Why Hibs title win against all odds meant so much to one-club woman - 'I never thought it would be possible'

Oh, it may look just like a few dozen others you’d see on any given game day. But each one is unique, courtesy of its association with favourite moments. And, in very special cases, beloved people.

As Siobhan Hunter celebrated one of the most stunning SWPL triumphs of the modern era at Ibrox on the final day of last season, her thoughts inevitably turned to late grandfather Matthew, a man who played such a formative role in her development as a future Hibs star. And she didn’t have long to wait for family to provide her with a tangible reminder of his part in the story.

“My grandad isn’t with us any more but there are always special reminders,” said Hunter, the centre-half adding: “Like on the final day, my uncle had my grandad's Hibs scarf, and he chucked it onto the pitch for me.

“Little things like that just made it so special. Because I know he'll probably be looking down, absolutely buzzing. He took me everywhere, took me training. And all the time he'd stand at the side and just watch the whole time rather than go home.

“So it was really, really nice to still go and obviously do him proud even if he's not here. Because it’s a huge family effort when you’re a young player, relying on parents and grandparents even just to drive you to training and games.

“I'm not sure my Nana was too happy about constantly being at the house and spending money on me! But no, I'm forever grateful for that. And she as part of it, as well. It's not easy as a parent or a grandparent to take you everywhere, you go all over the country and it's hard, it's a lot of money, sacrifice from them, time and whatever. So yeah, I'm forever grateful for them.

“My Nana Jeanette passed just last year, so both are gone now. But there's so many memories you have with the, you kind of live on their memories. You almost do more than you would if they were here. I just feel like they're always here kind of watching from above. It’s really nice that I can still make them proud.”

Epitome of one-club woman

That’s a certainty, given the role played by Hunter – now 31 and with a new two-year contract just signed – in helping Hibs claim a title against all odds. As Grant Scott’s won big game after big game, including beating Rangers on home soil at the very end of a brutally exhausting campaign, she was right at the heart of the action.

And it meant as much to Hunter as anyone at Hibs. Born and raised in Leith, a supporter since she was old enough to join her grandad and dad – also Matthew – in the Famous Five stand, upper, she’s the epitome of a one-club woman.

Having spent part of the morning being photographed high up on Calton Hill, overlooking a city that will always be part of her character, she was happy to spend time reflecting on what those early experiences at Easter Road – visible from one of the vantage points – meant to her.

“I loved sitting behind the goal, because you could see the whole pitch,” she said: “I must have been about six, seven I'd say. And I've just being going ever since; it was just part of my life to be honest.

“I actually grew up in Leith and Craigentinny, Leith Walk. My mum liked to jump houses for some reason, so yeah, a few different houses - but the majority in the Leith area.

“It’s quite a story, when you think. Literally born and raised in Leith, playing for Hibs. It was always going to be this club, wasn’t it? I know it's easy to say. But no, I never ever looked elsewhere. This is my home, this is my club and there's nowhere else I'd rather be.

“I've been here since I was nine. Someone asked me the other day how long I've been here I was like: ‘Oh, 21 years …’. It just feels like everything's right here and I wouldn't want to go anywhere else. In the last two years I feel like I've kind of progressed again, I've got the love back that I have for football.

“The support that I've got right now the club is massive and the whole club's doing well right now. There's no reason why I'd want to leave that.”

‘Never thought it was possible’

Being a champion helps, of course. Even for someone who had won plenty of Scottish Cup and League Cup honours in the senior game, not to mention a handful of youth titles, that final-day triumph hit different.

“Surreal to be honest,” she said, when describing her emotions since that magical day in Govan, the experienced campaigner rather surprisingly admitting: “I never ever thought in my time really, I never thought it would be possible. So to do it, probably as well it made it a bit more special because it came later on in my career.

“You know when you're younger, probably the standard wasn't as great so it's a lot harder to do it now. So it just makes it extra special and yeah it was one of the best days of my life.”

Pressed on why she had harboured doubts, Hunter said: “I just felt like we were close but probably not close enough. All the teams around us were kind of pushing on.

“Celtic and Rangers obviously got backing from their clubs which is huge. And the Old Firm is a massive thing, so it did kind of feel like we were getting further away.

“I mean, we were finishing fifth. And fifth to first is completely different so yeah it just seemed a bit too far away. I mean you always have that dream of doing it - but actually doing it is different.”

At a time when the SWPL, with the backing of main title sponsor Scottish Power, are working hard to support teams capable of challenging the established order, Hibs winning the title was a Very Big Deal. Officially Good For The Game, even.

The dream, of course, is to have a fully professional top division, without part-time clubs battling just to keep up with the full-time pros. With the right commercial partnerships, and SWPL 1 cut from 12 teams to 10 for the new season, things are at least moving in the right direction,

“I think it’s great that the league are trying to get as many clubs to be full-time as they can,” said Hunter. “It would give players the option to move, give youngsters the chance to go full-time football in Scotland. If they do that, the game can only grow.”

Title defence begins

The hard work of defending their title starts when Hibs host Aberdeen at Meadowbank on Sunday. Although it’s been a hard pre-season, including a training camp in the sweltering heat of Florida, those title celebrations seem like they happened just the other night.

Memories of the victory party back at Easter Road certainly feel fresh, Hunter saying: “It was so nice that the full club were there to celebrate. The men were there, the coaching staff, the academy folk. Being a Hibs fan, I loved celebrating at Easter Road.

“My whole family were on the pitch. I think that's the first time they've been on the pitch. Silly things like that just made it more special, the photos, the videos.

“I look back at them all the time and still probably, to this day, don't believe it. So I need to kind of remind myself of what we did.”

ScottishPower is dedicated to energising women’s football at every age and stage of the game through its exclusive Principal Partner for the Scottish Women’s Premier League (SWPL) and Scottish Women’s Football (SWF).