Motherwell 1 Hearts 0

By Alasdair Reid

Nobody will be rushing to back them to be at the top of the Clydesdale Bank Premier League table at the season's end, but they held that position at the conclusion of this match, courtesy of a crisp goal by Jamie Murphy after an hour.

For most of the preceding hour, the two sides had looked evenly matched, but confidence surged through the Motherwell veins after Murphy, a signing target for a host of big clubs, had held the ball up cleverly, turned smartly on the greasy surface and swept the ball home from 12 yards. From then to the finish, they passed and moved with suave assurance – exactly the kind of game that Hearts new manager Paulo Sergio is meant to be encouraging among his players.

Small wonder that Motherwell manager Stuart McCall looked a happy man at the end. "I'm delighted with the three points and another clean sheet," he said. "We know we have players who can create and score, so it's vital that we keep it solid.

"It's a good start, the start we were looking for. But it's nothing more than that. We've got to keep building on it."

On paper, Sergio's decision to play without an out-and-out striker looked like another signal of his creative intentions, but it didn't look too clever at the end of a first half in which Hearts players had passed the ball around sweetly enough without ever really threatening a goal.

Their best chances had came towards the end of that period, when 'Well goalkeeper Darren Randolph was twice called into action to deal with shots from Andy Driver and Jamie Hamill, but the Edinburgh side had not produced any periods of consistent pressure.

Motherwell, in fact, probably moved the ball more incisively, with Chris Humphrey enjoying the hospitality of Hearts' meet-and-greet defence on his gleeful forays down the right side. Yet while Humphrey cantered like a runaway pony, he also passed like one, and his crosses rarely did justice to the quality of the build-up.

Motherwell midfielder Keith Lasley had picked up a yellow card for a reckless challenge on Adrian Mrowiec after 33 minutes, but Ian Black, never known for his gentle, easygoing ways, clearly thought the punishment insufficient. Seven minutes into the second half he dispensed some of his own with a venomous foul on Lasley. Between the two incidents referee Steve O'Reilly had become something of a hardliner himself, and Black was shown a straight red card.

O'Reilly was again in more lenient mood in the 78th minute when Hamill chopped the legs out from under Humphrey as the winger raced towards the goal. There was a strong case for ending Hamill's match there and then, but the Hearts defender was let off with a yellow. Had his side not already been reduced to 10 men, and had they not been trailing to Jamie Murphy's goal, Hamill may well have gone.

Instead, it was Lasley who marched, the consequence of the second yellow he received for an 87th minute foul on Arvydas Novikovas. It was the only cloud on Motherwell's bright day.

Motherwell (4-4-2): Randolph; Hateley, Saunders, Craigan (capt), Hammell; Humphrey, Lasley, Jennings, Law; Murphy (Carswell, 89), Higdon. Subs: Hollis, McHugh, Forbes, Page, Halsman, Lawless. Booked: Lasley. Sent off: Lasley.

Hearts (4-4-2): McGowan; Jonsson, Zaliukas (capt), Grainger; Hamill (Novikovas, 83), Mrowiec, Black, Driver (Sutton, 55); Templeton (Skacel, 77), Stevenson. Subs: Balogh, Barr, Smith, Robinson Booked: Hamill. Sent off: Black.

Referee: S O'Reilly.

Taken from the Herald