Motherwell star rejects 'dirty' Hibs draw assessment ahead of 'flying' Hearts challenge

Motherwell and Hibs went toe-to-toe on Wednesday night - but Steelman Jake Carroll doesn't think it was a full-blooded match.

A 0-0 Premiership draw played out between the league's fourth and fifth-placed sides in blustery conditions at Fir Park.

There were challenges aplenty thrown in as 'Well midfielder Liam Donnelly was sent off for a second booking, and manager Graham Alexander dismissed for protesting.

The Steelmen have committed more fouls than any other side this season but Carroll says bad conditions and a high-intensity playing style were involved against Hibs.

He said: “We could have won the game. Especially at home we’re looking to win but going down to 10 men, we’re happy to take the point and move on.

“I haven’t spoken to Liam about the red card but it’s part of the game. The way Liam plays, the way I play – we play on the edge. You want to show your physicality but sometimes it goes against you.

“I wouldn’t say it was a dirty match. It was two quick teams who like to counter-attack so sometimes you have to take a foul to stop that momentum when a team breaks on you. A lot of our yellow cards probably came from that.

“The conditions probably played a part. Long balls were moving in the air and it’s hard to judge. You’re fighting with people to get that first contact with the ball so the conditions weren’t great."

It's a result that keeps Hibs at arms length with Motherwell keen on a spot in European football next season. They take on third-place Hearts at Tynecastle on Saturday.

Carroll added: “The most important thing was not to lose but that’s not the way we approached it. We wanted to win and you could see that in how we played, we were on the front foot.

"If you look at the overall picture, it’s probably