Hearts Women manager Eva Olid is hopeful her players can enjoy the challenge of facing league leaders Rangers at Oriam on Wednesday night, following recent victories over Hibernian and Partick Thistle.
Friday’s Edinburgh derby victory saw Hearts increase their lead in 4th spot to six points and speaking to the Official Hearts Website, Olid believes her side enjoy the challenges that come with playing the top 3 sides in the division.
“They love playing against the top three, as they know that improves them as players and they improve as a team too, as the matches are so competitive now. This week, I see the players in training, they are just so happy and ready for the game.”
The women in maroon had to work extremely hard for their derby victory, playing over 70 minutes of the match with ten players, following Kathleen McGovern’s early red card, but with Hearts having some extra recovery time, Olid is hopeful her side can go into Wednesday's match, well prepared.
“This week it’s obviously a three-game week, so that makes the preparation a little different. We had such a hard game on Friday and of course we have a little more recovery time than Rangers, but we played with ten players, and some are still feeling it from the effort they put in.
“We do have some players who are fresher, as they didn’t play. We have just about a full squad and at this time of the season, it is a good time to have close to a full squad to choose from."
Rangers come into this game on the back of a 4-1 victory over Glasgow City but with the pressure slightly off her side following recent victories, Olid is hopeful that her side can relax and produce their best football.
“On Monday, we were able to train and work on some in-game things, whereas Rangers will have been in recovery yesterday, after their game on Sunday. From our point of view, our extra recovery time is of course a positive, but after the extra effort we put in on Friday, it was needed.
“It was so clear that we had to win against Hibs and Partick, there was no other option for us in those games. Tomorrow, we can go in wanting to get the three points obviously, but we don’t have that added pressure, so hopefully we can enjoy it a bit more and try and get as much as possible from the game.
“Rangers won 4-1 against Glasgow City on Sunday, which is a massive result for them. They were so good in attack and hopefully for us, they’re feeling it a bit after the effort they put into that game and their standards drop a little.”
