Dramatic last gasp equaliser earns Motherwell 1-1 draw against Hearts at Tynecastle

Curtis Main bundled home a last gasp equaliser in the fifth minute of stoppage time to earn Motherwell a dramatic 1-1 draw at a blustery Tynecastle on Saturday.
Tom Aldred (left) and Craig Tanner celebrate Motherwell's last gasp equaliser at Tynecastle (Pic by Ian McFadyen)Tom Aldred (left) and Craig Tanner celebrate Motherwell's last gasp equaliser at Tynecastle (Pic by Ian McFadyen)
Tom Aldred (left) and Craig Tanner celebrate Motherwell's last gasp equaliser at Tynecastle (Pic by Ian McFadyen)

The result means that Motherwell remain unbeaten in 2018 and moves the Steelmen onto 28 points from 23 league matches as they retain sixth spot in the Scottish Premiership.Main's equaliser was the first goal a defensively sound Hearts outfit had conceded in a whopping 831 minutes of football.This game was exciting throughout and visiting skipper Carl McHugh seemed lucky to escape an early booking when he lunged in to foul Arnaud Djoum during a hotly contested opening period.And the visitors were soon indebted to their keeper Trevor Carson when he made a brilliant instinctive save to block the ball from point blank range after a long range delivery from Hearts' Ross Callachan had been deflected towards goal.Hearts then produced a great 22nd minute move but Anthony McDonald shot well over with his left foot after a Ross Callachan pass.The hosts then had a penalty shout for handball against Cedric Kipre in the box but referee Willie Collum waved away their appeals.As the home team's ascendancy continued, a great run and shot by Steven Naismith preceded a powerful low effort being blocked by Carson, who then saved Callachan's rebound effort.But the Steelmen weathered this storm of Hearts pressure and hard working striker Main put ball in the Hearts net on 27 minutes from a Tom Aldred flick but the 'goal' was disallowed for offside.There was then an even bigger shout for a Hearts penalty not given when Aldred appeared to foul Callachan in the area.Hearts manager Craig Levein later called both penalty calls "blatant".After the first half had ended goalless, it was the Tynecastle men who enjoyed the first attack after the interval and Carson made a comfortable save from a low McDonald left footer.It was then Motherwell's turn for an unsuccessful penalty appeal as sub Tanner went down under a Berra challenge, but the Englishman will be disappointed he didn't get a shot away before the tackle came in.As the action raged on at a furious pace, impressive Hearts ace Demetri Mitchell sent a fine right footed effort just over from outside the box on 57 minutes.It was then 'Well's turn to create an opening as Campbell played in Main, but his effort was off target.This ultra competitive game was played at a ferocious lick throughout but it was the Jambos who gained the crucial first goal on 80 minutes when David Milinkovic despatched the ball from the edge of the box after a free-kick from the right had been partially cleared.This was a real kick in the solar plexus for a Motherwell side who had battled manfully.And there was another blow for the Lanarkshire side when Richard Tait went off injured and was replaced by Deimantas Petravicius.But Motherwell kept plugging away and Petravicius headed a glorious chance from close range wide after Tanner's free-kick in stoppage time.The Steelmen weren't finished however and nicked a point in the fifth minute of stoppage time.Tanner's long setpiece seemed to be going out the park but Andy Rose headed the ball down, Chris Cadden went to shoot, Tom Aldred flicked the ball up, it hit Cadden, fail to Main and he bundled it in despite the best efforts of Hearts keeper Jon McLaughlin to keep it out.The goal sparked amazing scenes of joy among Motherwell manager Stephen Robinson, players and 562 fans in the away end.Motherwell: Carson, Tait (Petravicius 83), Cadden, McHugh, Main, Rose, Dunne, Aldred, Kipre, Campbell (Bigirimana 75), Ciftci.Crowd: 16,717Referee: Willie CollumKeep up with all the top football news and transfer gossip from England, Scotland and beyond with footballwire.co.uk

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