Hearts 0 Motherwell 1

May 2 2012 By David McCarthy

IT might not have been pretty but to Motherwell’s small band of fans it was a thing of beauty.

Twenty eight minutes in, a shot from Jamie Murphy, a spill by Jamie MacDonald and a rebound smashed home by Michael Higdon to take their team to the brink of the Champions League qualifiers.

That’s where Stuart McCall’s team find themselves on the back of a victory that could go down as one of the most momentous in their history.

If Dundee United fail to win at Ibrox tonight, Motherwell will have their shot at glory in the summer. It’s a script Disney would have thrown out as being too far-fetched at the start of the season but Well won’t give a Donald Duck about that.

They are so close and the manner of this victory showed just how far they’ve come.

If Saturday’s demolition of St Johnstone was all about pace and guile, last night’s was built on passion and grit.

They didn’t play well but they defended with determination against a Hearts team that rarely looked like breaking them down.

And in Higdon they had a big, honest pro whose 16 goals have taken Well to the brink of Fantasia. With more than a little help from his mates, of course.

No wonder McCall bounded on to the pitch to hug each and every one of his players at the end. Motherwell in the Champions League? They’re having a laugh.

While the Steelmen are looking out their passports, Hearts still have work to do to claim a place in Europe.

They could yet finish sixth and lose to Hibs in the Scottish Cup Final, thus missing out on Europe altogether.

So Paulo Sergio’s aim is to make sure a Europa League spot is clinched before Edinburgh decants to Glasgow on May 19.

Despite the fact there was plenty at stake, Tynecastle wasn’t close to capacity.

But the home fans who did turn up saw plenty to encourage them in the opening stages.

Mehdi Taouil produced a peach of a pass to release Suso Santana in the fourth minute and his cross fizzed across the six-yard line before Shaun Hutchinson dealt with it.

Darren Barr then moved out of his defensive midfield beat to hit a stinging drive from 30 yards that rose only a couple of feet too high.

Motherwell’s response in 10 minutes was incisive and ended with Higdon testing MacDonald from the edge of the box.

Six minutes later, Murphy waltzed round Andy Webster and beat MacDonald from a tight angle, only for Ian Black to clear his effort.

Hearts then raced to the other end and scorned a better opportunity. David Templeton, who had started brightly, danced his way past a tackle on the edge of the box, forcing Hutchinson into a desperate lunge as he got his shot away.

The ball spun off the stopper’s toe to Taouil 12 yards out but the Moroccan lacked the composure needed to tuck the shot away.

Motherwell could not get Chris Humphrey, whose pace had destroyed St Johnstone at the weekend, on to the ball but in 28 minutes they snatched the lead against the run of play.

MacDonald didn’t cover himself in glory as he dived to his left to push out a shot from Murphy, who had cut in from the left and hit a drive that should have been smothered.

The ball fell to Higdon and the big striker tucked it away with confidence.

The goal knocked Hearts out of their stride but it didn’t help improve Motherwell’s rhythm and the remainder of the half was scrappy, tousy and increasingly ill-tempered.

Brian Winter, officiating in the SPL for the last time, kept his cards in his pocket then did everyone a favour by blowing for the break.

Taouil had been by no means the worst but he stayed inside at the interval as Rudi Skacel was introduced.

The switch didn’t change the shape of the game, with Hearts remaining on the front foot but showing few signs of unlocking Well’s back door.

Then, out of the blue, Sergio’s side produced a sizzling piece of football that should have brought them a 56th-minute equaliser.

Templeton started it in his own half with a pass to Black then kept motoring to receive it back and his pace carried him to the 18-yard line.

The defence opened up for the winger but he couldn’t take advantage – his shot was half hit and trundled almost apologetically into Randolph’s waiting arms.

Barr produced a much better effort on the hour, powering a header just wide from a Danny Grainger free-kick. The keeper was beaten but so was the post, by a matter of inches.

Motherwell had fallen out of the game but turned defence into attack after 73 minutes and almost killed the game.

Steven Hammell surged down the left and when his cross was knocked into Keith Lasley’s path, the skipper hammered it goalwards only for a Hearts boot to deflect it inches wide.

The Jambos raced to the other end and Santana netted from 10 yards but the goal was rightly ruled out for offside.

Sergio had seen enough. He threw on Gary Glen for Stephen Elliott and Black made way for Andy Driver.

Motherwell countered that move by removing Murphy and giving Henrik Ojamaa the chance to use his pace.

The Estonian immediately sent Humphrey on his way and his low cross was grabbed by MacDonald.

Hearts poured forward but Lasley’s brave diving header to clear a dangerous cross summed up the grittiness of Well.

There was one late scare in stoppage time when Marius Zaliukas played in Templeton but he blazed a shot into the side-netting.

Taken from the Daily Record