Motherwell hosted Hearts in the Premiership amid far from ideal playing conditions.
Hearts head coach Wouter Vrancken says his team earned the rewards of victory over Motherwell, as they downed the Fir Park side 2-0.
Claudio Braga nodded home the opener before half-time for the Jambos, less than 72 hours removed from their Conference League loss at Turkish side Trabzonspor, after their hosts started the game positively. Motherwell huffed and puffed before poor defending allowed Calvin Miller to strike a brilliant winner late in the second half, making it six straight Premiership losses, their worst league run since 2003.
Vrancken said: “They’re a massive three points. Considering the circumstances with ourselves and also here with the wind, it was difficult to bring quality football all the time. It was not possible then you had moments in the game where it becomes a battle and you have to win the battle and we did. It’s not just circumstances either.
What happened during Motherwell 0-1 Hearts
“When coming back from the long travel then it’s scientifically not possible to recover in two days. Then you had the stats with the away games outside Edinburgh. After those run of games I’m happy they rewarded themselves today.”
Storm Boelo played its part in proceedings by bringing strong gusts to ML1 and the occasional barrage of rain that both sides tried to use in their favour. Hearts caused themselves a couple of problems at the back but Motherwell offered little going forward in a cagey first half the visitors grew into.
Kerjota then lofted a perfect cross into the box for Braga, who played a part in the build-up, and he headed beyond diving goalkeeper Alex Paulsen. A speculative Seb Palmer-Houlden effort palmed by Jambos keeper Beau Reus on the hour mark was as close as Motherwell had come to an equaliser. Heading into this on a five-game losing run, home fans showed their frustrations in patches of the game, although Johansson was missing key stars like Alex Lowry and Lukas Fadinger for this encounter.
While they piled pressure on a tiring Hearts team, the Steelmen created few clear chances, and were punished for calamitous defending. A botched clearance from the right-hand-side fell perfectly for substitute Miler, who was afforded time a space to blast home, sparking an exodus from three of the four stands while the away end rocked in a sea of Gorgie joy. Missing key stars like Oisin McEntee and Stuart Findlay ahead of games with Rangers and Hibs in the next week, there’s a boost in Ageu returning to the grass after a recent issue, but there are few imminent returns expected.
Vrancken said: “We’ll see. Maybe Stu. Depending on his progress day by day. We take our care and rest. Ageu’s on the pitch doing individual stuff but it’s difficult to say when he will be able to participate.”
Johansson will seek to avoid a seventh straight defeat away to St Johnstone on Wednesday and the Motherwell boss insists just one win can change his side’s fortunes. He said: “The way they fight for each other and train, it’s a lot of belief and effort. It’s a young group that needs to understand to compete in both boxes.
“There are always other things to improve but this is the biggest thing we can change right now and how the players are working towards that. You'll finish the attacks better and when defensively you think things are working you stay more focused and aggressive. The players can do it, we just have to dig in and show on Wednesday we are capable of it. We kept Hearts quiet enough to get a result and that’s what we need.
“These things tend to go negatively as a snowball, then boom, the confidence and focus comes more. We’re getting paid at the end of a game and you perform better and so on. Definitely it’s something that will help the group when we get paid at the end of the match., We’re working hard but we’re not strong enough.”
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