Want-away Moult breaks Hearts
LOUIS MOULT is a red- hot property.
Against Hearts, he showed exactly why. Motherwell’s star man made one, scored one – his 40th for the club – and saw a header cleared off the line as the slick Steelmen stifled the Jam Tarts.
With Aberdeen having twice been denied with summer bids – and Rangers potentially lurking – it could prove to be his Well swansong.
But Fir Park boss Stephen Robinson is hopeful his talismanic striker – who has refused to sign a new contract – will remain after the transfer window slams shut at midnight on Thursday.
He said: “It’s a great return for Louis. He’s one of 20 people here at the moment and he did very well today.
“My focus is on Motherwell and there’s been no contact with regards to Louis.
“As far as I’m concerned he’ll be here until the end of the season at least but, again, I cannot dictate what other clubs may do.
“Louis has said he won’t sign at this stage, that doesn’t mean he won’t sign completely.
“I want him to the stay, finances might not allow that to happen but I believe we are building something here and I want him to be part of it.”
For Hearts, this was supposed to be the last of three season-opening games away from Tynecastle – the on-field cost of building a new main stand.
Thanks to some bright spark’s failure to order the required seats in time, they now face another two months of vagrancy. If the way they started against Well is anything to go by, they are growing weary of life on the road.
Robinson’s side enjoyed the better of a whirlwind opening, and had a penalty claim denied when Michael Smith appeared to handle under a challenge from man of the moment Moult.
With 21 minutes on the clock the Steelmen threatened again, with Ryan Bowman bursting clear, only for Jack Hamilton to sprint off his line, narrowing the angle and blocking the shot.
So it continued – Motherwell in the ascendency, Hearts plodding – until Kyle Lafferty stepped up.
His first major contribution was on the positive side, collecting possession deep in midfield before striding forward
unchallenged and firing a wellplaced effort just inside Trevor Carson’s right hand post.
Lafferty’s goal – his first in the league – lifted the Hearts fans, but it also lifted Motherwell’s players.
Seven minutes later, they drew level when Richard Tait’s cross from the right was headed back across goal by Moult for Bowman to convert with a superb diving header.
Another four minutes down the road they claimed the lead their play deserved after Jamie Walker was dispossessed on the edge of his box, allowing Moult to cut inside and curl a spectacular lob into Hamilton’s top left corner.
After the break it was a similar story, with Hearts giving the healthy travelling support precious little to get excited about.
Jamie Walker came closest to equalising after his 20-yard, outside-of-the-foot effort was tipped wide by Carson.
But Well enjoyed the best of the chances, with Moult’s header cleared off the line by Christophe Berra in controversial circumstances, before Bowman tapped home from close range, only to be denied by the assistant referee’s flag.