Heart of Midlothian 1-0 Motherwell

A stunning strike by Danny Grainger ensured Hearts returned to winning ways with a 1-0 victory over Motherwell at Tynecastle on Sunday afternoon.

The Jambos were unchanged from the side that lost to Celtic prior to the international break, with Calum Paterson once again occupying the striker role with Ryan Stevenson deployed in the attacking midfield role.

John McGlynn's men were keen to end a two game losing streak, but almost found themselves behind inside the first minute as Jamie Murphy drifted through the middle of the park before forcing Jamie Macdonald into a fine save down by the bottom right post.

Hearts survived the early scare, however, and soon began to dominate possession. Andy Webster threaded a perfectly weighted ball over the Well backline and into the path of Darren Barr. The latter laid it off for Andy Driver on the edge of the box but his curling shot narrowly missed the far post.

Minutes later, however, Tynecastle erupted as Grainger picked the ball up near the halfway line. The full back charged down the left channel before unleashing an unstoppable shot which rifled past the helpless Darren Randolph and into the top right corner.

As was the case in the first half, Motherwell came flying out the traps after the restart and very nearly equalised as Michael Higdon sent Chris Humphrey's cross wide from seven yards out.

The high tempo continued as both teams pushed forward in numbers. Stevenson nearly grabbed Hearts' second of the afternoon when he cut inside from the left and hit a rising shot which very nearly found the roof of the net.

The rhythm of the game was then disrupted by sloppy passing on both sides, with neither team able to impose themselves. Substitute John Sutton went close for the Gorgie side when he flashed a header wide from five yards out, but clear cut chances were few and far between.

With time running out, the visitors began pushing forward in numbers but the Maroon rear guard looked solid throughout. The closest the Steel men came to an equaliser was a Nicky Law header which Andy Webster cleared off the line.

Hearts then survived some later pressure as the game entered injury time, but eventually held on to secure three crucial points.

Hearts: MacDonald; R.McGowan, Webster, Zaliukas, Grainger; Driver, Taouil (D.McGowan 89), Barr (Robinson 70), Novikovas (Sutton 61), Stevenson; Paterson. Subs not used: Enckelman, G.Smith, McHattie, Carrick.

Motherwell: Randolph; Kerr, Hutchinson (Carswell 45), Ramsden, Hammell; Humphrey, Lasley, Hateley, Law (Daley 85); Murphy (Ojamaa 73), Higdon. Subs not used: Hollis, McHugh, Francis-Angol, Hetherington.

Referee: William Collum

Top man: Darren Barr

Hearts World