LAMIE LEAVES IT LATE TO FIRE STEELMEN INTO EURO PLACE
RICKI LAMIE strikes again. Having already delivered the last-gasp goal that took Motherwell into the top six, the defender sealed European qualification with another high-stakes winner. Whether Lamie will still be around to enjoy the Conference League is another matter. He signed a precontract with Dundee in January but has since admitted there are cancellation clauses within that deal. Given relegation has now been confirmed at Dens Park, you guess there might be some second thoughts. None of that necessarily means he will stay at Fir Park, of course. And if this is indeed farewell, it was quite a parting gift. Lamie’s second-half finish ensured Graham Alexander’s men can’t drop out of the top five on the final day. Hearts forward Josh Ginnelly had earlier cancelled out Joe Efford’s opener as the Tynecastle outfit — long safe in third place — continued their countdown to the Scottish Cup final. Robbie Neilson gave Craig Gordon a rare night off, with Ross Stewart making just his second Premiership start of the season. The 27-year-old wasn’t exactly given a smooth introduction. Just three minutes in Connor Shields burrowed into the area and offloaded a low, angled strike. There was decent power behind it but Stewart could still have done better than shove towards his far post. Efford reacted first to slam the loose ball into the net. If that was the perfect start for Motherwell, it didn’t last. Pegged back six minutes later, they were second best for the remainder of the half. Jujani Ojala got his head to a long ball from Andy Halliday but only sent it in the direction of Ginnelly. He breezed past Ojala before coolly slotting the ball under Liam Kelly. Alexander reacted at the break by replacing Ojala with Kevin van Veen and switching to a back four. The dividends were immediate.
Efford should have put Motherwell back in front with a far post header before the crucial goal arrived on 56 minutes. Callum Slattery’s corner put Hearts under pressure and led to a botched clearance by Peter Haring. Lamie pounced to net the winner. Hearts boss Neilson said: ‘We probably had enough chances to win it in the first half, but it got scrappy after that and we got done by a setpiece, which is always a danger here. ‘But I’m not really bothered, to be honest. Obviously we wanted to come here and win, but it was far more important that we got Cammy Devlin back, we got Michael Smith back, we got game time for the likes of Ben Woodburn and Ross Stewart.’ MOTHERWELL (3-4-1-2): Kelly 7; Donnelly, Ojala 4 (Van Veen 46), Lamie 7; O’Donnell 6, Goss 6 (Tierney 70), Cornelius 6, Carroll 6; Slattery 6 (Shaw 70); Shields 6 (Nirennold 89), Efford 6 (Mugabi 89). Subs not used: Connelly, Woolery, Campbell, Mahon. Booked: Slattery. HEARTS (3-4-3): Stewart 5; Moore 6, Sibbick 6 (Kingsley 75), Cochrane 6; Atkinson 6 (Smith 75), Haring 6, Halliday 6 (Simms 64), Mackay-Steven 6; Ginnelly 7, Woodburn 6 (Thomas 80), Boyce 6 (Devlin 75). Subs not used: Gordon, Souttar, McEneff, Tait. Booked: None. Man of the match: Liam Kelly. Referee: Matthew MacDermid. Attendance: 5,769.