Back trouble continues to hurt Hearts

Motherwell 2
Blackman 57, Sutton 69

THERE were only three problems for Hearts yesterday. Motherwell were too sharp, too smart and just too good for them. It was like watching a team from this country being picked off by a more game-savvy continental opponent.

That is the what the vast international experience of Craig Brown has brought to the Fir Park side, who have replaced Hearts in third place and have won all three of their on-the-road domestic assignments this season. Still, at least the home denizens got to give out deafening roars at being given exactly what they wanted - an appearance from returning hero Rudi Skacel.

He appeared to in the 56th minute. Motherwell scored in the 57th minute, Chris Humphrey exploiting Eggert Jonsson's awkwardness at left-back before delivering a cross that Nick Blackman neatly turned in with not a soul near him.

"We had four defenders, and they were all eight yards behind him, caught flat-footed," Jefferies despaired. "After that, their movement was better, they passed the ball better and deserved their win." It was sealed when Humphrey again burrowed his way along the left touchline and this found John Sutton in the centre, to direct the ball in.

Hearts do not have a defence without the contract refusnik Marius Zaliukas and injured Lee Wallace and Jefferies know it. And he's getting ever-more emboldened about saying things are not the way he wants them to be. In part, for political reasons.

Yesterday, he dropped Darren Barr, to "take the pressure off him", following some error-strewn displays that culminated with a nightmare performance in the 4-3 Co-operative Insurance Cup defeat at Falkirk in midweek. His greater concern was a fit Zaliukas being unavailable to him and no acceptable left-back cover for Wallace.

"Ishmid Bouzid isn't half the player with Marius talking him through, and we will have more talks this week to hope to resolve his contract situation," he said. "Eggert tries his best, but we don't have any other left-backs. I tried to solve the left-back problem with you know who (Joe Capaldi]..."

So focused was he in his team's deficiencies, Jefferies didn't even mention a bogus penalty claim from late in the first period that had Hearts players and supporters fulminating. A mystery why, since Calum Elliot seemed to star-jump into Stephen Craigan as the paired challenge for a ball that the Irishman won as his Hearts opponent, inevitably, went sprawling. It is what happens when you throw yourself.

There was nothing so gauche from Motherwell, whose attackers threaten with fleetness of foot and finesse.

"We are equipped to play away because we have terrific pace in the team with Humphrey, Blackman and [Jamie] Murphy," said Brown. "They let us play on the counter-attack and everything is heartening for us at the moment, but we must avoid injuries be cause we have a tight squad."

The Lanarkshire club's squad was almost shorn of match-winner Humphrey after his partner Kerry gave birth to a baby daughter Amelea on Thursday night.Hearts can find no home comforts in looking to birth a first win of the season at Tynecastle. They were quite perky to begin with, but that's the least they should have been expected of the following their hapless midweek efforts. There is a certain disjointedness about Jefferies' side and the presence of Kevin Kyle, the route-one target man, can be an inadvertent cause of this. Whether it was to do with Motherwell's scrapping in the central areas or the scrappy play of the home side, there was little in the way of structured build-up in the forward forays of the men in maroon. That didn't preclude Kyle and forntline partner Calum Elliot from seeing the ball shunted into their vicinity. But since it was rarely in the form of an inviting pass or cross the pair quickly became frustrated.

In all, the opening stages were of the infuriating variety. There was plenty of endeavour but an absolute dearth of genuine opportunities with neither goalkeeper troubled. That might have changed on the half hour when David Templeton hit the byeline and whipped in a peach of a cross that Kyle could not direct on target. The same fate met another ball floated into the former Sunderland man and the lack of incision was in contrast to Motherwell's mauradings up field, which were less frequent, but more threatening.

Brown's side showed the problems they could cause with their ability to move the ball around with alacrity in a fluent move that involved good work from Humphrey before Blackman back-flicked the ball into the path of Jamie Murphy. The Scotland under-21 player stepped inside before attempting to steer a shot into the corner and inside finding the far post. Minutes later, the same player again demonstrated impressive shooting power from 30 yards, only to be denied by keeper Marian Kello this time. As he was again in the early minutes of the second period, Motherwell's ability to find spaces in the final third alarming Jefferies sufficiently for him to change things. Skacel appeared along with Stephen Elliott as Elliot and David Templeton made way.

"I thought we could send them on to win it, and instead it went the other way," said Jefferies. It is all gone the wrong way for Hearts.

HEARTS

Kello

J Thomson

Bouzid

Mrowiec

Jonsson

Santana

Palazuelos

Stevenson

Templeton (56)

Kyle

C Elliot (56)

Subs used

S Elliott (56)

Skacel (56)

Black (73)

MAN OF THE MATCH

Chris Humphrey (Motherwell)

Deserves the accolade for the two perfect crosses that brought the goals.

TALKING POINT

The continued absence of Marius Zaliukas over a contractual dispute.

Referee: M Tumilty. Attendance: 13,749

MOTHERWELL

Randolph

Saunders

Craigan

Reynolds

Hateley

Humphrey (79)

Lasley

Jennings

Sutton

Blackman (88)

Murphy (81)

Subs used

McHugh (79)

Forbes (81)

Gow (88)

Taken from the Scotsman