Notley: Full Focus On Spartans

Ellis Notley insists "full focus is on Spartans" ahead of an extremely busy first week back following the winter break for Hibernian Women.

Our vice-captain, who hopes to return following a three-month injury layoff, is excited by the prospect of reaching the Sky Sports Cup final by defeating Aberdeen on 12 January, but demands focus from the team ahead of two league fixtures beforehand. 

The first of the two ScottishPower Women's Premier League clashes comes against Jack Beesley's Spartans, with the girls eager to carry on their excellent form that led into the mid-season break. 

"We are looking forward to the game. We had a good break, with some training in between Christmas and New Year. It was nice to get back in and moving again," said Notley.

"We finished the year strong with a good result. When you have performances like that you do not want the break to come. Everyone was eager to come back in and look ahead to Sunday.

"We have looked at the next month again and how important it can be to us, as a club. We’ve got two important league game prior to the Aberdeen [Sky Sports Cup] semi-final.

"We don’t want to drop any points, we want to keep pushing as far as we can. So, our full focus is on Spartans."

The Hibees went on a stellar unbeaten league run heading into the new year - winning six and drawing two of their final eight SWPL matches in 2024. 

Unfortunately for Notley, she played in just the first of the eight games after suffering an injury setback that kept her out until Christmas - forcing her to help lead the team from the sidelines.

"I have been injured, but I have been in and around the squad.

"Although I am maybe not physically playing, I can hopefully still influence and encourage others.

"It has been a difficult period for me personally, I am not used to it. I'm looking forward to getting back in and playing games."

The all-action midfielder could make her highly-anticipated return against Spartans on Sunday afternoon at Meadowbank Stadium. 

Despite Hibs securing a 4-0 victory at Ainslie Park in October, a match Notley missed out on through the aforementioned injury, the visitors always possess a threat through their physicality, organisation and tenacity. 

"Spartans always seem to raise their game against us. They enjoy playing us," Notley remarked.

"They’re a tough opponent. And they’re a dogged opponent, which makes it hard to break them down.

"We’ve got to be patient when we’ve got the ball, move it quickly and take chances when they come."

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