Motherwell were punished for mistakes at Tynecastle in Premiership action, losing 2-0 to Hearts.
Two midfield errors would haunt the Steelmen, the first coming before half-time. After losing the ball in the middle of the park, the Jambos scored through Andy Halliday.
Graham Alexander's side did the same again before the hour mark and Ellis Simms was on hand to dispatch his first goal for Hearts.
Livingston's win over fifth-placed Hibs across the other side of Edinburgh means Motherwell remain fourth despite picking up one point from three games after the winter break.
Six changes were made for Hearts following their 2-1 defeat to Celtic on Wednesday night. Taylor Moore, Halliday, Nathaniel Atkinson, Gary Mackay-Steven, Beni Baningime and Simms all came in from the start.
Craig Halkett and Michael Smith were injured, while Alex Cochrane, Peter Haring, Barrie McKay and Josh Ginnelly all dropped to the bench.
Alexander made three changes - Callum Slattery was back in midfield, while Ross Tierney and Liam Shaw made their first starts for the club.
Liam Donnelly was suspended after a red card in Wednesday's stalemate with Hibs while Sean Goss and Connor Shields dropped to the bench.
A bizarre moment occurred on the third minute. 'Well goalkeeper was deemed to have taken too long on clearing the ball from his hands, and an indirect free-kick was given by referee Craig Napier.
Stephen Kingsley's effort though went nowhere other than a sea of 'Well bodies who charged him while taking it. Motherwell then offered threat at the other end through Shaw but his header was over the bar on seven minutes.
Slattery then won the ball in midfield and some work between Tierney and Kevin Van Veen set the latter up for a chance on 11 minutes, which went narrowly past the right-hand post.
A midfield battle was followed by a lull before the game's next chance came. Atkinson broke down the left and found Halliday free at the back post, but his header was tame.
Another dip in attacking action commenced and Motherwell were keeping their host's attacking threat to a minimum in the opening 35 minutes.
They proceeded to shoot themselves in the foot on 38 minutes. Shaw lost the ball in midfield and Hearts broke. Goss won it back after coming on as a substitute for the injured Barry Maguire, but lost it inside his own area.
The Jambos worked it well and Halliday was on hand to put a precise shot into the bottom-right corner.
Van Veen then missed another glaring chance as the clock struck 45 minutes. Jordan Roberts' cross into the box against his former club found the Dutchman who headed wide from all of six yards out.
Mackay-Steven had the second half's first chance on 52 minutes but the home winger's low shot was easily gathered by Kelly, who had to use his legs to deny Halliday a brace two minutes later.
It had been an even game but Motherwell suffered deja-vu as Hearts scored again on 58 minutes. Losing the ball in midfield, Devlin broke and played it out wide. Liam Boyce coolly slotted Simms in for his first Hearts goal.
It was a hammer blow for the Steelmen who were made to pay for costly errors and missed chances. Captain Stephen O'Donnell was then called in to make a goal-saving block on the line, with Ben Woodburn happy to see the flag go up for offside after a glaring miss on 68 minutes.
Van Veen had another effort go missing on 80 minutes and it was all Alexander's side really managed in the way of getting themselves back into the game.
Hearts: Gordon, Kingsley, Souttar (Sibbick, 45), Baningime, Boyce, Mackay-Steven (Woodburn, 60) Atkinson, Devlin (60, Haring), Moore, Halliday, Simms.
Substitutes: Stewart, McEneff, Cochrane, McKay, Henderson, Ginnelly.
Motherwell: Kelly, O'Donnell, Solholm, Carroll, McGinley, Slattery, Maguire (Goss, 32, Amaluzor 80) Shaw, Tierney, Van Veen, Roberts (Shields, 71).
Subs: Fox, Mugabi, Woolery, Ojala, Grimshaw, Nirennold.
Booked: Kelly, Goss.
Follow Lanarkshire Live Sport on Twitter via @LanLiveSport, like us on Facebook or find us on Instagram for the latest sports news, pictures and video.
