SWPL: Will ‘excited but scared’ Hibs edge closer to title?

Rangers head coach Jo Potter already has one trophy in the bag this season after her side thrashed Hibs 5-0 in the SWPL Cup final.

With Potter’s team also facing City in this month’s Women’s Scottish Cup final, a domestic treble is still on, something she regards as “crazy” considering she thinks her side are “fortunate” to be back in the title race.

If either Hibs or City had won their game on Sunday, Rangers would have been needing favours from elsewhere, but now they know, thanks to their superior goal difference, that two consecutive wins will be enough to secure the title they narrowly lost to Celtic last season.

“It’s better than it was last year because we lost out on goal difference,” she said. “We said from very early doors that we don’t want to feel that feeling again and we’ve got ourselves in a really healthy position. That’s comforting for us.”

Sunday’s 1-0 win away to reigning champions Celtic was a potential banana skin survived, but Potter pointed out that her side “must turn up to Hearts first” – a side who recently beat Hibs on their own patch – before thinking of a potential title showdown against the current leaders.

As she prepared to face former side Motherwell, City assistant Leanne Crichton, who was a serial title winner with her club as a player, expects the title race to go down to the final day.

“There’s a reason why Hibs are still at the top of the table – because they’re a good side, they’ve got experienced players, they’ve got quality, they’ve got a good manager,” she told BBC Scotland’s Behind the Goals podcast.

“There’s still so much to play for. The Champions League spots as well are absolutely massive.

“Ultimately, if you cannot win the league, the next big thing is European football. The three teams at the top have still got it all to play for. It feels like it could be another final-day drama.”