The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Hearts pair grab chance to impress
Northern Ireland internationals Michael Smith and Conor Washington netted in front of national boss Michael O’Neill as Hearts knocked Motherwell out of the Betfred Cup last night.
The pair both struck in the midst of a vicious downpour in the final five minutes of the first half of the second round clash at Fir Park.
Half-time substitute Christopher Long pulled one back on the hour mark but Hearts , who had missed an early penalty, held on for the win without much drama.
The Hearts scorers picked the perfect time to net. Smith had not scored since last year’s Betfred Cup group stages while Washington struck from the spot to end an 18-month domestic drought going back to his QPR days and throughout a season at Sheffield United, although the striker scored for his country in June.
While O’Neill would have been encouraged by his players’ goals, they were of far greater significance to their club manager.
Craig Levein had come under fire from a section of fans after Hearts drew two of their group games and took one point from the opening two Ladbrokes Premiership matches.
Levein took action this week by bringing in Manchester United goalkeeper Joel Pereira on loan and the 23-year-old came straight into the starting line-up.
Young players Aaron Hickey and Andrew Irving more than vindicated recalls with Jake Mulraney also adding some verve as Uche Ikpeazu and the injured Steven Naismith dropped out.
Levein was pleased to see his team bounce back from an insipid home draw with Ross County, and reckoned last night’s showing is a better reflection of his team’s quality.
He told BBC Scotland: “I really don’t know where that performance came from on Saturday. Everyone was off it.
“But what it did do was let me have a go at them and say, ‘That can’t happen again’. I think they were slightly embarrassed in all honesty. I’m full of praise for the way they handled themselves today.
“The pleasing thing is the 2-1 didn’t flatter us. I felt we restricted Motherwell to very few opportunities. We were solid, Aaron Hickey was outstanding.”