Hibs striker "hopeful" of goalscoring success in Edinburgh derby

Jorian Baucom is aiming to net her first Edinburgh derby goal on Saturday. Credit: Malcolm Mackenzie

In-form Hibs striker Jorian Baucom is “hopeful” that her goalscoring run will continue into Saturday’s Edinburgh derby at Easter Road.

The American is currently the top scorer at the club this season after finding the net 11 times in 14 games. The 27-year-old has largely been at the centrepiece of all Hibs’ attacks his season despite only signing for the club in the summer. Her pace and power have caused all types of trouble for many opposition defenders. Aberdeen in particular have felt her wrath, the striker already finding the net five times this season against the Dons.

Now Baucom is aiming to continue that form in Saturday’s tie against Hearts. With Easter Road hosting the match, the 27-year-old aims to bag her first Edinburgh derby goal. “Any striker would love to score in a game, especially a derby game given its history,” she told the Edinburgh Evening News. “I will just have to come prepared and do what I can to help the team as well. Hopefully, that results in me being able to find the back of the net.”

Baucom had been at a host of clubs before moving to the capital. The 27-year-old spent much of her youth career in the United States before moving to Sparta Prague where she competed in the Champions League. From here, she moved to German side MSV Duisburg before returning to her homeland for a couple of years. Last season, the American made the move back to Europe as she played for Portuguese side Damaiense before joining Hibs in August.

This combined experience has helped Baucom become one of the most lethal strikers in the SWPL. However, the 27-year-old believes that her strengthening relationship with her new teammates is helping her translate her performances into goals.

“[Goals] just comes with confidence in myself and having Grant [Scott] and the rest of the staff having the belief in me do what I came here to do,” she added. “It’s not easy, and you can’t score goals without your teammates, that’s a big part of it as well. We are starting to get into better form and learning each other and I think that is why the goals are starting to come because we are learning each other tendencies and the style we like to play off of each other.

“Obviously, you practice a lot of it in training and during the week but I do think that having relationships on and off the field is important as well. As we become closer as a team, you are going to see that translated onto the pitch.”

Over the past few weeks, Hibs have become particularly ruthless up top. Baucom’s side have netted 23 times over their last three games with the side overseeing a 7-0 winner against Dundee United on Sunday to take them to the Sky Sports Cup semi-finals. After such an impressive attacking performance, Baucom insists that confidence is high going into Saturday's Edinburgh derby.

“Our attacking line is starting to get into good form, we are learning each other more,” she explained. “We came in fairly new as a team and as the game has progressed, we have been learning each other, growing that relationship on and off the pitch which is also important to develop your game and get better. You are starting to see that more and more given our last two games where we racked up some goals which is a confidence booster going into Saturday. As long as we stick to and keep executing our game plan, we will be able to keep doing that.”

 Tickets are still available for Saturday's game at Easter Road. These are once again available for free and can be claimed here.