motherwell 2
hearts 0
darryl broadfoot
THEY know how to make a drama out of a crisis at Motherwell. No wins in seven games cost the manager, Billy Davies, his job, a harsh reality of an unforgiving profession which was dreadfully - and needlessly - disguised by the directors of the laughable Lanarkshire production using three different plot endings.
As is usually the case in these circumstances, a rallying call is sounded, invariably by the boardroom hangman, and in the inevitable event of valiant victory, those players responsible for the man's sacking/resignation/mutual parting, declare: ''That one was for you, boss!''
And so the tradition continued at Fir Park, with John Boyle turning to Billy Ocean in times of trouble with the inspiring maxim ''When the going gets tough, the tough get going.
While more Graham Norton than Norman Schwarzkopf, his message was nevertheless taken on board by a guilt-ridden group as they galloped past a pathetic, pedestrian Hearts side not without their troubles to seek, either. ''Ah'll huv tae tape Sportscene the night . . . might be the only time it's wurth watchin' this seasin,'' said a fan not fleeced by a remarkable, almost ridiculous, reversal of fortune.
Pat Nevin, normally articulate and assured, yet reduced to a quivering wreck since sacrificing his ''mate'', suggested the team had ''a million reasons'' to do well on Saturday afternoon, but the manner of victory; comprehensive and clinical, was more likely a by-product of Davies dismissal than the shape of things to come.
A determination to atone, albeit too late to save the man who brought them to the club, was evident from the meticulous Mark Brown through to the age-defying dynamics of David Kelly. Eddie Forrest and Karl Ready tackled like tigers where before they played like pussy cats. Scott Leitch, whose Motherwell career has been hampered by wound-licking, led like a lion while an array of impressive cubs bit and scratched their opponents into submission, with Keith Lasley particularly playful.
If only they had been able to demonstrate such jungle fervour from the start, they would not find themselves roaming the SPL wilderness.
Typical, then, that as one team emerges from the depths of depression, another is plunged into darkness. There have been a few striking similarities between Motherwell and Hearts in recent years. For one, they have both been lampooned for harbouring Rangers cast-offs: Niemi, Pressley, McSwegan; Brown, Goram, Spencer etc. More seriously, they have been forced to curb their relatively big-thinking, big-spending ways. Both want to be the third force, neither has achieved that aim.
In the recent past, Hearts and Motherwell could tempt players with a promise of over-the-odds wages, but such economically unviable policy has led to the enforced departures of the aforementioned Goram, Spencer, and Lee McCulloch at Fir Park and Colin Cameron, Gary Naysmith, and David Weir at Tynecastle.
Selling prized assets has become a ritual, one that is almost certain to continue with Antti Niemi. Had it not been for the Finnish goalkeeper in the last two weeks, Hearts could easily have conceded around
10 goals to Kilmarnock and Motherwell.
He trudged into the press lounge on Saturday night a broken man and must now be counting the days to his departure. As if losing a well-worked goal to Kelly was not bad enough, watching what should have been a comfortable Stuart Elliott header take a bizarre bounce beyond his outstretched arms was the final straw.
''That was embarrassing,'' he moped. ''After last week, I didn't think things could get any worse . . . I was wrong.''
Where both teams go from here is a mystery. John Philliben and Miodrag Krivokapic will not discover for a few weeks/
victories yet if the job is theirs, while Craig Levein will find out within a similar timeframe whether his crisis management skills are required. The SPL may lack many things. Drama is not one of them.
Substitutions
Motherwell Dow for Pearson 76min, Adams for Kelly 83, Twaddle for Elliott 89 Hearts Kirk for Wales 62, Boyack for McCann 62, Sloan for Adam 76
Subs not used
Motherwell Connolly, Woods Hearts McKenzie, Neilson
REFEREE G Mitchell
BOOKINGS
Motherwell Lasley 18, Nicholas 68, Twaddle 90 Hearts None
Attendance 4808
Wales Adam
McCann Fulton Severin Simmons
Mahe McKenna Webster Flogel
Niemi
Hearts
motherwell
Brown
Corrigan Forrest Ready Hammell
Nicholas Lasley Leitch Pearson
Kelly Elliott
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