Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Daily Record
Daily Record
Sport
Andy McGilvray

Motherwell defeat 'hurts' but misses are killing us, says boss Stevie Hammell

Motherwell boss Stevie Hammell says it hurts to be coming away with nothing after Hearts ran out 3-0 winners at Fir Park, but says his side must work hard on finishing after having "almost 30 shots on goal".

The Steelmen created numerous chances against their Edinburgh opponents, hitting both posts and the bar, while Louis Moult had the ball in the net only to fall foul of an offside flag.

As it was, Hearts punished slackness in the Motherwell defence to take the lead through Lawrence Shankland in 18 minutes, double that lead through Alan Forrest five minutes after the break, who then bagged his double in the final minute to seal the win.

Hammell says it's a painful defeat, but says there's no doubt what they need to work on.

He said: "It hurts; 3-0 at home hurts.

"I don't think that's a reflection on the game, and obviously I'm biased, but I felt like we created enough to get something from the game.

The Steelmen passed up several chances during the game, including striker Kevin van Veen (SNS Group)

"I'll look at it back, but we need to be more clinical. It's been the story of the last three or four games, Dundee United as well.

"We created more chances than we have done all season. I've looked at the numbers there, we had almost 30 shots on goal, we've hit the woodwork a few times, and every player, pretty much, who was on the pitch had a chance.

"Not just our strikers, every player in our team had a chance to score today, and we're walking away with zero, so it's no secret what we need to work on."

Hammell admits Hearts scored their goals at key points in the game to take all three points back to Edinburgh.

Hearts ran out 3-0 winners in the end (SNS Group)

But Motherwell passed up a gilt-edged chance to level at 1-0 when Paul McGinn blasted over the bar rather than placing the ball in the net.

He said: "The chance at 1-0, we felt that if we scored there it would have put us in a good position to potentially go and win the game.

Matt Penney rattled the crossbar with a 25-yard shot late in the game (SNS Group)

"So to come away with 3-0 at home, it hurts.

"We had the best part of the first part of the game, had numerous chances, good chances, and we don't score.

"Hearts then had the middle part of the game, scored, then they scored again. They were poor goals from our point of view, really poor. They didn't have to work hard to get both goals.

"From that time on until the end we put pressure on them, created a number of chances, had good possession, and good quality chances - not half-cut chances.

"So to come away with no goals is really disappointing."

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.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.