Montrose got the match underway, but Hibs allowed them no time to settle, as the home side came close to scoring seconds into the match. Ferguson intercepted a pass from the Montrose midfield, controlled the ball and played Baucom through on goal. However, the pass was too heavy and the keeper was first to the ball.
Hibernian’s intensity from the beginning paid off. Notley whipped in a free-kick from the edge of the box, the ball sailed over the defence until it reached Murray who headed the ball into the ground and past Perry in the third minute.
Just a minute later Hibs were knocking on the door once again. McGregor received the ball on the edge of the box, and hit a powerful shot on the swivel but it fizzed just wide of the top corner.
However, the home side didn’t have to wait much longer to double their lead. Baucom took the ball inside the box and past a defender before playing it to Bowie. Bowie composed herself and slotted the ball into the left bottom corner.
Hibernian’s relentless onslaught didn’t stop there. With 25 minutes on the clock, Hibs had their third of the match. Christie received the ball 20 yards from goal, skipped past an opposition defender before firing it past the keeper and into the top left corner.
The home side were playing with a spring in their step and looked a level above Montrose. With passing moves splitting the opposition defence, and players driving with intent, Hibs played the ball across the box multiple times in the span of five minutes but were unable to convert the opportunities.
In the 35th minute, Ferguson went down with a knock and was replaced by Nunn.
Just a minute later, Hibs had a free-kick on the edge of the box following a Montrose handball. With a run-up that looked like she was going to opt for power, Powell then placed it directly into the top left corner and Hibernian had their fourth of the afternoon.
The match came to a halt in the 44th minute, as Culley was stretchered off the pitch with a head knock. After 15 minutes of injury time, the referee blew for half-time and Hibernian went into the break with the match all but over.
Not long after the restart, Montrose had their first of the match. Guthrie took the ball down the left hand side of the box, and fired it past Wilson in the 51st minute.
In the 63rd minute, Montrose almost had a second. Robb evaded the Hibs defence’s tackles on the edge of the box, and dragged the ball back before sending her effort wide of the post.
Grant Scott made a double substitution in the 65th minute, with Adams and Leishman replacing Doran-Barr and Baucom.
Hibs responded well and mounted plenty of attacks of their own. Christie played Bowie down the line, who beat a Montrose defender and tried to curl her shot round the keeper from a tight angle, but a defender managed to get her body in the way. Soon after, Eilidh Adams nicked the ball to go one on one with Perry at a difficult angle, struggling to get it out from her feet, she played it across the box but it was cleared by Montrose.
Hibs continued probing the opposition defence, Nunn dribbled the ball down the line and whipped her cross to Adams who had made a run to the back post. The defender did enough to put the youngster off and her header cleared the bar, before being pulled back for offside.
Grant’s final changes of the match came in the 76th minute, Notley and McGregor were taken off for Livingstone and Lawson.
Whilst Hibernian dominated, the travellers looked much improved in the second-half. But it wasn’t enough as Hibs ran out 4-1 winners with an impressive performance.
