At a glance

  • Maswanhise converts penalty after handball from Hanley

  • Just makes it 2-0 after defensive mix-up from Hibs

  • Hanley sent off for clip on Maswanhise just outside penalty area

  • Motherwell up to fourth on same points as Hibs in third and Rangers

Colin Moffat
BBC Sport Scotland

Motherwell swept past 10-man Hibernian at Fir Park, moving level on points with the Edinburgh side, who hang on to third place in the Scottish Premiership after a hapless display.

Tawanda Maswanhise moved to the top of the league's scoring chart on eight goals, converting a penalty given for handball against Grant Hanley.

Elijah Just made it 2-0, slamming in a gift after some comical defending from the visitors.

Worse was to come for Hanley when he was dismissed for clipping the heels of Maswanhise just outside the penalty area.

Depleted Hibs were completely outplayed but did miss a glaring chance before the interval when Martin Boyle skipped round the goalkeeper only to see his weak flick cleared off the line by a sliding Johnny Koutroumbis.

Oscar Priestman, making his first Motherwell start, clattered the post with a low shot, with Hibs chasing shadows for most of the second half.

The hosts were full of flicks of tricks, with fans purring their approval, as Callum Slattery drilled an effort wide.

Substitute Ibrahim Said even got a ticking off from manager Jens Berthel Askou for some showboating before crashing a shot into the side-netting, while Regan Charles-Cook forced Raphael Sallinger into a good save after another slick move.

One more goal would have taken Motherwell above David Gray's demoralised men but they were content to keep a stranglehold on the game rather than chasing it.

Unbeaten in their past five league outings, with four wins, Motherwell have plenty of momentum as well as a game in hand on Hibs.

Analysis: Motherwell make it look easy

Askou enhanced his growing reputation, with his side running rings round Hibs for most of the evening.

The Motherwell boss made five changes to the XI that started Saturday's 3-1 win at Kilmarnock, chose to go without a recognised striker and withdrew Maswanhise at half-time.

As they have done throughout the season, the hosts impressed with their passing and pressing and did a good job of shutting down the Hibs wing-backs.

That said, the goals owed much to the visitors' ineptness rather than tactical wizardry.

Jack Iredale was guilty of giving the ball away in his own half for the incident that led to the penalty, while Nicky Cadden did the same thing for the second.

Hibs will no doubt feel hard done by the penalty award and are sure to cite the mind-boggling decision not to give Livingston a handball penalty at Ibrox at the weekend.

In comparison, referee Duncan Nicolson's monitor review did seem harsh, with Just prodding the ball against the outstretched hand of Hanley from close range.

A week ago, Hanley was lapping up the Hampden applause after helping Scotland clinch a World Cup place, this time he was trudging off on 34 minutes after a VAR review confirmed an offside call against Maswanhise was wrong by a significant margin.

Boyle's incredible miss, choosing not to use his weaker left foot in front of an open goal, summed up Hibs' woeful night but Motherwell's astute display deserves all the credit.

Always brave on the ball, rarely rushed into the wrong option, confidence is coursing through Askou's team and fans of the Steelmen are lapping it up.

What they said

Motherwell manager Jens Berthel Askou: "We were able to change up a bit in the line-up, get in some fresh players with different qualities. It was needed today to execute the game plan, to take out their access to their front players.

"We cut out the supply from their midfield, leaving [Grant] Hanley to bring the ball forward. It set up the running duel with JT [Tawanda Maswanhise] and Hanley up top when we had the ball.

"The first 20-30 minutes was outstanding to watch. After the red card, it became a matter of finding the right balance in and out of possession, keeping control, and we did that well."

Hibernian head coach David Gray: "Everything that could have gone wrong in the first 20, 25 minutes certainly did. In the end, we got what we deserved for that 25-minute display.

"Really poor, really slow. Everything we didn't want to do. Motherwell didn't do anything different from what we thought [they would] to catch us out.

"It's unlike us. It's not as if it was individual, there was lots of errors between us in that performance. Compounded by that was a few decisions that went against us, but they came about from really poor play from us so I won't put it down to that."

On the penalty decision... "The shot is clearly going miles wide. Grant hasn't made himself any bigger, he's not even trying to block the shot.

"The biggest issue for me is inconsistency. What I just watched at Ibrox four days ago... Inconsistency is the problem. I don't know the rule."

What next?

Motherwell will be looking for an Edinburgh double when they host league leaders Hearts on Saturday (15:00 GMT). Hibs will need a huge improvement at home to Celtic on Sunday (12:00).

Player of the match

S. Welsh
8.50
57 S. Welsh
8.50
28 L. Ross
8.15
18 T. Maswanhise
8.15
90 I. Said
8.00
25 O. Priestman
7.88
16 P. McGinn
7.67
22 J. Koutroumbis
7.64
8 C. Slattery
7.42
21 E. Just
7.22
4 L. Gordon
7.08
13 C. Ward
7.00
77 Regan Charles-Cook
7.00
20 E. Watt
6.93
7 T. Sparrow
6.88
66 C. Hendry
6.67
24 E. Osong
6.67
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