By Ewing Grahame

Motherwell 0 Hearts 2

A first-half goal from the otherwise anonymous Ghanaian midfielder, Laryea Kingston, and a last-minute strike from substitute Andrius Velicka proved enough to provide Hearts with their first victory of the season and prevent them from registering their poorest start to a campaign since returning to the top flight in 1983.
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It was not a display to savour from the Edinburgh club but this was an evening when the result was always going to be more important than the performance.

They remain ten points behind leaders Rangers, however, and showed little at Fir Park to suggest that owner Vladimir Romanov's boasts that the championship would be theirs this season are likely to be fulfilled. Indeed, on this evidence, they may be denied even the consolation of a Uefa Cup slot for the second year running.

The Scotland management team of Alex McLeish, Roy Aitken and Andy Watson were in attendance ahead of Saturday's Euro 2008 qualifying match against Lithuania but only one of the six Hearts players included in their squad, midfielder Andrius Ksanavicius, started the match.

He was prominent during the early exchanges and had a reasonable appeal for a penalty rejected in the ninth minute when David Clarkson appeared to nudge him off the ball.

Calum Elliot, who spent the first half of last season on loan to Motherwell, then tested Graeme Smith with a header from Robbie Neilson's cross which the goalkeeper did well to beat away.

Motherwell gave a debut to Stephen Hughes and the former Rangers and Leicester City midfielder caused alarm with a drive from 30 yards, which beat Steve Banks but whistled past his left-hand post.

Steven McGarry was next to threaten from Paul Quinn's through ball but Ibrahim Tall's astute tackle robbed the striker just as he was about to pull the trigger.

Laryea Kingston was more decisive. Midway through the first half he latched on to a flick from Marius Zaliuka and his low, left-foot shot from the edge of the penalty area was taken early enough to catch Smith flat-footed.

Fortune was not smiling on Motherwell, as was further evinced by Clarkson's driven cross ricocheting off the onrushing Phil O'Donnell and onto the near post.

But it improved immediately after the restart when referee Charlie Richmond again refused to award a penalty when Stephen Craigan appeared to take the legs from Elliot.

Once again, though, their attacks foundered on the rock of Tall when the Senegal defender threw himself in front of a Ross McCormack shot from six yards to divert it away from goal.

By that stage the pressure from Motherwell was relentless, with Hearts defending deeper and deeper as the half progressed. They lacked the width to get behind the visitors' rearguard, however, and Jim Paterson's yellow card, for a lunge at Robbie Neilson, was surely born of frustration.

McCormack came as close as Motherwell would get in the 72nd minute, with a firmly-struck McCormack free-kick from 25 yards which came through the wall but missed the target by inches.

Ruben Palazuelos was cautioned for simulation before Ksanavicius forced a fine partying save from Smith in a counter-attack.

Motherwell flooded forward at every opportunity but lacked the guile and composure to unlock the Hearts defence, seemingly oblivious to the fact that a key will often succeed where a battering ram fails.

Speaking of which, Chris Porter, unimpressive since his arrival from Oldham sent a free header from six yards wastefully over after being picked out by McCormack's cross.

Match details

Motherwell (4-3-3): Graeme Smith, Quinn, Craigan, Reynolds, Paterson, McGarry, Lasley (Porter 56), O'Donnell (Grabban 90), Hughes, Clarkson, McCormack.
Subs: Meldrum, Brian McLean, Mensing, Fitzpatrick, Corrigan. Booked: Paterson.
Hearts (4-4-2): Banks, Neilson, Tall, Berra, Goncalves, Zaliukas, Stewart, Kingston, Ksanavicius (Ivaskevicius), Nade (Velicka 57), Elliot.
Subs: Basso, Wallace, Mikoliunas, McGowan, Palazuelos. Goal: Kingston 24. Booked: Tall, Neilson, Elliot, Palazuelos, Zaliukas.
Referee: C Richmond (Scotland).