Capital Show From Gers- Hearts 0-4 Rangers

Rangers made it six wins out of six in the title race
with a superb 4-0 win over Hearts at Tynecastle this
afternoon thanks to two goals apiece from Shota
Arveladze and Peter Lovenkrands.

Hearts went into this fixture having lost their last
eight games against the Ibrox men, and indeed had not
even managed a goal in their last seven. After today’s
blank sheet, they must despair of ever finding the net
against the Champions again, given the intensity of
their early pressure.



Rangers made three changes from the side that had
defeated Stuttgart with Maurice Ross, Nuno Capucho and
Peter Lovenkrands replacing Fernando Ricksen,
Christian Nerlinger and Paulo Vanoli. Egil Ostenstad –
yet to make his debut – was on the bench. Former
Ranger Steven Pressley captained the home side.

There were loud claims from the Gorgie faithful for a
second minute penalty when Mark De Vries and Zurab
Khizanishvili tangled inside the box, but Referee
Stuart Dougal waved play on. The claim was not without
its’ merits, although indications were that Dougal had
adjudged De Vries to be the original offender.

Hearts made all the early running, and De Vries again
went down under another Khizanishvili challenge in
seven minutes – and again the referee turned down the
claim.

The pressure continued relentlessly in the tight
Tynecastle confines, and two minutes later it was
Emerson to the rescue when he blocked De Vries’
close-range effort from a Joe Hamill corner in nine
minutes.

Another Hamill corner in 21 minutes – headed on by
Scott Severin – again found De Vries, but on this
occasion the Dutchman fired over.



It took the Light Blues all of 28 minutes to test the
range of their shooting – an Arveladze twenty-yard
free-kick only just clearing the crossbar.

Five minutes later Emerson almost opened his Ibrox
account when he shot into the side-net from a low
Capucho cross.

The save of the match arrived sixty seconds later when
a lightning Rangers’ break saw Mikel Arteta release
Capucho on the right, a low cross finding Mols inside
the six-yard box, the Dutchman’s stabbed shot bringing
a magnificent instinctive save from Tepi Moilanen.

Rangers had now turned the tide – and twice in as many
minutes they might have broken the deadlock. Emerson’s
drive from an Arteta corner was blocked, and then
another quick break saw Ross and Capucho combine
before Moilanen held Arveladze’s drive.

The opening goal was merely delayed however – a truly
superb effort from Arveladze when he moved on to an
Emerson pass before sending a curling twenty-yard shot
into the top corner of the net just one minute before
the interval.

Hearts had yet another penalty appeal denied in the
last seconds of the half when Scott Severin collapsed
in a heap after running into Michael Ball, but the
claims were becoming more and more absurd.

Four minutes into the second-half the roof fell in on
the Tynecastle men when Lovenkrands made it 2-0 with a
header from a Ross cross.

Rangers were in total command now – and it was almost
three on the hour when Arteta and Lovenkrands carved
open the home defence down the left, the Dane’s low
cross being inches away from the inrushing Mols.

Phil Stamp, having been yellow-carded in 41 minutes
for a trip on Stefan Klos, was fortunate to stay on
the park when he blatantly dived when tackled by
Arteta, but the referee chose to turn a blind eye.



It was one-way traffic now however – and Arveladze
made it 3-0 in 71 minutes when he was in position to
turn the ball over the line after Emerson’s vicious
25-yard drive had been touched onto an upright by
Moilanen.

Rangers were now in absolute control of the game,
outclassing their opponents with some exquisite
football.



The game boiled over two minutes later with Hearts, so
frustrated at being so comprehensively outplayed after
such a promising start, losing the place. It all
started with Patrick Kisnorbo’s foul on Capucho, the
defender reacting badly to the decision, and being
rightly yellow-carded.



In the same moment Egil Ostenstad made his Rangers
debut, replacing Michael Mols.

In another indication that the Gorgie men had now lost
all semblance of discipline, Michael Ball was felled
off the ball, an incident missed by both the referee
and his assistants.

Hearts’ cause might have been forlorn, but they did
continue to fight for at least that elusive goal and
only a timely Henning Berg tackle denied substitute
Andy Kirk from a Stamp knockdown.

There was to be no consolation for the home side
however – indeed Lovenkrands it was who rounded off
the scoring with a fourth goal in 88 minutes when he
blasted the ball home after Moilanen had failed to cut
out a Ross cross under pressure from Ostenstad.

The Finnish goalkeeper was obliged to leave the
action, suffering a knock, and with all three
substitutes already used the home side were forced to
put Scott Severin in goal.

Severin was saved from any embarrassment when the
final whistle sounded moments later, although there
had still been time for a sixth Hearts player to
receive a yellow card, Alan Maybury for a foul on
Lovenkrands.

Manger Alex McLeish was delighted afterwards:

“This was a most satisfying victory. We weathered the
early storm, and the goals today were outstanding. I
look for perfection in players, but Capucho and
Emerson are looking livelier and sharper with every
game. We have flair players in the midfield, but they
are learning that they have to work hard as well.
Mikel Arteta has learned to tackle since coming to
Scotland. This result caps a great week.”

Hearts Boss Craig Levein felt that an early penalty
might have changed the game, and that his players felt
aggrieved to be two down. Significantly however he
added:

“Rangers might just be a better side than last year.”



HEARTS Moilanen; Maybury, Pressley, Webster, Kisnorbo;
Stamp, Severin, MacFarlane, Hamill (Kirk 52); De Vries
(McKenna 85), Wyness (Valois 60)
UNUSED SUBS Gordon, Boyack

RANGERS Klos; Ross, Khizanishvili, Berg, Ball;
Capucho, Emerson, Arteta, Lovenkrands; Arveladze, Mols
(Ostenstad 73)
UNUSED SUBS McGregor, Malcolm, Vanoli, Hughes

REFEREE Stuart Dougal