Hearts 1-0 Motherwell: Analysis

This is as good as Hearts have looked in some time, in particular going forward.

With Lawrence Shankland struggling for form and out with a calf injury for the next few weeks, Boyce played in behind Wilson with Spittal and Drammeh either side again.

Drammeh scrambled in the goal and gave Hearts energy and pace down the right, with the consistently excellent Penrice doing likewise down the left.

Boyce and Wilson combined precisely at times, with the former doing everything but score as he chased a first since September 2023.

One miss at the near post after a terrific Penrice cross will haunt him, and Jorge Grant's effort off the bar hit him and somehow drifted wide as luck deserted the Northern Irishman too.

He was not the only one guilty of profligacy though, with Jorge Grant, Yan Dhanda, and Kenneth Vargas also missing good chances.

That wastefulness mean it was far from perfect for Hearts, but the intensity was far more like what Critchley wants from his side.

More of this will see them climb the table, but they certainly made it hard for themselves in the end.