'We've been punished for giving ball away twice' - Motherwell boss Graham Alexander left to rue lapses at back in Hearts defeat

The visitors were robbed of possession on each occasion. The strikes came in either half from Andy Halliday and Ellis Simms though Motherwell were more competitive than the scoreline suggests.

Alexander felt his side had been the better side in the opening half of the Scottish Premiership contest and had played worse and won.

“The clinical side of Hearts, particularly in those two attacks, was the difference in the result,” he said. “I thought over the whole game we played some really good stuff.

"I thought we played really well today. I thought we passed the ball really well and purposefully. We pressed them, turned the ball over lots of times and the first goal is against the run of play, but we had a hand in it.

“I thought we should have dealt with it better - and we were severely punished. But we had a couple of great opportunities before half-time to get the equaliser, which would have been our just rewards, but we couldn't find that finishing touch.

“I thought the second goal was similar: we give it away when we should have made a better decision. We've been punished for it again.”

Alexander confirmed that ’Well defender Ricki Lamie has signed a pre-contract deal with Dundee. He stressed that he wants to keep the defender, who was not involved against Hearts, for the remainder of the season.

“I think that might have happened on Friday night, I spoke to Ricki on Friday afternoon," he explained. “But I still see Ricki as an important player for us for the rest of the season.

“He's a great character, he's a good player and he's part of our squad, so I don't see any reason why we need to lose him before the end of the season.”

Despite Saturday’s defeat in Edinburgh, Motherwell remained in fourth place in the league table by virtue of fifth placed Hibs going down to a surprise 3-2 home defeat by Livingston.

As part of a packed schedule after the top flight teams’ return from their winter break, ’Well were in Scottish Premiership action at St Mirren after we went to press on Tuesday night.