The damning Hearts attacking stats after latest loss

Steven Naismith's visitors settled well and had good control of the match without really troubling the home side. The Steelmen would get ahead via a set piece, something which will be discussed below. Hearts struggled to trouble Aston Oxborough in the Motherwell goal throughout and would only rally after conceding a second. Yutaro Oda gave the side a lifeline after a triple change but a third goal conceded would end the game as a contest.

The result leaves Hearts in a difficult position to start the season with fans making their feelings heard at half time and full time of the Fir Park fixture.

Where did it go wrong? What did we learn? Let's find out...

Goal struggles

Let's start with some cold-hard facts. Hearts have scored just twice in their opening five games. They have not had more than three shots on target in a single match this season. On Sunday, the team dominated possession (67 per cent) but mustered an xG of just 0.68 compared to Motherwell's 1.94.

The graphic below paints a clear picture. As per StatsBomb, Hearts had a nine per cent chance of winning based on the chances each team created.

Hearts offered so very little in the first half and then absolutely nothing between the second half starting and Motherwell doubling their lead.

Prior to watching the game back, the expectation was there was going to be a lot of Andres Salazar playing the ball back to Kye Rowles and then the ball being worked between the centre-backs. Something akin to what happened in the first 12 seconds.

Yet, the defenders were the team's better players in possession. Rowles and, in particular Frankie Kent, were excellent at breaking lines with their passing and getting the ball into the Motherwell half and Hearts' attacking third. There were numerous occasions of such instances. 

In the second minute, Salazar sees space in behind and makes a run. Kent finds him with a long pass but the Colombian is offside and blazes over the bar.

The Englishman fired some excellent passes into team-mates much higher up the pitch. The best was perhaps to Yan Dhanda in the 19th minute.

As for Rowles. The Australian struggled at times defensively, conceding needless fouls, one of which led to Motherwell's first goal. But he was good on the ball and found Alan Forrest on numerous occasions. We can see Hearts play was focused down the left from the diagram below with Spittal coming into that area from his midfield role.

Rowles set the intention early with a quick first-time pass to Spittal.

The Rowles-Forrest combination worked three times. The third of those passes would see the ball moved onto Shankland.

Look at the graphic below. The two centre forwards are outside the box with just one player breaking into the box. Shankland tries to find Dhanda but with the bodies that Motherwell have back, it's nigh-on impossible.

That leads to the key issue. The quality, or lack of it, in the final third. Hearts were good at getting the ball into the Motherwell half but very poor at getting the ball into the box.

Motherwell deserve credit for the numbers they got back and the pressure they put on. But Hearts can be guilty of being slow in their transition or slow to make a decision.

On Sunday, they didn't have anyone capable, or perhaps willing of changing the speed of the game in possession whether it be driving with the ball through the middle, committing players, or taking opposition defenders on in wide areas.

They got some joy down the right with Taylor but two moments encapsulated the struggles.

Hearts are in a promising position after breaking forward. Dhanda gets the execution of his pass all wrong.

(Image: Wyscout)

(Image: Wyscout)

Moments before Forrest seemed unsure when to make the pass to Shankland. In the end, it is a tame pass into his direction which he was never likely to get on the end of.

(Image: Wyscout)

(Image: Wyscout)

Some damning stats. Blair Spittal, Yan Dhanda and Alan Forrest combined for:

• one shot 

• zero passes into the box to a team mate 

• one key pass

• two touches inside the Motherwell box.

Substitutes Yutaro Oda, Barrie McKay, Cammy Devlin and Kenneth Vargas combined for:

• one shot

• seven passes into the box to a team mate

• four key passes

• 13 touches inside the Motherwell box.

Shankland positioning

There were moments in the first half where it looked like Hearts were playing a box midfield of Shankland and Dhanda behind Forrest and in front of Spittal and Boateng, especially early on. 

It led to the club's No.9 getting on the ball in some very deep areas. It was something picked up on by fans watching the game. 

Now, there are huge positives for getting Shankland involved in the build-up. Over the past two seasons, he has proven himself as not only the team's best scorer but arguably the team's best No.10, using his hold-up play, ability to turn and intelligence to link attacks.

The positions he was dropping into were not ideal. Even if he was dragging centre-backs out of position, no one was willing to make runs or fill the space he vacated.

The following five examples occurred within the first 17 minutes:

In the example below, Shankland has drawn a defender out and Kent attempted a longer pass. It led to the striker chasing back into his own half.

Shankland again offers in the centre circle, bringing Liam Gordon up the pitch. This is the only example where Hearts managed to get somewhere with the ball.

Perhaps the most egregious example. Spittal is seven yards outside his box passing to Shankland well inside the Hearts half.

(Image: Wyscout)

And another example of Shankland getting a pass to feet inside the centre circle.

(Image: Wyscout)

Rather than just showing examples of situations where you question the merit of Shankland dropping deep. Within those opening stages, there was an example of where you want Shankland getting the ball to feet.

Here he gets it from Rowles and turns into space. He tried to get it wide to Gerald Taylor only for it to be cut out. The idea was right, however.

(Image: Wyscout)

Set-pieces

Hearts made huge strides in defending set pieces in the league last season. They conceded just three in total in 38 Premiership matches. After Sunday, it is already two. Now, last season's figure was hugely impressive but admittedly there was some luck involved. It was far below what they were expected to concede but with the way the team set up they were always going to be difficult to score against due to the number of players they had back.

Sunday was a disaster where basics mistakes were being made. Let's start with the goals. Both arrived from defensive lines which were broken by summer signings Gerald Taylor and Andres Salazar dropping much deeper than their team mates and playing the goal scorer onside.

As Andy Halliday dummied the ball we can see how Taylor has already begun dropping while Paul McGinn has made a curved run away from Stephen Kingsley and Frankie Kent to the back post.

(Image: Wyscout)

By the time Lennon Miller makes contact with the ball Salazar has also dropped but not as deep as Taylor who is playing McGinn on. That's why there were appeals for offside from some Hearts players.

(Image: Wyscout)

As for the second, Salazar has allowed himself to be tempted deep by Motherwell with goal scorer Stephen O'Donnell even giving him a wee helping hand on his way. Malachi Boateng has also made one or two steps back toward the Hearts goal.

(Image: Wyscout)

There is merit in how Hearts set up. They had an aggressive defensive line. If those who dropped had stayed within it the likelihood is Motherwell don't score from either situation.

But it wasn't just the goals.

Dan Casey should have done better when he ghosted in behind and between Boateng, Kent and Kingsley. With Hearts zonal marking, it's likely on Boateng to be more aware of Casey's presence and at least make such a run much more difficult.

(Image: Wyscout)

Hearts twice allowed short corners to be taken with ease. 

(Image: Wyscout)

(Image: Wyscout)

It was a messy afternoon in North Lanarkshire.

Ultimately, Hearts fell to a deserved defeat ahead of a big week at Tynecastle Park with a Europa League play-off tie hanging in the balance and a huge Premiership encounter against Dundee United to follow.

As Naismith said, "it can’t go on the way it is".