Hearts leave it late, but pick up all three points to keep themselves top of the league going into the split.
It was Lawrence Shankland who had the first opportunity of the match, when he picked up from a poor Stephen Welsh clearance. However, his effort drifted wide of Callum Ward’s goal.
Motherwell quickly settled into the game, with Tawanda Maswanhise running down the wing and putting a dangerous cross into Hearts’ territory. No Motherwell player was in the box to convert, and it was put over the crossbar unconvincingly by Oisin McEntee.
Hearts continued their pressure on the Motherwell backline. Callum Ward had a heart-in-mouth moment, as he spent too much time on the ball, allowing Claudio Braga to intercept, but Motherwell’s Stephen Welsh was there to clear any danger.
In the 20th minute, Hearts had a great opportunity to open the scoring, as Oisin McEntee’s header was almost certain to hit the net. However, an outstanding save from Ward denied the Hearts full-back.
End-to-end stuff at Tynecastle, saw Elliot Watt’s rocket effort parried away by Alexander Schwolow in the Hearts goal, after a promising Steelmen counter-attack.
Another fantastic save in the 28th minute by Schwolow, as Ibrahim Said’s long-distance shot was parried and collected before Emmanuel Longelo could have any chance of earning a rebound.
31 minutes on the clock, saw Hearts produce a move off the training ground from a free-kick. The final chance fell to Blair Spittal, but his effort sailed just wide of the post.
Tensions rose around Tynecastle, as many stoppages of play from referee Matthew MacDermid frustrated the Hearts crowd.
Maswanhise had the first chance after the interval, as a looped cross fell to the back post. But his poor effort didn’t challenge Schwolow.
It wasn’t long before Motherwell opened the scoring. A well-worked passage of play saw Lukas Fadinger’s cross fall to the back post for Longelo to tap home into the net, putting the away end into frenzy.
Motherwell continued their good spell with a counter-attack that almost paid off. Maswanhise’s low-driven effort drifted slightly past Schwolow’s net, causing anxiety amongst the Hearts support.
Hearts equalised in the 60th minute, when Stuart Findlay’s header from a corner landed to Claudio Braga, who pulled off an acrobatic effort which fell into the bottom left corner of Ward’s net. Putting the Portuguese international at 14 goals for the season in the league.
Emmanuel Longelo had a fantastic opportunity to double his scoring in the 71st minute, as Elijah Just was given acres of space in the middle of the pitch, which allowed him to give the ball to Maswanhise out wide. Maswanhise’s cross fell to Longelo at the back post, but he was unable to punish.
And shortly afterwards, Maswanhise had a wonderful chance to certainly make it two. The top goalscorer in the league found himself one-on-one with Schwolow, but the Motherwell talisman somehow failed to trouble the Hearts goalkeeper as his chance went wide.
Hearts were awarded a penalty in the 85th minute, after Stephen Welsh kicked Landy Kabore on the head. Lawrence Shankland stepped up from the spot, and the Hearts talisman converted off the inside of the post and into the back of the net, to give Hearts an almighty lead in this fascinating title race.
Landry Kabore sealed the win in the dying minutes of the match, as his game-winning effort snuck under Callum Ward’s arm, sending Tynecastle into eruption.
Another three points for Hearts and Derek McInnes means they remain on top of the league going into the split with only five games to play. Hearts also reached 70 points this afternoon with five games remaining, the second time they have ever done so in the top-flight.
For Motherwell, it’s no win in five matches going into the split. However, Hibs also dropped points in Aberdeen this afternoon, which means they remain in fourth place.
Hearts: Schwolow (6), Kingsley (6), Halkett (6), Baningime (6), Shankland (8), Braga (8), Devlin (7), Spittal (6), Findlay (6), McEntee (5), Kyziridis (4)
Subs: Kabore (8), Kerjota (5), Altena (5), Steinwender (4), McCart (1)
Motherwell: Ward (6), O’Donnell (6), Sparrow (5), Fadinger (5), McGinn (6), Maswanhise (5), Watt (7), Just (7), Longelo (7), Welsh (6), Said (6)
Subs: McGhee (1), Hendry (1), Nicholson (1), Priestman (1)
