Striker Eilidh Adams insists that her day "couldn't have gone much better" after she netted a hat-trick to send Hibs into the Sky Sports Cup semi-finals on her 100th appearance.

Eilidh Adams holds the match ball after completing her second hat-trick in three games. Credit: Malcolm MackenzieThe 19-year-old captained the side as they cruised past Dundee United in a 7-0 demolition job. Hibs were dominant from start to finish with Adams the star of the show. The striker even managed to squeeze in an assist in the match to certify her superiority on Sunday night.

"The day couldn't have gone much better to be honest," she told the Edinburgh Evening News. "For me personally, it was brilliant. I had only just scored my first-ever professional hat-trick so to score another one so soon was brilliant and what I want to be doing as a striker. For me, it was a brilliant day and I am really proud of making 100 appearances for the club that I love.

"It was a nice surprise [being captain]. I knew my 100th appearance was soon but I wasn't quite sure about when it was. It was really nice of Grant [Scott] to give me the captain's armband for the day. It was a really proud moment for me, representing and playing for the club that I love. For me and my family, it was amazing."

Adams has been at the club she loves since she was 14 years old and quickly rose through the academy. After making her first-team debut in 2019, the striker has become one of the best talents in Scotland and was voted the SWPL 1 Young Player of the Season at the end of the 2020/21 season.

Now, after leading the front lines for the past couple of seasons, Adams and Hibs have really hit form. The Hibees have won seven of their last nine games and have now scored 23 goals in their last three. It was only three games when Adams scored her first professional hat-trick in an 8-1 win against Hamilton with the 19-year-old admitting she didn't expect to repeat the feat so quickly.

"It's brilliant. Last season, that was what we were missing, a bit of consistency and at the start of the season, we struggled with that," Adams added. "At the moment, we can't stop scoring. It's the same defensively, we've managed to keep clean-sheets which is brilliant as well. The girls are loving it and we seem to be clicking now which is great.

"No, I didn't think [another hat-trick would come so quickly]. I was delighted a few weeks ago to have scored that and I just wanted to keep trying to score goals and do well for the team. Never did I expect it to happen again so soon."

Now Hibs' attention turns to Saturday. Adams' side will host Hearts at Easter Road in the second Edinburgh derby of the season. Hibs won the previous game 1-0 with the striker hopeful that their recent form can help them pull off a similar result.

"Saturday is a really exciting occasion and we will be looking to put on the same performance again," she explained. "The derby can be a completely different game with form going out of the window. We know it will be a tough game but we are going into it full of confidence."