McGovern On Road To Recovery & Accies Challenge

Hibs Women forward Kathleen McGovern is "looking forward" to gaining more match minutes on her road to recovery following a frustrating spell on the sidelines.

The 23-year-old was in great form - scoring 14 goals in 17 matches across all competitions for the Hibees, as well as finding the net for Scotland - before an injury sustained in mid-November ruled the attacker out for over two months. 

Brought on against Rangers in an attempt for 10-player Hibs to claw themselves back into the game last weekend, McGovern netted deep into stoppage-time to give the travelling support fleeting hope of seeing a late comeback succeed.

Reflecting on the terrible feeling of watching on from off the pitch before making her scoring return, McGovern told Hibs TV she was excited to "be back helping the team" in the next few matches. 

"It was very frustrating. Everyone that knows me knows that I don't do well when I'm not on the pitch with the team and I can't help.

"So, it was really good, obviously, to get the first minutes over the line. I just want to build on my performance, gain more minutes in the following weeks and hopefully I can get back helping the team. 

"I think, personally, it's good to build confidence because it has been hard when you're out injured to come back and obviously help the team. Obviously, it wasn't the result that we wanted, but from a personal point of view, it was nice to be back on the score sheet.

"I probably didn't expect to be back on the score sheet so early. So, it's just one that I can build on and hopefully, as I say, I want to be back helping the team in the following weeks."

The next challenge for McGovern is bottom club Hamilton Academical, who have had a tough start to life back in the ScottishPower Women's Premier League following promotion from the second tier.

Last time out against the Accies, Hibs soared to a 5-0 win at New Douglas Park - though Robert Watson's side did not make it easy for the Hibernian forwards, with McGovern, who went without scoring in the match, admitting it can be incredibly tough to face off against their low block system and that it will be another tricky test this weekend for the Hibees.

"I think in the last game that we actually played Hamilton, it was very frustrating. It was hard for us to break them down because they sat in a low block.

"But, obviously, it's one that we're looking forward to this week, trying to get back to winning ways because it's not been easy when we've not been winning and getting the results. So yes, it's one on Sunday that we're looking to put right."

Sunday's encounter is another opportunity for McGovern, and a number of other players who are eyeing a return from the treatment table to the pitch, to make build up minutes ahead of next weekend's Sky Sports Cup Semi-Final versus Glasgow City.

McGovern understands the importance of the Semi-Final, as well as our post-split fixtures that draw closer game-by-game, but the forward insists full focus remains on this weekend's visit of Hamilton,

"The split is the games that you want to play in and obviously, we have semi-final after Accies to look forward to. But as I say, we take one game at a time here. So it'll be nice this week, hopefully I gain some more minutes for myself and so do a few of the other girls that have been struggling with injury. It's nice to see them back in the pitch as well.

"Hannah [Jordan], who I've worked with a long time in the gym, I feel, we've had similar kind of injuries. It's good to see so many girls back in the pitch and hopefully this week that we can get a lot of girls' minutes and put us in good stead, especially going into the Glasgow City game in the semi-final. 

"And the post-split matches because they're the games that come and it's Wednesday, Sunday, Wednesday, Sunday, and we need everyone top form to get the results that we need."