JOHN'S HEARTS FELT APOLOGY

MOTHERWELL ....................2 HEARTS ................................0

Robbo: I'm sorry .. that was our worst ever

Euan Mclean At Fir Park

RAGING John Robertson apologised to fans after woeful Hearts put in their worst performance of his reign.

Red-faced Robbo was embarrassed as his sloppy stars went from midweek heroes against Kilmarnock to weekend zeros at Fir Park.

Jambos never looked like threatening a Motherwell side who made it four wins out of four against the Tynecastle men this season.

Well could even afford the luxury of a missed penalty by striker Jim Hamilton as they cruised to victory thanks to first-half strikes from Scott McDonald and Marc Fitzpatrick.

Robertson moaned: 'That was the poorest performance I've seen since I came here. Apart from Craig Gordon we weren't at the races.

'It was embarrassing but I take full responsibility for it and apologise to the fans. I don't want to blame the players because they have helped us through in other games so I have to accept it and do everything I can to make sure it doesn't happen again.

'Motherwell were the hungrier side from start to finish and thoroughly deserved all three points. People like to talk about clubs having the Indian Sign over other teams and the fact is they have played four and won four against us this season.

'Their fans were singing, 'Can we play you every week' and you can see why after watching the way they went about us.'

It was a shock to see the swashbuckling Hearts side of Wednesday night's 3-1 win at Kilmarnock transform into a side lacking craft and graft in every area.

Defensively, they repeatedly conspired to shoot themselves in the foot, starting from a 13th-minute penalty gift which Motherwell squandered spectacularly.

Rookie defender Lee Wallace allowed McDonald to muscle in goalside and latch on to Steven Hammell's chip forward into the box.

His desperate lunging attempt to make amends was a stonewall penalty as the Well man went crashing.

If Wallace was guilty of a slip-up, what followed from Hamilton was nothing short of horrendous. His sclaffed trundling effort straight down the middle was possibly one of the worst spot-kicks witnessed at Fir Park and goalie Gordon grabbed it on the deck.

Well boss Terry Butcher grinned: 'When Jim got hold of the ball there was no way anyone else was getting it off him. It was his chance to get his first goal for the club but he won't be taking a penalty again.'

There was better finishing in 24 minutes when Hammell and McDonald combined again.

Hammell set the ball rolling, working a swift one-two with the Australian to storm into the box and crack a decent effort that was well blocked by the closing keeper.

But Gordon was helpless as McDonald finished what his pal had started, pouncing on the rebound to tuck a clinical low drive neatly inside the keeper's left. McDonald's joy was short-lived as he earned a booking for his over-zealous celebrations in front of the Hearts support.

Dennis Wyness followed the scorer into ref Callum Murray's book for a 27th-minute foul on Stephen Craigan as Well took complete command.

At the heart of it all Hammell was running the show, providing all the ammunition McDonald needed to use his pace surging forward from midfield.

A sublime threaded 30-yard ball sent McDonald dashing down the right and his whipped cross inside was begging to be finished but skimmed an inch out of Hamilton's reach. A minute later the ball was back in the net thanks to more dreadful defending by the Jambos.

David Partridge's long ball should have been dealt with comfortably by Wallace and Stephen Simmons standing static in the box but neither reacted as Fitzpatrick nipped through in hot pursuit.

Wallace was still favourite to win the ball but his weak tackle failed to rob Fitz of possession and he raked a low effort under Gordon.

Scoring against Hearts is becoming a habit for the young CIS Cup semi-final hero.

Hearts had offered nothing going forward and Simmons' poor effort from the edge of the box just after the break summed up their toothless display. Robertson needed to change things and turned to Mark Burchill for inspiration as a 53rd-minute replacement for the anonymous Wyness.

It had been a frustrating day for hitman Lee Miller and it showed when he copped a booking a minute later for booting the ball off Hammell after a decision went against him.

Saulius Mikoliunas saw a decent half-volley held by Gordon Marshall and at the other end Hamilton's looping header was tipped over the bar by Gordon after Kevin McBride picked out the big striker.

Hearts made another switch in 59 minutes with Deividas Cesnauskis getting the hook having failed to build on his impressive debut against Kilmarnock in midweek. He was replaced by Jamie McAllister before Christophe Berra was booked for felling McDonald.

Hearts had a chance when Marshall spilled a cross but Craigan cleared off the line.

Robertson rolled his last dice with 11 minutes to go, switching Simmons with Lithuanian Marius Kizys and pushing Mikoliunas into a front three beside Miller and Burchill.

Well made two late changes with McDonald rested for David Clarkson and Jim Paterson making way for Richie Foran.

But for Hearts the damage was done as their Motherwell curse struck again.

ref watchCALLUM MURRAY copped flak for some questionable calls but the dodgy performers were wearing Hearts shirts. Murray didn't drop any major clangers, was spot on with the penalty but could be more consistent. Rating: 6/10.

Taken from the Sunday Mail