Motherwell climbed to fourth in the Scottish Premiership and moved level on points with Hibernian after a controlled 2-0 victory at Fir Park.
Tawanda Maswanhise opened the scoring from the penalty spot in the 19th minute, his eighth goal of the season and enough to send him to the top of the division’s scoring list. VAR judged Grant Hanley to have handled Elijah Just’s shot, and Maswanhise sent goalkeeper Raphael Sallinger the wrong way from the spot.
Just three minutes later Maswanhise turned creator, whipping in a low driven cross that caused panic in the Hibs defence and allowed Elijah Just to fire in from close range to make it 2-0.
The game went further against Hibs shortly before half-time when Hanley, who conceded the penalty, was shown a red card for a last-man foul after upending Maswanhise as he ran through on goal. The incident was initially flagged for offside, but VAR ruled Maswanhise onside before the dismissal. Elliot Watt curled the resulting free-kick narrowly wide.
Motherwell manager Jens Berthel Askou made five changes from the side that beat Kilmarnock, while Hibs boss David Gray named the same XI for a third consecutive match. Earlier in the first half Just had a penalty appeal turned down after a challenge from Hanley with around nine minutes played.
Hibernian were forced into a double substitution after 38 minutes, with Warren O’Hora and Jordan Obita replacing Nicky Cadden and Jack Iredale. Five minutes before the break Martin Boyle thought he’d halved the deficit when he chased Kieron Bowie’s through ball, rounded Calum Ward, only for Johnny Koutroumbis to clear off the line.
The second half offered few clear chances. Tom Sparrow threaded a pass to Just but his strike lacked power to trouble Sallinger. Shortly after the hour, Oliver Priestman, making his first start for Motherwell, saw a low effort beat the keeper but clip the post; Sparrow’s follow-up was off target. Callum Slattery replaced Sparrow and nearly extended the lead with a curling outside-of-the-boot attempt that just missed.
In the closing stages Sallinger saved Regan Charles-Cook’s low strike from a tight angle and later the forward fired over as Hibs struggled to break down a composed Motherwell backline. The hosts saw out the final minutes to record a confident win and a clean sheet.
What the managers said:
– Jens Berthel Askou felt his side governed the match for long spells, praised their execution and was pleased with the clean sheet and the controlled performance, stressing the club’s long-term work is starting to pay off.
– David Gray conceded Hibs deserved something early on and accepted the red card decision on the letter of the law. He was frustrated by a moment he felt was missed by officials but praised his players’ character, noting they did not give up despite not doing enough to get back into the game.
What’s next:
– Motherwell fixtures
– Hibernian fixtures