Hearts 2 - 1 Motherwell

Michael Grant at Tynecastle

ANOTHER win, another broadening of their lead at the top of the table, and still Hearts face several months of scrutiny from those who remain sceptical about their worth as genuine title contenders. Are they good enough to be champions? After yesterday, it is more pertinent to ask whether they will actually have to be anything special to win the title this season.

Their horizons already extend to thinking like potential champions, that’s for sure. Before they streamed out of Tynecastle, the biggest home support at a Hearts game for a decade paused to hear the other scores being read over the public address system. Rangers 0, Hibs 3 was met with a resounding roar. Never mind a century of local rivalry, all of a sudden Hearts feel like they have bigger fish to fry.

They saw off Motherwell with a performance worthy of league champions only in that any successful campaign will inevitably include these sort of scrappy, misfiring displays. After five games they have a perfect league record and are five points clear at the top. Rudi Skacel’s record is faultless, too, having delivered again to continue his goal-a-game form.

They lap up Skacel’s every touch at Tynecastle, but flair was rationed yesterday. Hearts won without playing with any great fluency or style, relying on what has become an outstanding defence to see them through against a combative, spirited Motherwell. It is way too early to be leaping on to any soapboxes about whether Hearts can last the pace rather than simply set it, but these are the kind of unheralded wins which form the backbone of a true title challenge. A terrific Craig Gordon save in the final second was the difference between three points and one.

Moving into Old Firm terr-itory brings a new set of expectations and pressures. Playing Hearts is not yet a cup final for other teams – which is the mentality many of them adopt when they are up against Rangers or Celtic – but George Burley’s players will have to get used to their opponents taking the field with the sort of heightened concentration and focus that Motherwell brought yesterday. The Old Firm are practised in the art of dealing with relentless demands for victories. Hearts will have to show similar resolve if their challenge is to endure, but so far they are passing the tests.

Given that Motherwell played their normal 4-4-2, they could not be accused of arriving simply to close the game down, but Terry Butcher had clearly spent the week schooling them in what makes Hearts tick. Butcher’s teams can be robust at the best of times and they tried to quell Hearts’ passing with instant tackles and interceptions to prevent them finding a rhythm in the final third. Time and again a Hearts move would break down just as they were trying to find their two oak trees, Edgaras Jankauskas and Roman Bednar.

Paul Hartley and Bednar had early opportunities but Hearts’ brisk play soon ran into obstacles and the freq-uency of chances decreased as Motherwell defended with more assurance than they had in losing 5-4 at home to Dundee United last weekend. They might even have taken the lead had Scott McDonald’s low angled effort not brought a fine save from Gordon.

Over the course of the game Motherwell had a reasonable amount of possession and were always in contention, but Hearts’ superior quality always promised to yield match-winning chances.

Skacel seemed likely to score in 32 minutes but Graeme Smith had not read the script and made a save. Then Steven Pressley stooped to send a header narrowly wide from a Hartley corner. Eventually the goal came with a move which swept the length of the field.

One minute McDonald had tried an overhead kick but Gordon saved and began a move which gave Hearts their opener. Hartley’s through ball played in Skacel for the kind of goal which is becoming his trademark: a bursting run from midfield, in behind a defender, then a firm, burrowing finish past the goalkeeper.

If Bednar had converted a couple of opportunities after the interval, Tynecastle could have relaxed. Instead he sent a downward header over the bar, then failed to capitalise when Willie Kinniburgh was short with a pass back to his goalkeeper. When the same defender was unimpressive in dealing with another move, Hearts had their second. Takis Fyssas seemed to have overrun the ball at the byline but jabbed out a cutback. Kinniburgh should have dealt with it but allowed Jankauskas to dig a shot high into the net.

Tynecastle heaved a sigh of relief but Hearts became careless and allowed Motherwell a lifeline. Julien Brellier tugged Hamilton’s shirt in the box for a penalty which Richie Foran nervelessly converted.

Motherwell sensed a point and would have it one in the final instant if David Clarkson’s powerful shot had not been kept out by an exceptional save from Gordon.

Occasionally, a long-distance race is won by someone who is only supposed to act as a pacesetter. Now there’s a thought to sustain Hearts until they play again in a fortnight.

Taken from the Sunday Herald