Hearts Secure Crucial Victory Over Motherwell
Hearts manager Derek McInnes praised his players for their resilience and determination in securing a hard-fought 3-1 victory over Motherwell. The win keeps their title ambitions alive as they maintain a three-point lead over second-placed Celtic ahead of the league split.
The match saw Emmanuel Longelo give Motherwell an early advantage, but Hearts fought back with a goal from Claudio Braga, who scored an instinctive overhead kick to equalize. With just three minutes left on the clock, Lawrence Shankland stepped up to convert a penalty and put Hearts ahead. The final goal came in stoppage time from substitute Pierre Landry Kabore, sealing the win for the home side.
McInnes reflected on the tight nature of the game, stating that he believed Hearts were the better team throughout. “They’re a good side, Motherwell,” he said. “We feel that we were good enough in the game to win it. There’s been a lot of teams that have won a championship who have had to dig it out and find a way to win when the question is hanging over them.”
He emphasized the importance of the players’ efforts, noting that there were many people who deserve credit for the club’s current position, but the players were the key factor. “If anybody thought that [the players were running out of gas], the answer was there. They just smash you right between the eyes and get the win. Job done, brilliant.”
McInnes also highlighted the atmosphere at Tynecastle, calling it “brilliant” and expressing his love for the stadium. “I love it. It’s special. I wouldn’t change them for anything.” He praised the support from the fans, saying that if they wanted to sing, they should do so. “It’s not easy getting it to this stage and it’s important that we just try and keep it going another five games and see where it takes us.”
After both scoring on Saturday, Braga and Shankland have combined for 27 league goals this season, a feat that has not gone unnoticed by the manager. “I wouldn’t change them for anything. Shankland’s only going to get better, Braga is just effervescent. He feeds off this crowd. He doesn’t give defenders a minute. He’s on a mission to get as many goals as well.”
This partnership provides a sense of comfort and optimism for the team moving forward.
Motherwell manager Jens Berthel Askou questioned the decision to award Hearts a late penalty after Stephen Welsh was ruled to have kicked Kabore’s head inside the area. “I think you can argue every time there’s contact that there’s a foul,” he said. “Then it’s about the amount of contact, the speed of contact, the situation.”
He expressed his frustration with the decision, calling it “very soft.” However, he acknowledged that the outcome was out of his control. “But it’s out of my hands, so there’s nothing we can do about it. And then from there obviously it became difficult because it was so late in the game to counter and then obviously it becomes very direct and a little bit frantic, which is not necessarily in our favour.”
