Lauren Doran-Barr believes her former club Motherwell will provide a "tough" test for Hibernian Women in their final home outing of 2024.
Grant Scott's side welcome Motherwell to Meadowbank Stadium on Sunday (15 December) afternoon after a midweek postponement halted the girls' hopes of extending their unbeaten league run to seven games.
Whilst our trip to Dundee United never happened, Motherwell were narrowly defeated by league leaders Rangers at K Park on Wednesday evening.
"Off the back of last Sunday, as a player, you want to get back on the pitch and put in a positive performance," Doran-Barr said off the back of last weekend's Scottish Cup defeat.
"But it’s part and parcel of football, games get called off. It’s allowed us to get an extra session in. We’ve tried to take the positives from it. Full focus and preparations have been on Motherwell this Sunday."
A former 'Well star, LDB knows her previous club very well and is well-aquainted with how Paul Brownlie's outfit will ready themselves for a trip to the capital.
Motherwell sit sixth in the ScottishPower Women's Premier League table. Despite losing every game to each current top five teams in the division so far this season, their slim defeat to Rangers on Wednesday will give our upcoming opponents a boost heading into this weekend's clash.
"I know first-hand how hard [Motherwell] work and how organised Paul [Brownlie] will have them. They will believe they can come and get a result at Meadowbank. We would not expect anything less. We need to be at our best to get a positive result come Sunday.
"We know how tough a game it is going to be this weekend. Motherwell have strengthened and put in some really good performances. With some of the attacking quality that they have got, it is going to be a tough game.
"It will be an exciting game and it is one we are really looking forward to."
Doran-Barr has become a hit in EH7 since making the switch from Motherwell to Hibs last summer.
The flying wing-back enjoyed a successful first season at the Club, before kicking on this season despite an early-season fitness setback - starting in each of Hibernian's last 10 matches in all competitions.
"I’ve really enjoyed [this year]. I’ve taken the transition to full-time football in my stride and I’m continuing to develop in this environment, which is really important.
"You can see how far the squad has come. It’s a really exciting time to be at Hibs. There is so much more to come from this group of players. We are hoping to finish the year on a positive note and take that into 2025.
"I just try to go out and do as best as I can every week regardless of what that role may be. It’s a really competitive squad this year. No one can afford to get complacent. That competition has helped drive standards in training and it has been really good for everyone."
