Hateley returned to the right back position replacing the injured Ramsden as Motherwell sought to stretch their lead as best of the rest. The travelling fans were on their feet inside three minutes when we got the dream start. McFadden had driven though midfield and th ball was released following a tackle that ended his run just outside the box. It fell to Higdon and his low drive from 19 yards beat Macdonald at his left hand post.
Happy Higgy!
Boosted by the goal we pressed for the second and it arrived on the eighth minute when Law had two efforts. The first was blocked but the second effort from the right hand side across the goal was deflected into the net by McGowan. The home side were in disarray and at that stage it looked like we might run up a handful.
The game should have been finished as a contest around the half hour when Ojamaa threaded a pass through to Higdon. The striker tried to go around the ‘keeper but went too wide. Hearts then came close when Sutton’s knock down gave Ngoo space to a turn and shoot. Only a brilliant dive from Randolph kept the goal intact.
While Motherwell had bossed the first half the tables turned after the break. Hearts upped the tempo and flooded forward as they tried to get back into the game. The greasy surface caused problems and several players ended up on their backsides when they lost grip. McFadden looked confident on the ball and challenged at every opportunity. He conceded a number of fouls and was eventually booked when the referee heard too much of his lip.
The goal we lost followed an error from the stand side assistant. He wrongly awarded a throw in to Hearts and while we were out of position, partly due to protests, we conceded a corner. Sutton headed home to rouse the home support.
Both managers made use of their substitutes and the pattern of the game was clear. We had to dig deep and defend wave after wave of attackers. At times the game was reduced to an old fashioned physical battle and the ball was hoofed clear more often than the purists would have desired.
We reached the end of three added minutes and celebrated the win. McCall noted the tricky surface and praised the “grit and determination” shown by his team. “It was hard graft today but we got away with it”.
Higdon has now scored 20 goals this season and joins the ranks of some famous ‘Well strikers. Congratulations Higgy!