Jambos take kicking as Randolph boots Callum

Motherwell 0 Hearts 0


From GARETH LAW at Fir Park

HEARTS players have been taking a kicking off the park — Darren Randolph was lucky to escape a red card for booting them on it.

The Motherwell keeper sent Callum Paterson sprawling in the box after coming out and catching him with his right foot early in the first half.

Randolph might say he was protecting himself as he jumped to claim after Darren Barr’s shot had looped up off Shaun Hutchinson.

But there seemed no reason for him to straighten his leg in an act which took out the young Hearts striker, who was fortunate to escape a major head injury.

Amazingly ref Crawford Allan didn’t even blow for a foul and penalty and instead opted to restart the game with a DROP BALL while Randolph dodged even a booking.

It was a rare talking point as freezing conditions and a lunchtime kick-off combined to produce one of the worst SPL games of the season so far.

Maybe the Jambos fans who chose to stay at home and watch their team on Sky were right.

They’d turned out in their numbers last week to support their cash-stricken side in the wake of their latest survival fight.

They also deserve huge credit for snapping up £600,000 of the £1.8million worth of shares issued by the club in a bid to keep the Jambos alive.

Yesterday’s gate money wouldn’t have gone into the Tynecastle coffers but more support than the 586 who made the effort to come through might not have gone amiss in their club’s hour of need.

Jambos gaffer John McGlynn had said before the game that he’d be happy to delay his own wages for another month if it would help to save the stricken club.

Instead he saw football put on hold for an hour and a half in a game that meant something to both sides but which even league reconstruction would struggle to fix.

The deadlock means Motherwell’s dismal home run has now extended to just one win in ten attempts while Hearts have just two victories in their last six.

Well had won all but one of the last six meetings with Hearts at Fir Park — but neither side ever looked like netting the goal which would seal the three points.

The first half was simply 45 minutes to forget as long balls failed to find targets, passes went astray and the rare shots at goal flew wide. The omens had looked good just four minutes in when Ryan Stevenson had the small band of travelling supporters on their feet with a drilled free-kick that Randolph brilliantly pushed away.

Well boss Stuart McCall reckoned the Jambos have the best defence in the league and he saw his side going close to breaching it.

Chris Humphrey darted down the other end, took on Danny Grainger and crossed for Michael Higdon who nodded past the post.

Randolph then took out Paterson with Andy Webster going head to head with the Well keeper and demanding he should be sent off.

Whistler Allan instead chose not to flash any card and a dazed Paterson eventually returned after being checked over by the physio.

He was holding his head again just seconds later though after coming off second best while challenging for an aerial ball with Adam Cummins. Humphrey then picked out Higdon again with a great ball in and this time the striker was denied by a dramatic punch from Jamie MacDonald.

Paterson turned and drilled wide at one end then Henrik Ojamma did the same at the other before Stevenson slammed past.

If the early kick-off had had an effect, everyone inside Fir Park prayed both sides might wake up in the second half.

Sadly for everyone watching, they didn’t. Grainger had hobbled off for treatment on the stroke of half-time.

He reappeared for the restart but was forced off just seconds after being booked for fouling Humphrey. Mehdi Taouil was sent on with Ryan McGowan switched to left-back and Darren Barr slotting in at right-back.

Murphy looked to have broken the offside trap after being played in by Keith Lasley’s sliderule pass only for assistant ref Raymond Whyte to dubiously bring things to a halt by raising his flag and leaving Murphy raging.

Then Murphy dinked a ball forward for Higdon to hare in on goal for the best chance of the game.

When MacDonald did well to block the striker picked up the loose ball and returned it to Murphy who saw his shot deflect wide.

While the outstanding Shaun Hutchinson was the standout player at one end with a towering defensive display, Well were the side doing everything to win it at the other as the game came to a close.

Humphrey dug out a cross that caught out MacDonald and crashed off the top of the bar and as the Well winger finally showed signs he was getting into his stride he drove inside to force MacDonald to push his piledriver wide just moments later.

Ryan McGowan then nodded wide in the fourth minute of injury time before Allan finally put us all out of our misery and blew for full-time.