Claudio Braga: Hearts forward goes from ‘hell’ to comeback heaven

Braga left a few goals out there, too. He was denied by Calum Ward when through on goal, and again in stoppage time as the Motherwell goalkeeper pushed his effort on to a post.

The Portuguese also had a header from a corner he should have buried. Suggesting he merely brought energy from the bench would do Braga a grave disservice.

But it was the starting point. He was constantly hassling Motherwell, and his touch map below shows he popped up everywhere.

He had the joint highest amount of dribbles for Hearts, and his ability to take defenders on and get a strike away lead to the first goal of the comeback.

“The message I got from the coach and from everybody – even the players – is to come in with energy,” Braga told BBC Scotland. “I think that’s one of my best attributes, so I tried to come in with energy.

“It was a draw, but I feel like we could do more. We definitely could do more. We proved that in 45 minutes.”

It is that determined attitude, as well as his ability, which means Braga is already a fans’ favourite at Tynecastle.

He will surely now start against Livingston next week after five goals in eight appearances.

“Braga is a bit of a maverick – he’s not scared to take it under pressure or when the team is 3-0 down,” former Hearts head coach Steven Naismith said on Sportscene.

“As much as he’s a maverick and he’ll drop the shoulder or do a Cruyff turn, he has the natural instinct of a forward.

“He is always around the box and as soon as he sees a shot going off, his movement is on the second ball. His natural instinct for goals is good and he has the spark to eliminate opposition players.”