Motherwell 0-0 Hearts: Player ratings, one man to the rescue, Hibs keeper gaffe, huge support

Hearts had goalkeeper Alexander Schwolow to thank for three vital second-half saves in a goalless draw at Motherwell. The vistiors improved after the interval following a subdued opening 45 minutes. They could not find a breakthrough, however, and needed Schwolow to deny Motherwell three times in quick succession in order to leave Fir Park with a point.

The German saved efforts from Elijah Juist, Lukas Fadinger and Callum Slattery to preserve his clean sheet and frustrate the locals in North Lanarkshire. Motherwell were comfortably the better side in the first half and twice had the ball in the net during the 90 minutes, only to be denied by offside. Hearts improved after the break by increasing the intensity of their play. They struggled to create clear scoring chances in the final third, though.

The Edinburgh club remain top of the Premiership ahead of a big week, with Kilmarnock visiting Tynecastle on Wednesday and then a trip to Celtic Park next Sunday. Motherwell’s improvement under the Danish coach Jens Berthel Askou continues, and they will feel aggrieved not to have taken three points from this encounter.

Pre-match amusement stemmed from Hibs goalkeeper Jordan Smith appearing on the official team sheet instead of Hearts’ Craig Gordon. It was merely an administrative error by Motherwell, but the rare appearance of Sander Kartum on the visitors’ bench was genuine. The Norwegian midfielder came in from the cold, his last first-team involvement coming as an unused substitute in the opening league game of the season against Aberdeen on 4 August.

Motherwell made four changes to their team after Tuesday’s comfortable home victory over Hibs, with Callum Slattery, Lukas Fadinger, Callum Hendry and Emmanuel Longelo restored to the starting line-up. There were more than 4,600 travelling fans inside Fir Park for this fixture, pushing the attendance to 10,938. The Jambos contributed to a noisy atmosphere. Their team did a lot of chasing early on due to Motherwell’s possession-based approach. Hearts certainly struggled to keep the ball.

The hosts had the ball in the net on 24 minutes but a VAR review judged Hendry offside when Elliot Watt delivered his cross. A vital interception from the reinstated Craig Halkett thwarted another clear opportunity for Motherwell, with Hearts unable to find any real rhythm. Captain Lawrence Shankland, fit again after last week’s absence at Aberdeen, was seeing roaring at team-mates as frustration built.

This game was goalless at half-time and needed a spark. Motherwell’s Tawanda Maswanhise crossed for Just to head for goal on 51 minutes, but Schwolow wasn’t overly troubled. The visitors showed greater attacking impetus as the second half evolved and looked far more likely to break the deadlock with Alexandros Kyziridis and Claudio Braga providing creativity.

They almost scored through Shankland’s looping header from Harry Milne’s 65th-minute corner, but Hendry was back on his own goal line to execute an overhead kick off his own goal line and complete a vital clearance. Seconds later, Motherwell had the ball in the net again at the opposite end, but this time Maswanhise was judged offside as he clipped the ball over the advancing Schwolow.

The German keeper produced three outstanding saves to keep his team in the game into the closing stages. The elusive Just spun brilliantly away from Stuart Findlay and sprinted off towards goal with a pack of opponents in his wake on 77 minutes. He entered the penalty area and fired at goal, only to see his attempt repelled by Schwolow. Seconds later, the Hearts No.1 was at full stretch high to his left to push Fadinger’s angled 20-yard drive behind for a corner. Schwolow then took to the air again to get his fingers to Slattery’s netbound free-kick from outside the area.

The final minutes were tense and scrappy as both teams looked for a chance to seize a winning goal whilst mindful not to make any costly mistakes. It didn’t arrive, and a point apiece was the final outcome.

Here are the Hearts player ratings from Fir Park: