Butcher’s boys make mincemeat of Hearts

HEARTS fans might be tempted to talk about hoodoos, and they could have a point. In their bewilderment over this fourth reverse of the season at the hands of Motherwell, including defeat in the CIS Cup semi-final, they must be moved to look beyond simple explanations. Until yesterday, the feelgood factor from the Romanov revolution had been rolling along nicely. Against those cursed men in the amber strips, however, the wheels came off yet again.

The margin of defeat might have been greater as Motherwell missed an early penalty, a woeful effort by Jim Hamilton. First-half strikes from Scott McDonald and Marc Fitzpatrick set them on their way and they were comfortably the better team.

Terry Butcher, the Motherwell manager, must be pursuing that top-six finish with renewed earnestness, if only to be sure that his team get a crack at garnering another three points against Hearts. Setting aside that famous semi-final victory, the Lanarkshire club had not been called upon to pay out a win bonus since early December and their chances of being on the upside of the league split were being jeopardised by their barren start to 2005.

“It was a very solid team performance,” said Butcher, “you saw last Wednesday that if you let Hearts play they can destroy you. I said to the guys, ‘Let’s make this our day because people are saying you’ve beaten Hearts three times so surely this must be their turn’. First and foremost, though, it was about getting the three points.”

Curiously, for what was a hard-fought game, there was a sluggish opening. This was best summed up by the home side spurning the chance of an early advantage following Hamilton’s lamentable penalty attempt. Having put in some good work to earn the award as he was wrestled to the ground by Lee Wallace, he undid it all by striking the spot kick so ineptly that Craig Gordon’s save had a near ostentatious look to it.

Logic suggested that this ought to have been a pivotal moment, providing a wake-up call to a Hearts side who appeared utterly lethargic. Instead the opposite proved to be the case, with Motherwell emerging seemingly inspired, perhaps detecting from the disarray that led to the penalty that the visitors’ rearguard was not on the same wavelength.

The ease with which the thin maroon line could be prised open was emphasised by Steven Hammell. Picking up the ball on the flank, the full-back drove his way into the Hearts penalty area, unleashing a stinging drive which Gordon could not grasp. It rolled to McDonald, who sent a neatly-angled shot into the corner of the net for his 10th goal of the season.

If the space afforded to their opponents in that build-up was disturbing for Hearts, the unseemly events that led to the second goal must have appeared calamitous. Steven Pressley’s attempted clearance of a long ball broke into the Hearts box. Quite what language Stephen Simmons and Wallace were trying to communicate to each other with only they will know, but the pair got into a terrible tangle and allowed Fitzpatrick to squeeze through and poke another past Gordon.

A potent response was demanded of John Robertson’s men, but at the start of the second half, their fire was misdirected. While applying themselves with added vigour, they allowed their anxiety to spill over into truculence, with Lee Miller and Christophe Berra picking up yellow cards. Saulius Mikoliunas was fortunate not to join them after a fresh-air swipe at an opponent went unnoticed. All of this was hardly productive in trying to retrieve the game and with Motherwell harrying and closing down space with grim determination, little threat materialised from Hearts.

Only in the closing quarter did they apply some concerted pressure, but a couple of scrambled clearances aside, they were unable to engineer any notable opportunities. For this season at least, Butcher’s men really do seem to hold the Indian sign over the Edinburgh side.

STAR MAN: Scott McDonald (Motherwell)

Player ratings: Motherwell: Marshall 7, Quinn 7, Craigan 6, Partridge 7, Hammell 7; McBride 6, Leitch 7, Fitzpatrick 7, Paterson 7 (Foran 85min, 5), McDonald 8 (Clarkson 83min, 5), Hamilton 6

Hearts: Gordon 7, Neilson 6, Pressley 6, Berra 6, Wallace 6, Cesnauskis 6 (McAllister 59min, 6), Hartley 7, Simmons 6 (Kizys 79min, 5), Mikoliunas 6, Wyness 6 (Burchill 53min, 6), Miller 6

Scorers: McDonald 25, Fitzpatrick 39

Booked: Wyness 28, Miller 53, Berra 60

Referee: C Murray

Attendance: 7,390

Taken from timesonline.co.uk