Hearts boss Robbie Neilson ran out of superlatives to describe his teams' performance against Motherwell after a 3-0 win at Fir Park on Sunday in the Scottish Premiership - although admitted that his side 'rode their luck' against Steven Hammell's well-drilled outfit.
A brace from Alan Forrest after Lawrence Shankland's opener saw the Jambos run riot in Lanarkshire; and in timely fashion too, having seen three of their last four games domestically end in defeat. With the sturdy win moving the club up to third in the Premiership, alongside a win in the Europa Conference League against Riga FS in midweek, it has spelled an excellent week for the side from Gorgie.
And whilst Neilson will have acknowledged that his side were in a rut over the last period, the former Dundee United boss was incredibly glad to see that his side had shown the credentials of a team that will prove to be a nuisance over the coming weeks as they aim to compete on a number of fronts this season.
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Speaking to BBC Sportsound, he said: "We knew it was going to be a really tough game, Stevie has got them playing really well, but the biggest thing for us was getting the three points. We knew after the previous European trip we had we came back and got beat, but playing for Hearts you can't do that. You have to win on the Thursday and win again on the Sunday, and we've managed to do that, which is great.
"It was two teams that wanted to win the game. Sometimes you play a team that want to sit in and try and get set-plays. But Motherwell were very open, they try to play and create chances.
"We rode our luck at times, got the three goals, so all and all I am delighted. The most important thing is we go into the international break third in the league."
Next up for Hearts is a home tie against Rangers, before Fiorentina come to town just five days later in the third matchday of the Europa Conference League.
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