legs and energy and pace about our attack? So we made a decision. 

"I'm fortunate to have the support of Stewart and Joelle and they'll stop me in my tracks if they think I'm going wrong, but collectively we made the call and credit to the players that came on. I thought Mya, in particular, added a little bit of energy on that wide left flank and obviously Rosie had a bit longer on the pitch and just showed that she's ready to come back into the team at some point soon. 

"I thought all the subs impacted the team really well, and I include Eilidh in the mix there. At that point in the game, we just asked her to run the channels a little bit more than it's maybe natural for Kathleen to do. We went a little bit longer, a little bit sooner, trying to win the game and that's what's happened, so we're delighted."

Livingstone gets her moment in the spotlight

Livingstone has had to bide her time as a result of injuries and the form of her team-mates but she picked up where Ferguson had left off on the right flank and was in the right place at the right time to score the winner. 

“Rosie is a lifelong Hibs supporter, so to come here and score the winner in front of our supporters - she'll have loved that.

"She's a bubbly, positive person anyway but we’ve had to manage her through her injuries, so it was great to see her getting her moment in the spotlight,” Scott continued. 

'We try to encourage the players to be creative...'

The run from Papadopoulos to ultimately set the chance up for Livingstone wasn't the first time the Australian defender had cut inside from the left-back area but this was the one that counted - and Scott was delighted to see the former A-League stalwart taking matters into her own hands. 

"Both full-backs have been doing that at times this season but the game just didn't seem to lend itself to that," he admitted.

"You can try to predict football these days and it's all pass, move, do this, do that. It's all a bit prescribed for the players. We try to encourage them to be as creative as they can in those moments and back themselves to do stuff like that. We didn't see enough in the game so credit to Stacy - I thought it was good work before the goal; the dynamics of her run and deciding to take it on and dribble past players... it's exciting to watch."

Centre-back partnership praised

Scot also hailed the central defensive partnership of Poppy Lawson and Siobhan Hunter, who contributed to a clean sheet and ensured a relatively quiet afternoon for Erin Clachers in goal.

“Our centre-backs have played together for a few games now and managed a top striker in Bailey Hutchison really well. She got a bit frustrated in the game; I think she got a couple of shots off and that was all," he continued. 

“Poppy and Shiv deserve a lot of credit for that. They've really given us a platform from which the other girls can play. I'm really happy with the defensive unit - Clachers again doing the simple things and communicating well - she’s been a real bonus for us as well.”

The win takes Hibs to fourth in the SWPL, above Celtic on goal difference and just a point behind Hearts in third. They host Partick Thistle at Meadowbank next Sunday.