Hearts got back to winning ways in fine fashion on Sunday afternoon with a resounding 6-1 victory over Partick Thistle at Oriam on Sunday afternoon.
Eva Olid made four changes from the side that faced Celtic during the week. Esther Morgan, Erin Rennie, Georgia Timms and Lizzie Waldie returned to the side as Jenna Penman, Georgia Hunter, Cailin Michie and the suspended Katie Lockwood dropped out.
Hearts came into the match having lost their last three matches, so Olid would’ve been expecting a response from her players, and she certainly got that in a first half blitz of the Jags.
The opening goal arrived after just four minutes. Ciara Grant continues to provide quality from dead ball situations and when her corner was cleared as far as Danni Findlay, she let fly and although her shot was blocked by the arm of a Thistle player, Carly Girasoli was the quickest to react and she slammed the ball past Megan Cunningham to break the deadlock.
It was an open beginning to the match and although Thistle were flooding forward in numbers, the main openings were falling to Hearts. They almost doubled their lead after 12 minutes. Waldie floated a lovely ball in behind and Morgan forced Cunningham into an excellent fingertip save.
The second goal did arrive on the 20-minute mark. Timms robbed Jenna Ferguson on the edge of the Thistle box and kept her cool to calmly slot the ball past Cunningham, to deservedly double Hearts’ advantage.
There was no stopping Hearts and the third goal arrived on the half hour mark and it was a first in maroon for Sade Adamolekun. The ball was slid up the the right channel by Timms and Adamolekun skipped past two Thistle defenders before lifting the ball over Cunningham.
The three points were secured before the break as Kathleen McGovern added a fourth, again from a Ciara Grant corner. Intelligent movement from the Hearts forward saw her find space at the front post and she directed her header past Cunningham and into the bottom corner.
Into the second half and both sides began to make changes, and with the points secured, Hearts continued to dominate possession, but with perhaps a little less intent.
As the game entered the final 15 minutes, a clean sheet would’ve been something Hearts were keen to secure, but the visitors were on the board 13 minutes from the end through Rachel Donaldson.
That goal seemed to spark Hearts into life again and after Aimee Anderson rattled the crossbar, Georgia Timms added a further two goals, to secure the match ball.
Firstly, heading home Eilidh Davies’ cross from the right, four minutes from time, before drilling home from an acute angle in stoppage time to cap off a wonderful afternoon for the Jambos.
Hearts: Parker-Smith, Morgan, Brownlie ©, Grant, Rennie, Timms, Waldie, Adamolekun, Girasoli, McGovern, Findlay
Subs: Rodgers, Penman, Hunter, Anderson, Handley, Davies, Cowan, Michie, J. Husband
Partick Thistle: Cunningham, Slater, Falconer, McGowan, Docherty, Henderson, Taylor, Wright, Ferguson, Longcake, Sinclair
Subs: Easdon, Lawton, Hay, Adams, Donaldson, Robb, Munro, Robinson, McQuillan
