Motherwell lost their sixth William Hill Premiership match in a row on Sunday afternoon, as Hearts took all three points from Fir Park.
Claudio Braga opened the scoring in the first-half, before Calvin Miller came off the bench to seal the win in the latter stages of the game.
With Storm Boelo in full flow and gusts of up to 55 mph, the Fir Park surface was looking as slick as ever when teams emerged from the tunnel. Alfred Johansson made changes from last week’s defeat at Kilmarnock, with Jake Girdwood-Reich and Dylan Levitt brought into the team. Jordan McGhee was handed his first start for the club since joining in the summer of 2025, as he took his place in the heart of the midfield.
Lukas Fadinger wasn’t in the squad due to illness, with Alex Lowry also absent. Regan Charles-Cook was also back in the squad following his spell on the sidelines.
Hearts arrived in North Lanarkshire fresh off the back of a 2-0 defeat to Trabzonspor in the UEFA Conference League on Thursday night in Turkey, and with their own injury troubles hampering the availability of a number of their players, Wouter Vrancken’s side still looked sharp after a difficult week.
But after just three minutes, Motherwell had their first half chance. A back place got fired towards the Hearts keeper; under pressure from Seb Palmer-Houlden, he nicked in, and his touch took the ball into the side netting.
Hearts reacted quickly, with Josh McPake set away by Claudio Braga; the Scotland international’s shot was blocked by Tom Sparrow.
Emmanuel Longelo charged up the left wing after 14 minutes, and with space continuing to appear in front of him, his run took him to the left edge of the box, and his strike was saved by Beau Reus.
McGhee also had a go a minute later as he ran onto Joe Hodge’s layoff, but Reus was again a match for the effort.
Hearts then grew into the game and opened the scoring on 28 mins. Braga was alive in the penalty area when a cross came in from the right-hand side, his glancing header nestled into the bottom corner, giving the Jambos the lead.
Six minutes later, Motherwell could have been level, however. Reus’ poor distribution allowed Levitt to pick up possession 25-yards from the goal. The Welshman shifted the ball onto his left foot, but his effort was palmed away by the keeper, who redeemed himself for his earlier error.
Johansson’s side continued to battle. Ibrahim Said wriggled free from three Hearts defenders and fizzed a cross out wide to Longelo; his cross was aiming for Tawanda Maswanhise at the back post, but Stephen Kinglsey recovered just in time to clear. From that resulting corner, Palmer-Houlden was on the end of the delivery and, with his back to the goal, attempted an acrobatic effort to try and get the ball on target, but the ball landed just over the crossbar and onto the roof of the net.
At half-time, Motherwell may have considered themselves unfortunate to be behind given the chances, but Hearts had the advantage going into the second-half, and with the wind in their favour.
But Motherwell came out firing and looked threatening going forward. Joe Hodge found himself in the penalty area and flashed a shot across the face of goal, but nobody in a Motherwell shirt was on hand to convert.
The Steelmen then struck the woodwork, as Longelo’s corner came off the near post. Palmer-Houlden continued to run in behind, and on 61 minutes, the forward didn’t give up on what looked like a lost cause through-ball, and managed to get a shot away from a very tight angle that forced the save from Reus.
Jardell Kanga and Eythor Bjørgolfsson were introduced shortly after, and the latter had a golden opportunity to level the game. Tawanda Maswanhise played a low ball into the box, and the Norwegian striker peeled off his marker but couldn’t connect with the ball.
Three minutes later, on the opposite side, Longelo and Kanga combined with the former, played in behind. The full-back picked out Bjørgolfsson in the area, but again, he couldn’t connect with the ball.
Kanga and Hodge looked lively again on the left-wing, with Kanga slipping Hodge in. The midfielder burst into the box, but his shot was blocked by Reus.
The chance kept on coming for the Steelmen. Hodge again got himself into a dangerous position in the box; his shot was deflected high into the sky, and Bjørgolfsson got himself underneath it; however, his header was saved by a diving Reus, who once again prevented a leveller.
Energy in the home stands was high, as it seemed Motherwell would eventually get their deserved goal before the full-time whistle. But on 86 minutes, an O’Donnell clearance landed at Miller’s feet on the edge of the box; he blasted into the bottom corner with his left to secure the points for his side.
Alex Paulsen was called into action one final time in the last minute, denying Stephen Kingsley with a smart stop.
Motherwell Team: Paulsen, Sparrow, Girdwood-Reich, Moormann, Longelo, Hodge, McGhee, Levitt, Said, Palmer-Houlden, Maswanhise.
Motherwell Subs: Connelly, O’Donnell, Knight-Lebel, Booth, Wilson, Vogt, Bjørgolfsson, Kanga.
