Hearts 1 Motherwell 0

Matthew Elder reports from Hearts' 1-0 win over Motherwell at Tynecastle on January 2, 2025.

Transcript

00:00Hats eased some of the pressure on Neil Critchley and the Tyne Castle board with a narrow but

00:06fully deserved 1-0 victory over Motherwell. The planned protests outside the ground didn't

00:11amount to much, around 150 people or so gathered on the plaza outside the ground, but apart

00:16from one chant of sack the board that quickly died out, the atmosphere here was more subdued

00:20than hostile. Hats got their goal on the 7th minute, awarded after referee Callum Scott

00:25initially blew for a foul on goalkeeper Aston Oxburgh after Moustad Drana had tapped home

00:29a Blair Spittle corner from close range, but the referee was then summoned to the VAR monitor

00:34and changed his mind to award the goal much to the delight of the Tyne Castle crowd. Hats

00:39proceeded to then miss a number of chances to extend their lead to the 3 or 4th nil scoreline

00:43that would not have flattered them in this game, but they then had to rely on goalkeeper

00:47Craig Gordon with two big saves in stoppage time to prevent the atmosphere turning sour,

00:51but as it was, Hats held on to record a deserved 1-0 victory to move five points clear of bottom

00:56place St Johnstone.