Written by Midlothian View Reporter, Ewan Hornell
Hibs hopes of qualifying for Europe next season now rely on a Celtic Scottish Cup victory after a first half goal from Lukas Fadinger gave ten-man Motherwell a 1-0 win, securing fourth place and European football for the Steelmen.
Hibs’ European hopes have fluctuated wildly from week to week — at times within touching distance, at others seemingly unattainable.
Their defeat to Celtic two weeks ago appeared to be the final nail in the coffin, with a combination of luck and perfection required from their remaining three fixtures. Yet over the past fortnight, luck and perfection are exactly what they have found.
Two victories — avenging their heavy defeat to Falkirk and securing a dramatic late winner at Ibrox in midweek — overshadowed amongst the chaos at Fir Park, handed Hibs one final opportunity: beat Motherwell at Easter Road and clinch a European place.
Motherwell, however, entered today in pole position, knowing a draw would be enough. They arrived as formidable opponents, with the manner of their midweek defeat surely providing extra motivation — not that any was needed.
For those accustomed to watching Motherwell this season the opening exchanges were a familiar sight as they methodically controlled possession.
Despite their positive play it was a Hibs mistake which presented the away side with their first chance of the afternoon.
A misplaced clearance from Raphael Sallinger found Elijah Just inside the Hibs half. Just drove towards the edge of the Hibs box but dragged his shot wide of goal – an early warning shot for Hibs.
Motherwell continued to probe as the first half progressed.
A teasing cross from Elliot Watt found Tawanda Maswanhises curling run behind the Hibs backline. However, he could not direct his diving effort goalwards as it ballooned off his head and wide.
Hibs struggled to find their footing in the first half, the clock ticking to thirty before they had even mustered half chance at goal.
Nicky Cadden surged forwards down the left-hand side but was denied a clear strike at goal by a Motherwell body charging across to block his shot.
Motherwell finally made good on their first half domination in the 35th minute, deservedly taking the lead through Lukas Fadinger.
Regan Charles-Cook found Fadinger just outside the Hibs area. The Austrian broke through a tackle and let off a left footed strike, taking a major deflection on its way past the outstretched Raphael Sallinger.
Even with consequential action being played in front of them at Easter Road – both sets of fans kept a keen eye on events at Celtic Park.
Phones were not necessary for score updates. An uproar from the Motherwell support responded to by cheers from the Hibs faithful made it clear it was all square through forty-five in the race for the title.
But, in the fight for fourth, Motherwell were in control and entered half time 1-0 ahead.
Even with a potential place in the conference league qualifying rounds at stake, Hibs started the second half just as lethargic as the first.
Elijah Just was nearly gifted a goal after a disastrous Hibs back pass put him one on one with the goalkeeper. Raphael Sallinger rushed out to tighten his angle and deny him a clear shot at goal.
Shortly after Sallinger was once again forced into action. His acrobatic save diving to his right kept out Callum Slatterys sweetly struck volley – preventing Hibs from falling further behind.
From the resulting corner it seemed as through Motherwell had doubled their lead courtesy of a Stephen Welsh header. However, a VAR check spotted a foul in the process, ruling the goal out – another bitter VAR pill for Motherwell to swallow this week.
Hibs were given an excellent opportunity to find a way back into the game when in the 66th minute Motherwell were reduced to ten-men.
A late challenge from Elliot Watt on Miguel Chaiwa resulted in his second yellow card and for once, having been on the receiving end of multiple red cards in recent weeks, Hibs had a numerical advantage.
In search of an equaliser, Dane Scarlett came close from a well worked short free kick. He flashed an effort on target, beating Matty Connelly in the Motherwell goal, but the ball did not find its way over the line – denied by a sliding Callum Slattery.
Hibs flirted with an equaliser late on, courtesy of Ante Suto but he could not direct his strike goalwards as Motherwell sealed fourth place and victory over Hibs.
The Hibs home support did not seem too distraught with the loss, basking in the news of a Celtic winner – preventing the title from turning maroon.
Here’s what David Gray had to say about the end of his sides league campaign and todays loss:
“We got what we deserved today, unfortunately.
“I think Motherwell were the better side. From our point of view the first half was disappointing because of everything that was at stake and how we approached it. The second was better, but I think over the piece Motherwell were worthy winners.
“Now after 38 games, the league does not lie, we finished fifth and congratulations to the four teams that finished above us.
“When I reflect now the biggest disappointment for us is how we started a game of that magnitude. What we had done in recent weeks to claw the gap and give ourselves an opportunity. That was our cup final today and unfortunately we didn’t produce.”
Just like many did this weekend, Hibs fans will be routing for a Celtic victory in the Scottish Cup Final next weekend. A Celtic win over Dunfermline would see David Gray’s side join Motherwell in the second qualifying round of the Uefa Conference League.
So, Hibs’ chance to determine their own European fate may have ended but there is one final hope for European fixtures in Leith next season.
Written by Midlothian View Editor, Phil Bowen
Anders Holch Povlsen tops the Scotland list, according to this year’s edition of The Sunday Times Rich List, published today online at https://www.thetimes.com/sunday-times-rich-list and in a 76-page special edition of The Sunday Times Magazine on Sunday, May 17.
Povlsen is Scotland’s largest landowner and owns the Shetland rocket launchpad. Rising profits lifted the value of his retail group, Bestseller, to £6.5 billion and there were dividends of almost £350 million. His agricultural company has made gains of £38.3 million.
Paul Hamilton joins the billionaire club. In his teens Hamilton saved £1,300 from his job washing dishes in a pub to buy his first computer. He set up Halo, a developer of software used by the Ministry of Justice, Microsoft, Red Bull and the University of Cambridge. A deal with private equity valued the Suffolk-based firm, in which Hamilton owns 73 per cent of the shares, at $2 billion.
This year’s list of 350 individuals and families together holds combined wealth of £783.5 billion — a sum larger than the annual GDP of Belgium ($776 billion), Sweden ($760 billion) and Israel ($719 billion). It represents about a quarter of the UK’s total annual GDP.
Sir Elton John, Lord Lloyd-Webber, Sir Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, JK Rowling, Charlotte Tilbury and Sir Lewis Hamilton all appear in the annual survey.
The minimum entry level dips to £340 million — another indicator of a subdued year.
Robert Watts, compiler of the Sunday Times Rich List, said: “This year’s Rich List is a tale of two exoduses. One in six of the individuals and families who appeared on the list two years ago don’t feature this time.
“Many foreign billionaires who have been living in the UK drop out because they have moved away. We have also seen a strong rise in the number of British nationals now resident in Dubai, Switzerland and Monaco. As UK nationals these people remain on our Rich List wherever they now live.
“These two exoduses pose challenges for the UK economy and its public finances. Will more of the wealthy now set up or grow their ventures overseas and in doing so create fewer jobs here? How much tax, if any, will Rachel Reeves’s Treasury be able to extract from those affluent Brits who have now left the country?
“For nearly 40 years The Sunday Times Rich List has analysed the fortunes of Britain’s most affluent people. We believe understanding where wealth lies and where it is being accumulated is a vital part of a functioning democracy.
“Over the years our research has told us a lot about our country, charting the way a generation of largely self-made entrepreneurs overtook the old money of the landed gentry.
“This year’s edition shines a light on fortunes made from artificial intelligence, driverless cars and crypto-currencies as well as baby milk, make-up, hoodies and other everyday items. We know many of our readers find those rags-to-riches stories of entrepreneurs who started out with little more than a laptop and an idea particularly inspiring.”
The Sunday Tims Rich List 2026 – The 10 wealthiest in Scotland
Rise in wealth ▲ Fall in wealth ▼ No change ■ New entry ★ Re-entry ◆
| 2026
Rank |
Name | Estimated wealth 2026 | Source of Wealth | Rise/Fall | Estimated wealth 2025 |
| 1 | Anders Holch Povlsen | £8.287bn | Retailer | ▲ | £7.704bn |
| 2 | Glenn Gordon and family | £4.745bn | Whisky dynasty | ▼ | £6.398bn |
| 3 | Sir Ian Wood and family | £1.876bn | Industrialist | ▼ | £1.914bn |
| 4 | Lady (Philomena) Clark and family | £1.733bn | Heiress | ▲ | £1.656bn |
| 5 | Sandy and James Easdale | £1.47bn | Bus barons | ▲ | £1.46bn |
| 6 | Christopher Thomson and family | £1.384bn | Media dynasty | ▼ | £1.446bn |
| 7 | Paul Hamilton | £1.081bn | Software | ★ | NEW ENTRY |
| 8 | JK Rowling | £975m | Writer | ▲ | £945m |
| 9 | Sir Brian Souter and Dame Ann Gloag | £878m | Bus barons | ▲ | £805m |
| 10 | Lord Laidlaw | £725m | Entrepreneur | ▼ | £730m |
THE WEALTHIEST UNDER THE AGE OF 40 IN SCOTLAND
| Regional
Rank |
National
40 Under 40 Rank |
Name | 2026 Wealth | Source of Wealth |
| 1 | 36= | Sir Andy Murray | £110m | Sport |
For the full 350 richest people in the UK go online at www.thetimes.com/sunday-times-rich-list
Written by Midlothian View Reporter, Adam Bowen
It was the day Hearts fans had been dreaming of for years, let alone this season. A win and a Celtic loss and they would be lifting the premiership trophy at full time.
The fans understood the occasion as the atmosphere before the game was absolutely electric.
Falkirk however started well, slowing the game down and putting pressure on Hearts. It was Falkirk who put the ball in the back of the net first. Miller ran onto the ball, driving into the box taking his time before composedly slotting it into the far bottom corner. The majority of the stadium believed it was offside and so did the linesman putting his flag up as soon as the ball hit the net, cutting the travelling fans celebrations short.
Not long after, random cheers from the crowd caused some confusion but then word went round that Motherwell had scored against Celtic sending the stadium into pandemonium.
With a very loud backing, at the half an hour mark Kyziridis’ corner found a leaping Frankie Kent who headed the ball from the 6-yard box powering past the Falkirk keeper, Hogarth.
Only a few minutes later Shankland drove into the box falling over as he was tackled, but the ball fell to Devlin whose shot was deflected over the top of Hogarth, looping into the back of the net.
With Hearts two up and Celtic trailing you could feel the belief around the stadium with non-stop singing creating an enormously loud atmosphere.
A great save from Schwolow kept Hearts going into the break 2-0 up however a goal five minutes before half time for Celtic dampened the mood slightly at Tynecastle Park.
The second half was majorly in Hearts possession, not looking very threatened by Falkirk, the focus was more on the Celtic game.
Celtic were 2-1 up until Motherwell equalised in the 85th minute sending the Hearts fans into full voice again.
Dreamland got even dreamier for the fans in maroon as Spittal’s curling shot from the edge of the box flew into the bottom corner putting Hearts 3-0 up minutes after the Motherwell equaliser.
Hearts fans pushed their team to keep going for another one to gain an even greater advantage on goal difference, but the 4th never came.
Nonetheless, Hearts ended the game 3-0 with Celtic’s game still going. As it stood Hearts would go to Celtic Park on the weekend and leave as champions as long as they did not lose by three or more goals.
However, a late Celtic penalty VAR check changed the atmosphere dramatically in Tynecastle as they awaited the decision. The penalty was given with Iheanacho converting it.
A bouncing Tynecastle was now a more subdued one however the fans still rallied the players on to do them proud on Saturday.
McInnes said that he was ‘very pleased’ with his team’s performance and compared the title decider this Saturday to boxing where Hearts are going to have to go to the champions and take what they want to be theirs.
Referring to the penalty at Fir Park this evening he called the situation ‘disgusting’ alluding to the fact that Hearts missed out on two contentious penalties at Fir Park just last weekend. He said he feels like it’s ‘us against everyone else’ but his team will use that drive to go and get the job done on Saturday at a ‘rocking’ Celtic Park.
Devlin credited the crowd for their ‘amazing’ support saying how it ‘really helped’ them tonight. He said that his goal felt really ‘special’ and was ‘emotional’ due to the fact his loved ones from Australia were in the stands tonight. He spoke about feeling ‘privileged’ to have been at the club for so long now and that the team is so ‘desperate’ to win the league.
A very dramatic night of football which will be followed by Saturday at Celtic Park where a whole season will come down to one last 90 minutes, where history could be made.
