Motherwell lost 3-0 against Hearts in their latest Premiership clash.
With safety secured last weekend in beating Dundee, finishing top of the bottom six was the new aim for manager Michael Wimmer, on top of getting a better picture of what he needs heading into next season. One thing already appears clear and that is Callum Slattery will be a key man in midfield, setting the tempo early on and rifling the bar with a long range effort.
For all they had been much the better team in the opening half hour, an error was their undoing. A long ball forward from Hearts wasn’t read by Stephen O’Donnell, bouncing over him and Lawrence Shankland buried with aplomb. Slattery then netted a goal off the back of a free kick and the team thought they had a deserved leveller. A week on from the saga over Dundee’s disallowed second goal at Dens Park against Motherwell, Dan Casey was deemed to have interfered with play by VAR in a debatable call.
They would rue that moment as energy faded in the second half and Hearts pounced. Inside a couple minutes around the hour mark, James Penrice swung in a cross for Shankland to head home and Yan Dhanda’s effort was pushed out by Aston Oxborough and put home by Alan Forrest. A spillage in the Jambos box a few moments before the second goal sparked hopes of a leveller, and all of a sudden this game was dead and buried.
This season may be all but over in a competitive sense but Wimmer will be disappointed in the way his side lost this match, after a promising first 45. Here’s how we rated the Motherwell players at Tynecastle.
1. Aston Oxborough - 5/10
Helpless with first two efforts and couldn't push third far enough away to prevent that. | Motherwell Times
2. Tom Sparrow - 6/10
Posed some questions by Penrice that were difficult to answer. Beat on a couple of occasions but handled challenge ok in the main. Penrice did create the second Shankland goal on his side. | Getty Images
3. Stephen O'Donnell - 5/10
Let the ball bounce, couldn't meet the eventual header and Shankland punished him at the goal. Shankland up between and Seddon for second. | Getty Images
4. Dan Casey - 5/10
The sole centre-back in a patched up defence. Perhaps harshly dealt with in possible leveller. | Motherwell Times