Leishman: Hungry Aberdeen Up For A Fight
Shannon Leishman insists Hibernian Women will be "up for a fight" against an Aberdeen side eager to impress their new boss this Sunday (3 November).
The Hibees make the trip to Balmoral Stadium to face the Dons, who are under new direction following the appointment of Scott Booth as the club's head coach.
The former Glasgow City assistant manager took up the role over the international break and Leishman believes the girls will be facing a wholly different side to the team Hibs defeated 7-0 in August at Meadowbank.
"We might not expect the same. They’ve just appointed a new manager. I think it could be a different style of play to what we have faced before.
"We know they are energetic. We know they will press us. They might not give us a lot of time on the ball.
"When you play them away from home, with the travelling, which they have to face every second week, we have to suck it up and get on with it. They’ll be hungry and wanting to prove themselves to the new manager.
Fixtures
- Aberdeen Women Vs. Hibernian Women - Sun, Nov 3rd 2024, 13:00
The two-week hiatus from competitive action has allowed for reflection on the Hibees' last outing - a 1-1 draw at Meadowbank against Rangers.
The visitors nabbed a point following Rio Hardy's stoppage-time leveller after Eilidh Adams had put Hibs ahead from the spot in the first half. The televised encounter was played out in blustery conditions, but the girls put in a great shift against the Glasgow outfit.
"I think when you play teams like that, you always take confidence from it when you get a result," said Leishman. "At the end of the day, we were disappointed for ourselves.
"The way we played, the structure we had, all the information we got during the week we took into the weekend. It was a positive result. We take confidence from that into this Sunday.
"I can’t thank the coaches enough for trusting me to start. You look at the calibre of the game, it’s massive. You take confidence from the selection, it’s good for myself. It just shows that the girls are ready, we are all fighting for positions.
"We have a very good football team who are fighting for positions. It must be a headache for the coaches picking every week when players are training and playing well. We’ve all got a good attitude and all the girls get on, it builds relationships."
Following her first start of the campaign in that hard-fought tie versus Rangers, Leishman is pleased with the weeks that followed at HTC - insisting preparations ahead of Sunday's northern trip are "looking good".
"It’s good to get a little bit of rest when you’re on internationals. Unfortunately, the players that were away did not get much rest.
"But for the ones that were at HTC, we trained last week and kept the legs warm, getting a little bit of recovery.
"Preparations are underway and the girls are back, so it’s good to be back as a group."