Motherwell 2 - 0 Hearts

Their previous league victory occurred against Livingston on December 11 of last year, which proved to be the final installment of an impressive six-game winning sequence.

Hearts, by comparison, had not endured league defeat since the turn of the year and the smart money was stacked on an away win after the illuminating performances of John Robertson's Lithuanian pair, Davidas Cesnauskis and Saulius Mikoliunas, in the vanquishing of Kilmarnock at Rugby Park in midweek.

Butcher has bristled with indignation at the unravelling of the club's early-season efforts yet was back brimming with pride after a coupon-busting return to Motherwell's defiant ways.

The return to winning ways was not without its high profile casualties, however. David Clarkson and Ritchie Foran, mainstays during the unlikely ascent to European territory, spent the majority of a bitter afternoon in thermal tracksuits. Their recent replacements, Jim Hamilton and Marc Fitzpatrick, were auspiciously involved yet suffered contrasting fortunes.

Hamilton's haste to get among the goals for his new club resulted in an ill-advised jocking-off for Motherwell's regular penalty taker, Kevin McBride, when Hearts' defensive problems were first uncovered.

A dressing-room debate raged ominously when Lee Wallace was penalised for an awkward foul on Scott McDonald after 14 minutes.

A woeful miss from Hamilton was in keeping with Motherwell's recent misfortune but they ground down their visitors with an honest toll that rendered Hearts' Lithuanian wingers breathless bystanders.

"We watched their game against Kilmarnock and an awful lot was made of the new players and their performance," said Steven Hammell, who was largely responsible for Mikoliunas' anonymity. "We kept that in mind and whether it was the surface or the fact we didn't give them time on the ball, it did not pan out for them."

Motherwell were dogged in pursuit of an elusive league win, buoyed by their recent success in the CIS Insurance Cup semi-final against Hearts at Easter Road at the start of the month. Mindful of the frittering away of a two-goal advantage on that occasion before salvaging a final appearance against Rangers, Motherwell were never truly secure in their advantage.

"It was a great win, but being two-up brought back memories of Easter Road," Hammell confessed. "Hopefully we have learned from our mistakes. It is hard to believe we went so long without a win in the league but this was a really good game to play in, and it's not often you can say that in the SPL."

Hammell has refocused since the closure of the transfer window. Relentless speculation linking the full-back to Celtic, Rangers and Everton among others coincided with a drop in form, collectively as much as individually for a team accustomed to watching their most impressive performers flee the nest. Hammell's surging 60-yard run helped Motherwell overcome the early penalty miss. His meaty shot was parried by Craig Gordon but only into the path of the predatory McDonald.

With Steven Pressley unusually uncomfortable beside the youngster, Christophe Berra, Motherwell's direct approach paid off before the interval.

A lofted pass from David Partridge was inadequately dealt with by the captain and Fitzpatrick capitalised on a calamitous lack of communication from Berra and Wallace to prod home the conclusive strike.

"There have been a lot of people trying to down Hearts recently but I don't think this result is an effect of that," said a prickly Gordon. "I also don't think it's right to use the inconsistency of young players as an excuse. It was a bad performance against a team who play that style of football better than anyone else."

Predictably, Butcher was far from apologetic for his team's brawny display.

"I asked the guys in the dressing room at half-time why we were ahead, and work rate was mentioned. It was spot-on," he said.

"We win in phases and we lose in phases, so hopefully we can go on a run like last time . . . that would include the CIS Insurance Cup final."

Taken from the Herald