Craig Levein unconcerned by Hearts performance in win over Motherwell

Posted Sunday, December 09, 2018 by PA

Hearts manager Craig Levein admits he could not care that Saturday’s win over Motherwell was not pretty as the Gorgie side picked up their first victory in eight outings.

Hearts won 1-0 courtesy of an own goal from Motherwell defender Charles Dunne.

Dunne, who was returning following two months on the sidelines, was under pressure from Peter Haring when he inadvertently nodded past Mark Gillespie in the 14th minute.

Following a bright start, the match soon descended into a scrappy affair that was dominated by a fierce battle in the middle of the park.

Motherwell flooded the hosts’ penalty box with crosses as they searched for an equaliser late in the game but, led by captain Christophe Berra, Hearts held on to collect the three points.

Levein said: “The mission was to get three points. How we could do that wasn’t of primary importance.

‘So mission accomplished. It was very competitive, as Motherwell games always are. Lot of balls in the air and second balls were vital.

“Our players are on a little bit of a difficult run and confidence gets affected. We really needed to start picking up points again to have a foundation to build from.”

After being highly critical of referees in his side’s last two matches against Rangers and St Johnstone, Levein praised Willie Collum for the way he handled the game.

He added: “Willie was good. He’s an experienced ref and I’m glad they put someone in. I don’t know if it was scheduled or not.

“But he was fine and there was a lot going on out there, challenges.”

Motherwell had a goal disallowed in the seventh minute after Curtain Main appeared to be penalised for a shove on Clevid Dikamona before scoring but Steelmen manager Stephen Robinson believes it should have stood.

He said: “It was frustrating because the level of performance was there.

“We dominated large parts of the game which doesn’t happen too often at Tynecastle. They had one shot on target all day.

“And we’ve had a perfectly good goal disallowed. I’ve seen it back.

“I’ve heard two different explanations for why it was disallowed, but the less I say about any decision and referees the better.

“I’d probably end up with a 50-game ban. It’s best to say nothing.”