FULL-TIMEpublished at 17:02 BST 23 August
Scottish League 1
- Alloa Athletic 1-0 Hamilton Academical
- East Fife 2-1 Kelty Hearts
- Montrose 0-2 Inverness CT
- Peterhead 3-1 Cove Rangers
- Stenhousemuir 0-0 Queen of the South
At a glance
Slick Motherwell go 3-0 up through goals from Slattery, Maswanhise and Longelo
Half-time substitue Braga inspires Hearts in final half hour, scoring twice as side roar back to snatch draw
Both teams have chances to win incredible game late on
Hearts roared back from three goals down to earn a draw at home to Motherwell in a ridiculous six-goal Scottish Premiership thriller.
Motherwell were superb for just over an hour, scoring three well-worked goals through Callum Slattery, Tawanda Maswanhise and Emmanuel Longelo to leave Tynecastle stunned and some Hearts fans heading for the exits.
However, half-time substitute Claudio Braga almost single-handedly dragged Hearts back into the game.
The Portuguese forward scored twice, the first a brilliant run in behind and fierce finish which was initially ruled out for offside, before pouncing when Harry Milne's shot was spilled by Motherwell goalkeeper Calum Ward to equalise.
Milne had started the comeback with an unstoppable first-time effort three minutes after Motherwell had made it 3-0, and Derek McInnes' side kicked on from there.
In a surreal finish, Braga did everything but score a hat-trick. Ward thwarted him twice, including tipping his shot on to a post in the dying seconds.
Moments before that, debutant Callum Hendry had a gilt-edged opportunity to score for Motherwell, only for a brilliant block to deny him.
The gutsy comeback means Hearts are still unbeaten after starting with two wins from two, while it is a third draw from three for Jens Berthel Askou's Motherwell.
Where to start with that game? Hearts will end it the happier given the situation they were in, but arguably they have the most to ponder.
Braga has been a standout all season and it was strange he was left on the bench, and it was his quality and tenacity which sparked the comeback.
It feels as though McInnes, who changed formation after last week's League Cup exit, it still working out his best side given the volume of summer signings.
What's becoming clear is Braga has to be in his best XI, wherever he plays.
Baningime too gives them far more control in midfield. He was the other of the half-time changes, which the Hearts boss is having to make too frequently.
The good news is the character and energy is there with this Hearts side, which has managed seven points from nine despite not totally convincing at times and falling behind in their last two league games.
But for an hour they were completely outplayed, which will not be forgotten despite the superb comeback.
As for Motherwell, this will sting. They could not have played any better for an hour, scoring three brilliant goals.
The first from Slattery involved a big slice of luck as his shot diverted in off Michael Steinwender, but it came from a well-worked short corner.
But the second was wonderfully crafted all the way from goalkeeper Ward up to Elijah Just, who jinked inside and teed up Maswanhise to slam home.
Similarly, they sliced straight through Hearts with their third goal. Stephen O'Donell moved into space and set Just away, who had a simple job of squaring to Longelo for a tap in.
It was imperious stuff, until it wasn't. There was not a great deal they could have done with Milne's goal, but Hearts' second exposed their high defensive line and Ward should never have spilled Milne's shot for the equaliser.
Berthel Askou, though, has stamped a clear identity on this Motherwell team very early in the season as other clubs with greater resources struggle to look slick.
The question is ultimately whether Motherwell have enough quality at both ends to carry his vision out effectively enough to win plenty of games.
Hearts head coach Derek McInnes: "We were on the floor. We've dug deep to get an important point which keeps us unbeaten in the league.
"But for long spells Motherwell were too comfortable. The first goal at Tynecastle can make the job twice as hard if you lose it, and twice as comfortable if you get it.
"It was a tough situation and the players deserve a lot of credit."
Motherwell manager Jens Berthel Askou: "We played fantastic football for most of the game.
"We knew when Hearts had their spells they could put us under pressure. We know they have qualities at set-pieces and whatever drops around the box.
"We wanted to keep them away from that as long as we could. We succeeded well until we lost a bit of momentum."
Both sides are in action next Saturday in the Premiership. Hearts are away to Livingston (15:00 BST), while Motherwell are at home to Kilmarnock.
After the opportunity to rate players has closed, the score displayed represents the average from all the submissions by BBC Sport users.
Team | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals For | Goals Against | Goal Difference | Points | Form, Last 6 games, Oldest first |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 9 |
| |
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 7 |
| |
2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| |
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 6 | -1 | 4 |
| |
3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 3 |
| |
3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 3 |
| |
2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| |
3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | -1 | 2 |
| |
2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 5 | -1 | 1 |
| |
2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 1 |
| |
2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | -2 | 1 |
| |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | -4 | 0 |
|
Manager: Derek McInnes
Formation: 4 - 4 - 2
Manager: Jens Berthel Askou
Formation: 4 - 3 - 3
Manager: Derek McInnes
Formation: 4 - 4 - 2
Manager: Jens Berthel Askou
Formation: 4 - 3 - 3
Scottish Premiership
All competitions
All competitions
All competitions
Heart of Midlothian have won six of their last seven home league games against Motherwell, including each of their last three in a row since a 0-1 reverse in September 2023.
Motherwell have only enjoyed one win in their last six Scottish Premiership games against Hearts (D1 L4), a 3-1 victory in August 2024.
Hearts have won each of their last six games in the Scottish Premiership, last winning more in a row in the top-flight in September 2005 under George Burley (8).
Motherwell have only won two of their last 13 away league games (D3 L8), 2-1 wins at Rangers in March and Dundee in May.
No player has scored more goals in the 2025-26 Scottish Premiership than Heart of Midlothian defender Stuart Findlay (3). It’s already his joint-highest scoring season in the competition, while he could become the first player to score in each of his first three top-flight appearances for Hearts since Rudi Skácel netted in his first seven in 2005-06.