Derek McInnes takes 'lucky' Hearts title race narrative to task as Motherwell bereft over Tynecastle penalty

Derek McInnes batted away suggestions Hearts are better to be ‘lucky’ than good in the title race - as Motherwell boss Jens Berthel Askou lamented a penalty against his team during their 3-1 defeat.

The Jambos came from behind to win a key Premiership game in their quest for a first top flight trophy since 1960. Emmanuel Longelo scored the opener for Motherwell before Claudio Braga levelled things up, and VAR awarded a spot kick for the hosts, after Stephen Welsh was deemed to have kicked Hearts forward Pierre Landry Kabore in the head. Lawrence Shankland stepped up to convert and Kabore put the icing on the cake in second half stoppage time.

It means Hearts sit first and three points clear in first ahead of Rangers taking on Falkirk. Post-match, boss McInnes was asked ‘sometimes it’s better being lucky than good’ after Motherwell missed some key chances, namely a Tawanda Maswanhise effort inside the box after half-time. It was an assertion he strongly disagreed with.

Derek McInnes on Hearts title race

”Do you think we were lucky? That's not luck, that's bad play on them,” McInnes responded. “They had some good moments but we feel that we were good enough in the game to win it. When you're 1-0 down, there's also been a lot of teams that have won a championship who have to dig it out, and get results and find a way to win when the question is hanging over them. The question was hanging over our team and they've dragged themselves.”

McInnes was left pumping the air as Hearts ensured they’ll head into the split top of the league, with Hibs up next, later this month. Fans sang ‘we shall not be moved’ as celebrations commenced post-match and the boss hopes to here more of the anthem.

“I was just celebrating the moment with the fans because Motherwell are a good team,” added the Hearts boss. “You've got to try and dig deep and getting the second goal so late on. It's probably just a relief and a relief for everybody in the stadium, but I like when they sing that song, and hopefully we can sing it a wee bit more.

Could Motherwell have had a penalty vs Hearts?

Motherwell boss Askou meanwhile was disappointed by the manner of the penalty given against his side late in the game. He feels it landed in the ‘soft’ category as the game quickly spiralled out of his side’s hands. They sit fourth and in the final European spot with a three-point lead over Hibs beneath them prior to their first post-split game versus Rangers.

“I think you can argue every time there's contact that there's a foul,” said Askou. “Then it's about the amount of contact, the speed of contact, the situation. I don't know what he's going to win if there's no contact from lying down and dribbling with his head inside the box. You can argue that and when he's decided that it’s a penalty, it's hard, but I think it's very soft.

"It's out of my hands, so there's nothing we can do about it, and then from there obviously it became difficult. It was so late in the game to counter and then obviously it becomes very direct and a little bit frantic, which is not necessarily in our favour. What I want to underline again is that I'm really, really proud of our performance."