Hearts 3 Motherwell 0

By Ronnie Esplin, PA Sport

A first-half double by Edgaras Jankauskas and a late strike by Calum Elliot gave Hearts a comfortable 3-0 victory over Motherwell in the Bank of Scotland Premier League at Tynecastle.

The Lithuania international returned after recovering from a hamstring injury picked up against Kilmarnock at the beginning of the year to prove the difference between the two sides in a game that slowly deteriorated after an incredible start.

Barely 60 seconds after Well striker Scott McDonald had missed a third-minute sitter, Jankauskas slid his first goal in from close range after Colin Meldrum had parried a Rudi Skacel drive.

Then 10 minutes later, the striker thundered a 25-yard drive into the top corner.

The home side struggled to maintain their dominance in the second half but secured the points through Elliot's 78th-minute clincher, with the youngster lobbing Meldrum from inside the Steelmen's penalty area.

There was an almost capacity crowd inside Tynecastle but there were surely few who could have envisaged such an exciting start to the match.

In the third minute, McDonald headed a Richie Foran cross off the post and against Hearts goalkeeper Craig Gordon from six yards out.

Skacel then took a Takis Fyssas pass and powered into the visitors' area.

Although his angled drive from 16 yards was parried by Meldrum, Jankauskas was perfectly positioned to slide the ball high into the net from close range.

Then, in the ninth minute, Skacel stung Meldrum's hands with a powerful drive from distance.

But the 14th minute produced a moment of genuine class when Jankauskas made it 2-0 with a wonderful drive from 25 yards out.

The 30-year-old took a clever pass from Elliot and sent Deividas Cesnauskis scurrying clear down the right with a perfectly-weighted delivery.

When the midfielder crossed into the six-yard box, it was cleared by Fir Park defender Martyn Corrigan, but Jankauskas strode forward to thunder an unstoppable shot past the despairing Meldrum and into the top corner.

The rattled Lanarkshire side struggled to contain Hearts who were breaking with pace and purpose.

Cesnauskis was causing Well full-back Steven Hammell all sort of problems down the right and it looked like there was no respite from the pounding the visitors were taking.

But the early Jambos' frenzy subsided a little and, in the 34th minute, on a rare foray into the Gorgie penalty area, former Hearts striker Jim Hamilton headed a Brian Kerr free-kick onto the top of the net.

Then, in the 40th minute, Gordon was forced into a fine fingertip save from Hamilton's shot from the edge of the penalty area.

After the interval, the visitors began with enough confidence to suggest that they could yet rescue something from the game.

Motherwell's cavalier approach to defending, however, was leaving gaps, especially down the flanks but the Edinburgh side had lost most of their first-half fluidity.

In the 57th minute, with Motherwell pushing forward, McDonald had a good chance to cut the ball back but mis-kicked.

At the other end, Jankauskas sent Skacel clear but the Czech midfielder slashed wildly at his volley from 30 yards and the ball went high and wide.

In the 68th minute, with the home side stagnating, Bednar came on to bolster the Jambos' attack at the expense of Jankauskas.

But it was the visitors who came close in their next attack.

In the 71st minute, a Kerr free-kick was met by Stephen Craigan at the back post, but the Well defender's header crashed off the top of the bar before it was cleared to safety.

However, in the 78th minute, Elliot sealed the points when he capitalised on some slack Motherwell defending to run onto a Fyssas pass and lob Meldrum from around 14 yards out.

Teams:

Hearts Gordon, Neilson, Pressley, Webster, Fyssas,Cesnauskis (Johnson 83), Brellier (Mikoliunas 86), Aguiar,Skacel, Jankauskas (Bednar 69), Elliot.

Subs Not Used: Banks, McAllister, Berra, Pospisil.

Booked: Cesnauskis, Elliot.

Goals: Jankauskas 4, 14, Elliot 78.

Motherwell Meldrum, Corrigan, Craigan, McLean, Hammell,McBride (O'Donnell 72), Kerr, McCormack, Foran,Scott McDonald (McGarry 67), Hamilton (Clarkson 85).

Subs Not Used: Martin, Fagan, Kinniburgh, Darren Lee Smith.

Booked: Hamilton, Kerr, Foran.

Att: 16,976

Ref: C Richmond (Scotland).

Taken from sportinglife.com