The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Stunning Mchugh strike wins it for Well Skipper to miss semi-final after late 25-yard volley sends Motherwell to Hampden
Stephen Robinson urged his players to reach the William Hill Scottish Cup final for Carl Mchugh after the Motherwell skipper sealed a return to Hampden with a glorious volley.
The midfielder chested down a headed clearance before letting fly with his weaker, right foot into the top corner from almost 25 yards in the 86th minute of a thrilling quarter-final.
The goal secured a 2-1 victory for the Betfred Cup runners-up but Mchugh will miss the semi-final after being booked in the first half for a foul on Harry Cochrane, his second yellow card of the tournament.
When asked if he could have foreseen the finish, Robinson said: “On Carl’s right foot? No. Listen, he was excellent and he has been recently.
“He maybe doesn’t get the plaudits he deserves but the job he does in front of our back four, the headers and tackles and the organisation he gives us, is excellent. I think he got his just rewards.
“Unfortunately he misses the semi, he’s been booked, which is a travesty for the boy. So we have to make sure we get to that final and give him his just rewards.”
Curtis Main had given the hosts a seventh-minute lead after Hearts keeper Ross Callachan allowed Craig Tanner’s corner to go past his position at the near post.
But Kyle Lafferty levelled from the spot six minutes after the break – despite Steven Naismith being the designated penalty-taker – before hitting the post and forcing a brilliant save from Trevor Carson.
There was drama from the start at Fir Park.
Less than an hour after the Scottish Football Association declared a willingness to embrace Video Assistant Referee technology, Andrew Dallas was at the centre of controversy as he disallowed Chris Cadden’s third-minute goal.
Cadden had poked the ball home after Jon Mclaughlin spilled Craig Tanner’s cross but Dallas ruled the Hearts goalkeeper had enough of a hand on the ball to have it under control.
Hearts won a free-kick 25 yards out before the home protests had stopped but Lafferty shot just wide and Motherwell were soon ahead after another defensive blunder.
Ross Callachan was placed on the near post as Tanner drove a corner low into the goalmouth and the midfielder made the costly decision to leave the ball, presumably believing it was going wide. But the ball curled beyond the post and Main nudged it over the line after a stunned Mclaughlin had diverted it off his post.
Motherwell were winning the battle and Tanner fired a half-volley just over, although Lafferty forced a save from Trevor Carson following good link-up play with Steven Naismith.
Hearts brought on winger David Milinkovic for Callachan at half-time and they were quickly level after Cedric Kipre brought down Naismith. Hearts manager Craig Levein had described Lafferty’s late penalty miss against Kilmarnock in midweek as “sloppy” and the Northern Ireland striker heeded the lesson as he sent Carson the wrong way with an emphatic strike.
The visitors seized the initiative with the backing of more than 4,500 away fans and Lafferty soon hit the post with an angled drive before Carson kept out his header with a tremendous save.
But Motherwell regained control and put the pressure on from a series of crosses and corners before Mchugh grabbed the glory.
Hearts manager Craig Levein was also taken aback by the goal after his side forced their way back into the game following a poor first-half display.
Motherwell got back on top before the winner but Levein felt his side were well worth a replay and argued that they should have had a second spot-kick after a late handball by Andy Rose.
“The first-half performance was terrible,” Levein said.
“Although Motherwell didn’t have a lot of chances because we were stuffy, we were certainly as poor as I have seen us for a while in terms of possession of the ball.
“In the second, we controlled the game.
“I thought we had an unbelievable penalty claim for a clear handball, we have hit the post and Trevor Carson has made an unbelievable save from Kyle Lafferty’s header.
“I honestly did not see that coming. It was a real sucker punch.”
Levein explained what happened at the first goal.
“For some inexplicable reason, Ross thought the ball was going out of the park and let it go,” he said. “It is a difficult thing to understand but it was typical of our first-half performance.”