Heart Of Midlothian won at Fir Park on fewer chances than usual

Heart Of Midlothian beat Motherwell 2-0, scoring twice from chances worth less than they usually create.

Heart Of Midlothian won at Fir Park with less of the chance-making they usually bring. Expected goals, a rough score for how likely each shot was to go in based on where and how it was struck, put their total at 1.09 for the afternoon. On their travels they average 2.06, so this was a clear drop, and yet they still came away with two goals.

The first arrived in the 29th minute, when Claudio Rafael Soares Braga finished a chance that Sabah Kerjota had set up. Calvin Miller added the second in the 86th minute. Two goals is a useful return from modest chances, but across the whole match the total sat under the league's average of 2.8 goals per game, so this was a low-scoring afternoon on both sides.

Motherwell had the more active attacking afternoon in terms of shots. They took 17, well above the 13.4 they average at home, and 12 of them were from inside the box. The trouble was what came next: only five were on target, and their chances added up to 1.26 expected goals, below their usual 1.69. More shooting, weaker openings, and nothing to show for it on the scoreboard.

Motherwell's goalkeeper made three saves, which is a sign the visitors' shots were not all wide or blocked. Their keeper was the busier of the two in terms of attempts actually reaching him, though, and B. Reus made five saves for Heart Of Midlothian. Heart's own shooting was the lighter of the two: 14 attempts against the 16.4 they average away, from 47% of the ball.

Heart Of Midlothian's goals were close to their normal output, with two against the 2.2 they usually score, so the unusual part was the gap between the quality of their chances and the goals they took. Their finishing did the work that their chances alone could not. Their attacking numbers were lower than their usual levels, while their result was not.

Neither side lost a player to a red card, and both kept their line-ups intact in terms of dismissals, so the match was decided on the pitch rather than by discipline. Motherwell had shots from inside the box, 12 to Heart's 10, which makes the shortfall in expected goals a question of how clean those chances were rather than how many. That distinction matters to a side that has lost five of its last six.

Heart Of Midlothian have won five of their nine away matches and sit third on 16 points from nine. Motherwell, who have lost five of their last six, are tenth on eight points from the same number of games.

Player of the matchCláudio Braga1 goal8.2

B. Reus5 saves7.6

S. Kingsley1 shot on target7.5

M. Fagan-Walcott5 duels won7.4