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“I don’t want to talk about refereeing decisions because we can’t make excuses.

“We had enough of this game to come away with at least a point.”

Motherwell failed to make an extra man advantage count in a 3-2 defeat to Hearts

The Steelmen had managed to fight back to level terms after being two goals down but Lawrence Shankland’s late penalty secured three points for the Edinburgh side.

PRE-MATCH

Steven Hammell made no changes to the side that beat Dundee United last weekend. Robbie Neilson freshened up his side with five changes from their Europa Conference League defeat in Turkey on Thursday

The goals

Hearts took the lead just before half-time. Kevin Clancy wrongly awarded a corner from which Andy Halliday was left unmarked and sent a header looping over Callum Slattery and into the net.

Moments after the break, Halliday got his second of the game. This time he got on the end of a cut back and fired low and hard past Kelly.

On the hour Motherwell were. handed a lifeline as Louis Moult was brought down in the box by Gordon, who somehow avoided a second yellow card, and he dispatched confidently from the spot.

With ten minutes left ‘Well were back level with a nicely worked goal. Moult played in McKinstry whose ball across goal was turned in by Spittal for his second of the season.

In the final minutes, Hearts took all three points as Shankland converted from the spot after Solholm was ruled to have handled in the box.

talking points

• Liam Kelly. The Scotland international produced two fine saves in the first half. Firstly from Shankland who looked certain to score but Kelly somehow managed to claw the ball to safety. He also produced a fine save from McKay, tipping over from close range before having a quiet second half
• The red card. Jorge Grant saw red for a foul on Callum Slattery in then 38th minute. It was a careless and dangerous challenge and was the correct decision but Motherwell will be frustrated they didn’t make the extra man advantage count
• Positives for Moult. Although it was from the spot, Louis Moult will be pleased to be back on the scoresheet for the first time in his second spell at the club. He also played a part in the second goal, setting up McKinstry to cross for Spittal.
• VAR involvement. The video referee, David Munro, was a busy man although all the VAR decisions confirmed the on-field decisions. Van Veen had the ball in the net with a spectacular volley into the top corner but unfortunately the linesman’s flag went up. Questions will be asked about why Craig Gordon never received a second yellow for his foul on Moult inside the box.

What they said

Steven Hammell: “It’s not a hard luck story for me. At the very, very least, we need to be coming away with a point.”

Robbie Neilson: “I thought the players were outstanding. We had to really fight and show the spirit.“

Teams

Heart of Midlothian: Gordon, M Smith, Sibbick, Cochrane, Grant, Devlin, Halliday, Snodgrass, McKay, Ginnelly, Shankland.

Substitutes: Clark, Kiomourtzoglou, Atkinson, Rowles, Forrest, Neilson, Henderson, C Smith, Pollock.

Motherwell: Kelly, McGinn, Solholm, Lamie, Penney, Goss, Slattery, Spittal, McKinstry, Shields, Van Veen.

Substitutes: Oxbourgh, O’Donnell, Mugabi, Maguire, Cornelius, Moult, Morris, Tierney, Miller.

Attendance: 18,806

Stuart McKinstry is still ‘buzzing’ to be playing for the club he grew up supporting.

The winger scored his first two goals and scooped the player of the month award for October but is keeping his two feet firmly on the ground and is looking forward to the tricky test that Hearts pose in their next cinch Premiership match.

With the world cup fast approaching, Steven Hammell is looking for a good run of form to push his Motherwell side up the table before the break arrives. 

Starting with a trip to Tynecastle on Sunday in the cinch Premiership, the Motherwell gaffer knows the strength and depth that Hearts have within their ranks and any personnel changes will not weaken their side in the slightest.

Stuart McKinstry has been called up to the Scotland Under-21s squad, who will take on Iceland at Fir Park.

The on-loan winger caps off a fine October with another call-up to Scott Gemmill’s side for preparation match ahead of the start of the next set of European Championship qualifiers which get underway in the new year.

The match will take place on Thursday 17 November with a kick off time to be confirmed in due course.

Entry to the match will be free for everyone, with this match being a no ticket event.

Stuart McKinstry is your October player of the month.

The Leeds loanee bagged two goals, against Rangers and Aberdeen as he pipped Matt Penney by one vote to win the award.

Rolando Aarons’ loan from Huddersfield Town has been terminated.

The club had agreed with the Terriers that should the winger sustain a longer-term injury during his stay at Fir Park, the agreement could be brought to a premature end.

Regretfully, following his injury against Hearts last month, it is unlikely the Jamaican international would feature for the first team again until the end of the year.

“We are gutted for Rolando more than anything as he’s a very talented player who really wanted to be with us and help us,” Steven Hammell said.

“However, he has had such an unfortunate time with injuries throughout his career. One of his most consistent runs was when he was last with us, and we had hoped we could replicate that.

“Sadly, that hasn’t been the case. We wish Rolando all the very best in his recovery and his career and thank him for his efforts both back in early 2020 and now.”

It’s time to pick your Paycare Motherwell FC player of the month for October.

Matt Penney, Blair Spittal, Stuart McKinstry and Sondre Solholm are all in contention.

To vote, head over to our Facebook page.

Games played in October:

• Celtic 2 – 1 Motherwell
• Ross County 0 – 5 Motherwell
• Hibernian 1 – 0 Motherwell
• Motherwell 1 – 2 Rangers
• Motherwell 0 – 4 Celtic
• Motherwell 1 – 2 Aberdeen
• Dundee Utd 0 – 1 Motherwell

Matt Penney

Our September player of the month, is up once again for nomination after another impressive month.

The Ipswich loanee has continued his fine run of form in October, playing a part in helping his side keep two clean sheets on the road. He also set Kevin van Veen up for his third goal against Ross County, while also playing Joe Efford in for his goal against the Highland side.

Penney has played every minute of every game in a hectic schedule.

Blair Spittal

Despite coming off in the first half against Hibernian and missing the subsequent match through injury, Blair Spittal is once again up for player of the month.

Spittal played the ball back into the danger area, which led to our goal against Celtic at the start of the month.

He also got an assist against Dundee United, setting up Sondre Solholm with an inch perfect cross into the box for the defender to power into the net.

Stuart McKinstry

The on-loan winger notched up two goals in four starts this month, including his first ever goal in claret in amber.

The boyhood Motherwell fan has worked his way into the starting eleven this month, scoring his first goal for the club with a perfectly placed free kick against Rangers.

He made is two goals in two league games when he controlled and drilled the ball into the net against Aberdeen.

Sondre Solholm

After building up a formidable partnership with Ricki Lamie at the heart of the defence, Sondre Solholm get his first player of the month nomination this season.

With 70% of his ariel duals throughout the month, he has proven to be tough to get past for attackers.

Keeping two clean sheets in the month, the Norwegian got his first Motherwell goal with a powerful header against Dundee United in his last outing.

The Steelmen are back east to take on Hearts at Tynecastle in the first match in November.

Kick off is 3pm, Sunday 6 November.

Tickets are available to purchase online now by clicking here.

Ticket prices:

Important Information

• Ambulant tickets are priced at the above status with carer.
• For any disabled parking queries, fans should contact keithferguson@homplc.co.uk
• Fans should note that Heart of Midlothian will not have an option for away fans to purchase on the day at Tynecastle. All tickets must be bought in advance.
• Due to postal strikes, tickets will not be delivered to your home on time for the game

How to follow game online

If you are outside the UK, you can watch the game via Motherwell TV.

Should you be in the UK, it will be live commentary only.

The Story of the Match

Both sides halted losing streaks with away wins at the weekend.

The Steelmen overcame Dundee United at Tannadice and Hearts defeated Ross County in Dingwall with Hearts’ previous league win being against Motherwell in September.

The Jambos travel to Turkey this week to take on Istanbul Basaksehir on Thursday. ‘Well might be hoping for a European hangover as they go looking for their first win at Tynecastle September 2019.

Match Officials

• Referee: Kevin Clancy
• AR1: David McGeachie
• AR2: Gary Hilland
• Fourth Official: Duncan Williams
• VAR: David Munro
• AVAR: Sean Carr

On the back of four straight defeats, Motherwell were looking to change the narrative around them with picking up a positive result against Dundee United in the cinch Premiership. 

After Connor Shields fired over the bar from close range after 20 minutes, Sondre Solholm would fire the steelmen ahead seconds later.

The Norwegian defender got on the end of Blair Spittal’s cross into the box, with the Dundee United keeper unable to keep the ball out the net.

Dundee United were reduced to ten men on 40 minutes, when former Motherwell man Tony Watt was sent off after a VAR check on a high tackle on Sean Goss.

The second half was less exciting, with Dundee United only having one chance which Liam Kelly comfortably saved.

The result was better than the performance according to Steven Hammell but it was a much needed boost for himself and his side as they moved into the top six.