Hearts 3, Motherwell 0

Match Date: Saturday, March 31 2001
Competition: Scottish Premier League
Attendance: 11,581

Motherwell Team (3-5-2):

Woods, Corrigan, Okoli, Strong, Twaddle (Nicholas 35), Townsley (Lasley 28), Leitch, Chibba, Hammell (Ramsay 53), Adams, Elliott.
Subs not used: Connolly, Harvey.

Yellow Cards: Chiba, Leitch, Adams.

TOP SIX DREAM ELBOWED OUT OF SIGHT

Hearts     3      Motherwell  0

MOTHERWELL'S HOPES OF A TOP-SIX Finish were well and truly given the elbow at Tynecastle. With Steven Pressley seemingly able to lash out at will and Referee Somers unwilling to act it was no wonder the visiting attack won nothing in the air.

Stevie Woods, taking over in goals from the Manchester-bound Goram, had to look alert in the first minute as Okoli misjudged a through ball from Boyack. Flogel then fired in a high ball which Townsley did well to head clear. Motherwell attacked and won a throw which, when delivered by Chiba, was just punched away by Niemi as Townsley looked set to pounce. Boyack made ground and sent in an 18-yarder though Woods watched this sail well over. With the Motherwell defence seemingly content to back off Makel was able to race towards the box and his drive went narrowly past. It was far from all Hearts though and a good 1-2 involving Hammel and Chiba almost sent Adams clear, the offside flag rescuing the home side. A minute later a superb ball from Leitch, now Captain, saw Twaddle go clear on the right, though a slight delay allowed McCann to block for a corner. This was cleared as far as Chiba and his lay-off for Twaddle was sent out of play.

Motherwell then gained a free kick when Tomaschek brought Townsley down some 35 yards out. Twaddle delivered but Chiba's header went wide of the mark. McCann then made for the by-line where Corrigan was on hand to block behind. A loose clearance from Elliott allowed Boyack in but Okoli came across to clear. However, a minute later the Motherwell defence conceded a goal which, although undoubted quality in the finish, should well have been avoided. Cameron and Tomaschek exchanged passes near the edge of the box and as Townsley hesitated in closing the Czech down the ball was driven high beyond Woods and into the net. It could have been two soon after when Flogel sent Boyack clear on goal. He rounded Woods but it was a brilliant blocking tackle from Leitch which then allowed Woods to gather.

The Fir Pakers recovered and won a corner when Elliott found Twaddle but the cross struck McCann and went behind. Although this was cleared a minute later Motherwell should have drawn level. Elliott forced Neilson into an error which Adams picked up on. He drove the ball in low which Chiba and then Townsley somehow missed in front of goal. Twaddle gathered but his cross was gathered by Niemi. The Motherwell defence was still looking shaky and a run by Neilson found Cameron. He had space to head towards goal but Woods was on hand to save. Motherwell broke upfield but Hammel's 25-yarder was tame. The game's first yellow card should have came when Makel scythed down Chiba but Referee Somers decided against.

There was a very worrying few minutes when Derek Townsley took a bad hit from McKenna. It appeared somewhat accidental but play was stopped for almost ten minutes as the big winger was stretchered off and was replaced by Keith Lasley. Not long afterwards Kevin Twaddle was forced to go off with an injury and he was replaced by Steven Nicholas. Motherwell had a shout for a penalty denied when Pressley used Derek Adams for leverage to make a clearance, not the first time the Barber's nightmare would be allowed to escape punishment for the offence.

Indeed, four minutes later Chiba was floored by Pressley after the Moroccan had latched onto Hammel's ball in. And seconds later there was Pressley again with a clear deliberate elbow into the face of Hammel which was ignored. Other Hearts players were getting in on the act with McCann bringing Nicholas crashing to the ground with play being waved on. However, Motherwell weren't helping themselves much by giving the ball away and Lasley's error saw him forced to bring Flogel to a halt. Strong rose to concede a corner which Cameron headed wide.

There were 8 minute of injury time flagged for Townsley's injury though curiously the Referee blew for half-time some 70 seconds early. However, there was plenty of action during this time. Cameron had a 25 -yarder well saved, then Neilson escaped punishment for stopping Chiba somewhat illegally. From the free-kick Chiba sent the ball deep to the back post where Okoli did well to head across the six-yard box but there were no takers. A slip by Lasley then allowed Boyack to break and his pass to Kirk was only just cleared behind by Woods. Terrific work by Chiba saw him take the ball upfield and force a corner. Greg Strong met the ball well and drove a shot off the post and as the ball spun up it clearly struck Flogel on the arm, but there was unsurprisingly no penalty.

Half-Time     Hearts  1     Motherwell  0

Motherwell pushed up from the off and a great throw from Okoli found Adams who in turn picked out Hammel. He turned and drove towards goal but Niemi got down to hold. Corrigan then sent in a dangerous cross buy Tomaschek did well to clear. Hearts raced forward and Nielson sent in a cross which Kirk was given space to head in but wide. Flogel then attempted an over-head kick which didn't have the direction or strength to trouble anyone. Motherwell's Moroccan International Said Chiba was then rather unfortunate to be booked when he brought Makel down, especially given Pressley's contributions to date. A minute later Flogel deliberately body-checked Chiba but Referee Somers somehow deemed this to be only a free-kick. Tomaschek met the free-kick but his clearance fell to Okoli and the return drifted out at the back post.

The visitors had to make their third substitution with some 37 minutes left when Hammel hobbled off to be replaced by Dougie Ramsay. Striker Elliott was then the subject of a tackle from behind by Neilson but again play was waved on. The ball was cleared upfield where Woods returned with interest. Pressley met the ball and he was lucky indeed to see his header grasped by Niemi as it looked set to roll on towards goal. A deliberate handball by Cameron was waved away soon after with the Motherwell players incensed at the decision. Another claim for a penalty was ignored when Nicholas found himself the meat in the Pressley/McKenna sandwich. Play was waved on and Cameron raced upfield to set up Boyack but Woods saved his shot.

Pressley knew by now he was able to do virtually anything and he again climbed all over Nicholas in the box to head away. Tomaschek got in on the act with a tackle from the back on Lasley with no card being produced. On the hour mark Pressley made perhaps his most blatant elbowing offence when he deliberately caught Elliot. As the Northern Irish International crashed to the ground injured Lasley saw a shot deflected behind with no action taken against Pressley. There was further anger for the Motherwell fans and players alike when Stuart Elliott raced onto Leitch's through ball and, clear on Niemi, knocked the ball round the keeper who swiped and appeared to catch the Motherwell man. Having taken the ball round Niemi there was no need for the Motherwell striker to go down but there was no foul and Niemi escaped what should have been a red card.

As so often happens when a decision goes against you it is usually compounded and this was true two minutes later. Boyack made the by-line and his cross was freely headed in by Kirk. A minute later Kirk dramatically dived to the ground after Leitch challenged and the Motherwell man saw yellow. Motherwell were not lying down and Okoli gathered a Pressley clearance but his shot was saved. However, soon after it could have been three when Boyak again found Kirk but this time the header went wide. The home side then made a double substitution when Tomaschek and Flogel were replaced by Wales and Juanjo. Hearts then went close when Cameron sent Boyack out wide and his cross to the back post was deflected by Strong onto the post and cleared. Seconds later Woods made a brilliant tip round from Boyack's drive.

The blundering of Referee Somers was summed up in one second-half minute when he firstly ignored a deliberate dive by Boyack then turned an blind eye to another elbow from Pressley, this time into the face of Strong. And with 11 minutes to go it turned from bad to worse for Motherwell. Again Kirk was allowed all the time and space in the box to head behind Woods with the minimal of challenges. Motherwell tired to hit back and when Elliott was brought down by a late Makel lunge McKenna was just in time to divert the free-kick behind. This corner was cleared but from another a minute later Strong rose and powered in a header which, looking suspiciously behind the line, Pressley headed away. With time running out another penalty claim was waved away when McKenna sent Adams sprawling in the box. In the final minute Chiba looked to have won a corner but play was waved on. Boyack ran clear with Woods having to make a good block to deny.

Full-time     Hearts  3     Motherwell  0

Match report by Ricky Mullen

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