ALTHOUGH there are some who may believe it isn’t entirely accidental, the Scottish Women’s Cup final has got the competitors it deserves at Hamilton’s Superseal Stadium.

Just as there was a time when the conspiracy theorists were certain the Celtic and Rangers men’s teams were magically kept apart in cup draws, the same applies now to the two leading lights in the women’s game.

This will be the fourth successive domestic final between Glasgow City and Hibernian, and statistically the odds must be stacked against such an outcome.

Until there is any evidence to the contrary we have to believe that it is, indeed, the luck of the draw that kept the two apart in the semi-finals. But until the other clubs raise their games, the cause of women’s football is best served by having the two best teams in the final.

That’s especially true today, for two good reasons. As in previous years the final is being screened live on BBC Alba, and anybody tuning in for the first time needs to be seeing the best Scotland has to offer. Just as pertinently, the Scottish Cup has a commercial sponsor for the first time in SSE, and both they and Scottish Women’s Football have been working hard to ensure it will be an occasion to remember.

In that respect the switch from Ainslie Park to Hamilton is also a step forward. Agreed, the venue is not in one of our major cities, where a bigger crowd might have been attracted – but against that there will be adequate seating and shelter in a bigger stadium for those who do attend.

That was not the case in Edinburgh 12 months ago, when many fans were left exposed to the elements.

City’s Irish striker Clare Shine scored a hat-trick at Ainslie Park to help win her side yet another treble – but that is not on offer for the newly- crowned 10-time league champions this afternoon. Hibs ensured that when they won the League Cup in June, coming from behind thanks to goals from Lucy Graham and a late, late effort from Lizzie Arnot.

That goal had shades of the winner by David Gray for Hibs in the men’s Scottish Cup final at Hampden a month earlier. And as well as winning two trophies in one season, nothing would give Hibs captain Joelle Murray and her team-mates more pride than having the women’s and men’s Scottish Cups on display side by side in the Easter Road trophy room.

Can they do it? On the evidence of the League Cup, yes, but against that City won all three league matches between the sides – and by scorelines that suggest there is still a gap between the teams.

The obvious difference is experience. City have it in abundance as three of their players – Gemma Fay, captain Leanne Ross and Jo Love – have more than 100 Scotland caps. Hayley Lauder is closing in on that total as well.

Hibs are more about young players who are likely to feature in the Scotland team after the Euros. One of these is midfielder Graham, who, although she has only recently turned 20, has already had a spell in Swedish football in between joining Hibs from Forfar Farmington.

“It’s a huge target to have Hibs win both the Scottish Cups,” she said.

There will be a second huge occasion on Tuesday, when the draw for Euro 2017 is held in Rotterdam. Scotland, in a major tournament for the first time, are among the third seeds.