Motherwell manager Stuart Kettlewell brushed off the significance of joining Celtic at the top of the cinch Premiership but hailed his players for “pushing the boundaries” with a 1-0 win at Tynecastle with 10 men.
Callum Slattery’s well-worked first-half goal and a resolute defensive display – especially after Paul McGinn’s 69th-minute red card – sealed victory against a Hearts side who only forced one save.
Motherwell are second on goal difference behind Celtic but Kettlewell is not getting carried away with the table after four matches.
“I don’t mean to be all doom and gloom but it means nothing at this point,” he said.
“I did speak to the players about pushing boundaries as much as we can and I think, as a short-term goal, coming to Tynecastle and getting a clean sheet and winning is pushing the boundaries for a club like Motherwell.
“Their resources and everything that they have is astronomical compared to ourselves but that doesn’t mean that we can’t come here, push boundaries and win games of football – and acquit ourselves in the way that we did.
“We’re not going to look at the league table or speak about it as a group.
“For supporters and people outside our club it’s a big story and it’s something to talk about. But for us, very simply we feel as if we have hit an unbelievable stretch of form.
“That’s now 10 Premiership games without defeat and we have not lost an away game since I took charge.”
Kettlewell added: “It was a brilliant performance. In the first half we were very good. We did a lot of things well in possession and out of possession.
“Fundamentally when you come here you want to turn the crowd, you want to try and ensure the opposition have to change their shape and their personnel. They did all of those things so we felt that first marker was there for us.
“In the second half you know you are going to have to suffer at times. At times you won’t have the ball but when we were reduced to 10 men that had to bring out a different side in us.
“We were laughing with the players because we work on attack versus defence and you saw how comfortable they were with it.
“It looked like they enjoyed it and there was a unity in everything they did. I think for Liam Kelly to face only one shot on target all game, that’s pretty incredible. But it also shows the work done in front of him.”
Hearts technical director Steven Naismith admitted his team’s performance was “poor” as they suffered a fourth consecutive defeat.
Naismith added: “It’s been very similar to every game we have played after a European tie. A very slow start, lethargic, safe, which then turns into nerves, turns into giving away cheap chances.
“I don’t think we deserved to win the game, we didn’t create enough, especially when they went down to 10 men.
“It was more of hope than real desire to get the goal to get back in the game that would put them under real pressure, which we failed to do.”
Naismith refused to use the exertions of Thursday’s European tie against PAOK as an excuse.
“If you’re at a club where the demand is you play in Europe season in, season out, then you need to understand you need to dig deep when you’re not feeling at your best,” he said.
“You need to have that mentality that says ‘no matter what, we’re going to win this game if it might not go straight to plan’.
“We need to have enough to cause other teams problems and I don’t think we have done that in these games after the European games.”
Terzic: Dortmund have made up for last season's Bundesliga failure
Borussia Dortmund's 2-0 aggregate win over Paris Saint-Germain made amends for last season's disappointing Bundesliga finale, coach Edin Terzic said.
Dortmund showed great composure to reach their third Champions League final and first since 2013 after Mats Hummels' second-half goal earned a 1-0 victory on the night in Paris on Tuesday.
Terzic went to the Dortmund fans after the game and said he felt he had to make up for last season's failure to win the Bundesliga title after slipping up on the very last day.
"Last season, we lost the championship at home on the last matchday. I'm happy that we can now give something back to the fans," Terzic said, remembering how Bayern Munich snatched the Bundesliga title from Dortmund on goal difference.
"[Going to the fans] was a very emotional moment, a beautiful moment. We wished it for last season's last matchday. But today we could pay something back, keep them dreaming and now we'll do everything to bring the trophy back home," he said.
PSG hit the woodwork four times but failed to find the net as Kylian Mbappe, widely expected to leave at the end of the season, was a shadow of his usual brilliant self.
Dortmund will now meet either 14-time European champions Real Madrid or their Bundesliga rivals Bayern in the June 1 showdown at Wembley.
"Before the first game against PSV, we talked for the first time about how short the journey to London could be," Terzic said.
"Back then, many were still puzzled. We've grown with every game and eventually realised that we could be the team that surprises everyone in the end. Now I'm very happy to be in the final with my team."
Dortmund have played a roller-coaster Bundesliga season and sit in fifth place with two games left.
"That plays no role," Terzic said. "In 2013 when Dortmund were in the Champions League final they were 25 points behind in the league and in 1997 when they won it they were also not doing well.
"The season had highs and lows but our season is still not finished."
'I don't see why we shouldn't win' - BVB hero Hummels bullish ahead of Champions League final
Mats Hummels sees no reason why Borussia Dortmund cannot go on and win the Champions League following their hard-earned semi-final victory over Paris Saint-Germain.
The Black and Yellow are through to the final of Europe's premier club competition for only the third time after sealing a 2-0 aggregate over the reigning Ligue 1 champions, who struck the woodwork six times across both legs.
After Niclas Fullkrug settled last week's first leg at Signal Iduna Park, Hummels' second-half header was the difference in the return at Parc des Princes, where Edin Terzic's side produced another defensive masterclass as they claimed their sixth clean sheet in this season's competition.
Dortmund, who lifted the trophy 27 years ago, will face either Real Madrid or Bayern Munich in the final at Wembley on June 1, and Hummels is confident he and his team-mates can go all the way.
"I've scored far too few Champions League goals in my career, just five," he told DAZN via Uefa.com. "Now is a good time to add to that number.
"Since the second match of the group stage, we've believed that we could prevail in every game - and I don't see why we shouldn't win at Wembley now.
"We remained active today and were able to take so much pace out of the game and atmosphere out of the stadium. That was our recipe for success today."
Hummels was part of the Dortmund side beaten 2-1 by Bayern in their most recent Champions League final appearance in 2013, along with Marco Reus.
The veteran midfielder announced last week that he would be leaving the club at the end of this season, and is thrilled to have one more crack at landing the biggest trophy in European club football.
"[It is] indescribable," he told DAZN. "After more than 10 years, I am in the final with Borussia again. Ousmane [Dembele] and Achraf [Hakimi] brought a tremendous amount of pace, and we suffered a lot.
"How we won the game, no-one will ask tomorrow. Shots against the post won’t matter tomorrow. What counts is that Borussia Dortmund are in the final again. Nobody expected this. It's just incredible."
Meanwhile Terzic, who saw his side surrender the Bundesliga title on the final day of last season, saluted the strides his players have made as the competition has progressed.
"Before the first game against PSV [in the round of 16], we talked for the first time about how short the journey to London could be," he said. "Back then, many were still puzzled. Last season, we lost the championship at home on the last matchday.
"I'm happy that we can now give something back to the fans. We've grown with every game and eventually realised that we could be the team that surprises everyone in the end. Now, I'm very happy to be in the final with my team."
'We weren't efficient' - Marquinhos bemoans PSG profligacy after Champions League exit
Marquinhos believes Paris Saint-Germain paid for their profligacy after suffering Champions League semi-final heartbreak against Borussia Dortmund.
Mats Hummels' second-half header from a Julian Brandt corner - the only goal at Parc des Princes - wrapped up a 2-0 aggregate victory for the Bundesliga side, who advanced to their third final and first since 2013.
Meanwhile, PSG's wait to land the elusive European crown goes on, despite a whopping 44 shots across the two legs, while they also struck the woodwork on six occasions - their overall tally of 14 the most recorded by a team during a single campaign.
Indeed, Luis Enrique's side failed to find the net in a home match for the first time since their 0-0 draw with Lorient in their first Ligue 1 match of the season, as their hopes of completing the treble vanished for another year.
"We lacked efficiency," Marquinhos told Canal+. "They scored two goals from corners and a through ball that we had worked on. We had to defend better. These are small details.
"We created chances, a lot more than them. We weren't efficient. They were efficient, they scored two goals and won both matches."
But despite the disappointment, the PSG skipper urged his team-mates to focus on the positives from their run to the semi-finals.
They recovered from a disappointing 4-1 defeat against Newcastle United to finish second behind Dortmund in Group F, before overturning a 4-2 aggregate deficit to deny Barcelona in the quarter-finals.
"There are a lot of things to take away from this competition," Marquinhos added. "At the beginning of the season, no one believed that we would get this far. We've overcome a lot of obstacles, we shouldn't throw everything away now just because we're eliminated.
"You have to remember that it's a new team, with a new coach. There are some positives to bring back for next season. We wanted to go to Wembley for the fans and our families.
"You have to stay calm after the elimination. It's very hard. We've come very close. We had to win tonight and be more efficient."
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
