The Edinburgh Reporter October 2022

23

Coastal rowing

Porty open days

THE EASTERN Amateur Coastal Rowing

Club (the Eastern) are holding two open

days in Portobello for anyone interested in

trying the sport.

Coastal rowing has exploded in recent

years with dozens of clubs springing up

around Scottish coastal towns.

The Eastern is one of the most successful

coastal rowing clubs and was the top

ranked Scottish club at three successive

world championships.

The open days are on Saturday 1 and 8

October from 10am to 2pm, meeting on

the shore in front of Portobello Baths

where prospective rowers will be taken

out in 15 minute slots.

For more information contact

[email protected]

New cup is just capital

By STAFF REPORTER

HIBS WOMEN and Hearts Women

have launched the Women’s Capital

Cup all backed by Edinburgh fund

managers, Baillie Gifford.

This new trophy for women to

play for begins with the first fixture

at Easter Road on 27 Nov and a

return fixture on 26 Feb next year.

The trophy will be lifted by the

winner of each game. Supporters

are invited along free of charge.

Both clubs will work with

community groups to ensure that

the broadest cross section of fans

get involved, fostering greater

inclusion and diversity in the

national game. Supporters can

also back the two charitable

foundations Hibernian Community

Foundation and Big Hearts.

Hibernian FC Chief Executive Ben

Kensell said: “We are delighted to

launch the Capital Cup alongside

Hearts as we look to enhance and

grow women’s football in Scotland.

“It was a really proud moment

for everyone at Hibernian FC last

season to see 5,512 supporters at

Easter Road for the Edinburgh

Derby – a record crowd for a

domestic women’s fixture in

Scotland – and it was great to

see so many supporters at

Tynecastle too. Thanks to the

support of Bailie Gifford, we hope

to not only see more supporters in

attendance at these games, but to

inspire the next generation of

female footballers.”

Andrew McKinlay, Chief

Executive at Heart of Midlothian,

said: “Hearts is delighted to unveil

the Capital Cup alongside

Hibernian and with thanks to the

support of Baillie Gifford. The

fixtures between the two teams

have been well attended by both

sets of supporters.

“These games have already

shone a light on the huge appetite

for Women’s Football in the Capital

and we are excited to see how far

we can grow attendances and

support the wider growth of the

game in Scotland.”

By JAMIE MCINTOSH

HEARTS GOT TWO much-needed
victories prior to the international
break to keep them on track on
both domestic and European fronts.
The Jambos headed to the Latvian
capital, Riga, having lost six of their
last seven matches. Manager, Robbie
Neilson, also would have known
deep down that it was imperative,
Hearts took at least a point from the
match at the Skonto Stadium.
In the end, Hearts took all three
points thanks to goals from
Lawrence Shankland and Alan
Forrest. Istanbul Basaksehir
defeated Fiorentina in Turkey,
which meant Hearts moved up to
second in the group after two
matches.
Less than 72 hours later and
Hearts took to the field again,
looking for their first away league
win of the season and again goals
from Shankland and Forrest saw
them pick up all three points.
Prior to that match in Latvia,
Hearts had struggled to keep clean
sheets, despite having Scotland’s

number one, Craig Gordon,

between the sticks. However, much

like Edinburgh buses, Hearts waited

so long for a clean sheet and then

two came along in quick succession.

Victory in Lanarkshire saw

Hearts move up to third in the cinch

Premiership table, despite their

hectic schedule and unfortunate

injury problems.

Those two results were important

for a number of reasons, most

notably because they brought an

end to a bad run of results and

instilled greater confidence in

the squad.

But perhaps a quick glance at

Hearts’ fixture list for October,

highlights just how important that

win at Fir Park was.

Due to the farcical decision to

hold a World Cup in November,

clubs have been forced to agree to

severe fixture congestion in October

and early November, prior to the

tournament commencing.

Therefore, Hearts will have to

play 12 matches between 1 October

and 12 November. Neilson has

spoken on numerous occasions

about preparing his squad to

perform on a weekend matchday as

well as during the week.

The reality is, if Hearts are still

third in the league at 4:45 on 12

November then it will be a minor

miracle with the schedule and

injuries they currently have to key

players.

However, if Hearts can stay in

touch with teams around them over

the next 5 weeks, then they will

fancy their chances to come on

strong in the second half of the

season once their new signings have

bedded in and they have more time

in-between fixtures to recover.

I hope the Hearts players who

were not on international duty at

the end of September enjoyed their

well-earned break, because things

are going to get a lot tougher for

them between now and the start of

the World Cup.

Feeling the

pressure!

It’s make or break for Jambos with

a jam-packed autumn schedule

GET IN TOUCH

TODAY!

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