Derek McInnes stood in the Hearts dugout at Tynecastle and saw his new-look squad skid to a 3-0 deficit against Motherwell and he admitted: “We were on the floor.”
The Jambos then dug deep to salvage a point which preserves their unbeaten record so far in the William Hill Premiership, but the loss of two points means Celtic take over at the top after their 3-0 victory at home to newly-promoted Livingston.
A double from crowd-pleasing forward, Claudio Braga, netting after 74 and 83 minutes, plus a superb one-timer from Harry Milne after 65 minutes, which sparked the comeback, allowed Hearts to claw their way back from a nightmare position.
Substitute Braga, who came on after the break, could have claimed his treble had Motherwell goalkeeper Callum Ward not turned a shot from the Portugal-born player onto the post in the dying seconds.
However, Callum Hendry had a great chance to win the game for the visitors late-on but was denied by a block.
Callum Slattery opened The Steelmen’s account after 21 minutes and Tawanda Maswanhise added a second after 49 minutes. Emmanual Longelo made it 3-0 after 62, a goal which prompted some Jambos fans to leave their seats and exit the stadium.
McInnes said that the visitors were “much too comfortable” for long spells, but he told BBC Sport Scotland: “It was a tough situation and the players deserve a lot of credit.”
Jens Berthel Askou, Motherwell’s Danish-born manager, said his men played “fantastic football” for most of the game but added: “We lost a bit of momentum.”
The Jambos, jolted at being edged out of the Premier Sports Cup by St Mirren on penalties, must now re-group ahead of their short trip to Livingston on Saturday (15.00).
McInnes had targeted two wins from the matches against Motherwell and The Lions, now his focus is on the Home of the Set Fare Arena with the priority of earning three points to get his men back on track and tucked in behind early pace-setters Celtic.
PICTURE: Claudio Braga (left) walks to training. Picture Nigel Duncan
