Gunners turned to cannon fodder by magnificent Reds
0 Mohamed Salah celebrates with Sadio Mane after scoring Liverpool’s third goal against Arsenal. Hibernian midfielder Lucy Graham says she and her team-mates are confident of beating qualifying group hosts Olimpia Cluj today and joining Glasgow City in the last 32 of the Uefa Women’s Champions League.
Romanian champions Cluj, who have won both their opening games, need only a draw to go through. Both sides beat Swansea City comfortably, but Cluj defeated Ukrainian side Kharkiv 1-0, while Hibs were held 1-1.
“We feel very confident we can pull off the result we need,” said midfielder Graham, who scored three goals in the opening two games. “I felt we were very dominant for long spells of the second half against Kharkiv, so it was disappointing not to get the win.
“We were at both the Cluj games and the backroom staff have done the analysis, so we’re well prepared. There are some things which can be exploited.
“They are very similar to Kharkiv and are a physical side. They have three outstanding players, one midfielder and two forwards, who are very direct on the counter-attack.”
The temperature in the Cluj Arena was approaching 30 degrees when Hibs’ late morning game against Kharkiv ended on Friday. Forward Abi Harrison had to be treated for heat exhaustion near the end.
Today’s kick off is at 6pm in Romania and, with the pitch in the shade by then, conditions are expected to be more forgiving.