Michael Stewart hits out at 'nonsense' Hearts claim as massive title race test passed with flying colours
Hearts had a penalty go in their favour against Motherwell on Saturday.
Michael Stewart has hit out at Hearts penalty complaints in the wake of their win against Motherwell - as he hailed a massive title race step.
The Jambos won the Premiership clash last Saturday 3-1, coming from behind to maintain their position first, heading into their first post-split match in the top six versus rivals Hibs. Debate has ensued over how they got ahead, after defender Stephen Welsh was deemed to have kicked Hearts forward Pierre Landry Kabore in the head.
VAR was called upon and a penalty was awarded, Shankland dispatching, before Kabore added a third in second half stoppage time, Claudio Braga scoring earlier in proceedings. Former Hearts midfielder Stewart has heard the cries over the award and insists it was a chance that the Jambos were right to have been awarded.
Hearts penalty vs Motherwell
He said on the Premier Sports Social Club: “Look, this is an interesting one. I've seen some amount of nonsense in terms of the interpretation of this, saying that Kabore should be punished for dangerous play.
“I mean, the difference between somebody diving header to put your head in front of a foot, and somebody that's landed on the ground and the ball's coming down and hits his head, is quite clear, I think, for everybody. I feel for Motherwell, it's slightly unorthodox, it's slightly unusual but it was a penalty kick. Hearts needed it at the time and so did Kabore with the finish at the end there, because he's obviously had a lot of question marks hanging over him.”
On the win, Stewart added: “The biggest takeaway for me from this is that it's another test of character, and in that regard, Hearts came out of it with flying colours. Past all challenges, all questions posed to them but I tell you what, that's as good a performance from Motherwell as I've seen in a few months. Their build-up in the game, their ability to cut through opponents, I was really, really impressed with Motherwell.
“I thought that, yes, when you talk about Hearts having to ride their luck. I thought Derek McInnes’ response to a journalist's comments were quite good, that it wasn't luck, it was bad play from Motherwell. You get the point, because I don't think... Hearts didn't play badly here. It wasn't that they were lucky, it was Motherwell will be kicking themselves, With a little bit of better finishing, they could have killed that game easily. A massive three points that so very easily could very easily have not happened, basically.”
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