Grant Scott was full of praise for "excellent" Motherwell, who gave his Hibernian Women side a tough battle at Meadowbank Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
The Hibs Women Head Coach was left frustrated by a 1-0 lead at half-time, with the visitors limiting attacking scenarios and showing real threat of their own.
The Hibees were fortunate to not go behind early on after Laura Berry fired wide from a one-on-one opportunity, but improved in the second half to earn a commanding 4-0 victory and seal all three points.
"We huffed and puffed. Motherwell were excellent, particularly in the first half," Scott told HibsTV following the match.
"They put us under a lot of stress. At times we did not help ourselves. I’m not convinced it was a 4-0 game.
"But we have got to be happy with the girls executing some chances. As we got our noses in front, the confidence grew and we looked more like ourselves.
"We did not look our usual composed selves on the ball. We went backwards quite a lot. Credit to Motherwell and energy they came at us with.
"We reset at half-time and encouraged the girls to play. We let ourselves get frantic and we went too long too soon in the game. We should have done better managing that."
After describing Rachael Boyle as a "class player" following her late introduction off the bench, Scott also singled out players at both ends of the pitch for their solid performances throughout the tricky fixture.
"I was delighted for Noa [Schumacher] coming in. Another clean sheet for her in her first game after a wee period out injured.
"The girls in the front area, particularly Kathleen [McGovern] and Eilidh [Adams] had a tough job in the first half when they were not getting any service.
"Doing the dirty bits is what we need the girls to do sometimes, which is what they done today.
"I’m delighted Kathleen got there in the end and got her goal - which was thoroughly deserved."
