Heart of Midlothian 1 Motherwell 1
Ladbrokes Premiership – Saturday 7th March 2020 – Tynecastle
Hearts dropped two precious points in their battle against relegation today after they were held to a draw by Motherwell at Tynecastle. A mistake from Craig Halkett gave the Fir Park side a first half lead but Conor Washington scored his second goal in as many games to snatch a point for the home side. But with relegation rivals Hamilton Academical winning again, Hearts are now three points adrift at the foot of the Ladbrokes Premiership.
After their derby triumph at Easter Road on Tuesday evening, Hearts manager Daniel Stendel made just one change to the team – captain Steven Naismith replacing Liam Boyce.
There was another big crowd inside Tynecastle, the majority hoping to see their favourites win for the third time in a week. However, it was Motherwell who made the early running and Aarons missed what seemed a decent chance to open the scoring when he failed to connect with a cross.
The hard-working Conor Washington almost caught out the Motherwell defence when he forced keeper Gillespie to clear only as far as Sean Clare. The Englishman tried to take advantage of the visiting keeper being off his line by lofting the ball goalward – only to be denied by Grimshaw.
Just as Hearts looked to be assuming control of the game calamity struck after 20 minutes. Hearts defender Craig Halkett dallied on the ball and was caught out by Long who took the ball from the defender, ran through on goal, rounded Hearts keeper Bobby Zlamal and fired home to give the Steelmen the lead.
The home crowd were stunned but they were soon almost cheering an equaliser when Steven Naismith saw his shot on goal from a tight angle trundle agonisingly wide. Hearts despair increased when Sean Clare, who hadn’t recovered from an earlier hefty challenge, limped off. He was replaced by Jamie Walker.
The tension was palpable among the Maroon Army and Daniel Stendel brought on Liam Boyce for Ollie Bozanic at the start of the second half. Roared on by their supporters, Hearts launched into attack and the second half was only four minutes old when their team drew parity. Naismith’s low cross into the Motherwell penalty box was fired home by Conor Washington and it was 1-1.
It was mostly Hearts in the second half, but it has to be said they were wasteful with the chances that came their way. Jamie Walker came close as did Liam Boyce and one could sense the home side were letting their anxiety to take the lead affect their decision making.
The visitors time-wasting tactics appeared to indicate they would be happy to leave Gorgie with a point, but they nearly stole all three when Bobby Zlamal saved brilliantly from Hylton.
At the death Steven Naismith couldn’t connect with Washington’s cross and a golden chance to win the game was gone. A draw was hugely disappointing given results elsewhere.
Daniel Stendel couldn’t mask his disappointment after the game. He told the official Hearts website:
“We wanted to win but this is the result. Motherwell showed they have had a really good season. When we went 1-0 down, it was more an own goal than a goal from Motherwell.
“After 1-1 I thought we could change the result, but we wanted it too much.
“We did not really play with patience when we had the chance to play ahead.
“They had some chances, we had two big chances, but when you see the other results one point is not enough.
“I said to the players I want us to play more. I think we would get more chances then, but I understand I am not on the pitch.
A huge game now awaits Hearts on Wednesday. They travel to Paisley to play the team immediately above them in the league table. Victory against St Mirren will take them level on points with the Buddies. Defeat will open a six-point gap at the foot of the table – and may well mean the Maroons will be visiting the likes of Arbroath, Alloa and Dunfermline next season…
Hearts: Zlamal, Smith, Bozanic (Boyce, 46′), Clare (Walker, 28′), Washington, Naismith, Damour, Halkett, Moore (Meshino, 79′), Dikamona, Hickey.
Motherwell: Gillespie, Tait, Grimshaw, Hartley, Campbell (Maguire, 18′), Long, Hylton, Aarons, Polworth (Turnbull, 73′), Gallagher, O’Hara.
Referee: Don Robertson
Attendance: 17,339
Top man: Conor Washington
Photos: Ian Jacobs
Author of The Team for Me - 50 Years of Following Hearts. Runs Mind Generating Success, a successful therapy practice in Edinburgh. Contact me if you want rid of any unwanted habits. Twitter @Mike1874
