this afternoon with a superb Barry Ferguson strike the
winner to move to within ten points of Celtic in the
title race and the same margin clear of Aberdeen in
the battle for a Champions League place.
Manager Walter Smith made three changes from St.
Mirren with Gavin Rae, Kevin Thomson and Dado Prso
replacing the ill Chris Burke and the suspended
Charlie Adam and Nacho Novo.
Prso it was who created the first hint of danger when
he dispossessed Marius Zaliukas wide on the left in
seven minutes, his cutback to Rae being intercepted at
the last second by Christophe Berra.
The opening goal when it arrived eight minutes later
came at the other end however - a swift counter-attack
finding the home midfield wanting as Laryea Kingston's
lightning break enabled him to release Andrius Velicka
on the right, his powerful angled drive finding the
corner of the net.
Rangers were denied a stonewall penalty in twenty
minutes when Berra scythed down Prso as he moved along
the goalline, but unbelievably Referee Iain Brines
waved play on - not only should it have been a penalty
it was also a straight red card for the Hearts
defender, so brutal was his challenge.
Only a superb save from Craig Gordon denied Sasa Papac
the equaliser in 37 minutes when his header from
Ferguson's cross was clawed away by the goalkeeper -
but the Bosnian paid a heavy price for his efforts,
being stretchered off suffering from concussion
following a clash of heads with Berra. Once again the
Hearts defender escaped scot-free from a late
challenge. Ian Murray substituted.
The Gorgie men retained their lead until the interval,
but the second-half would be a different story.
Six minutes after the restart the scores were levelled
when Ferguson released Alan Hutton wide on the right,
his cross from the goalline being headed home by Rae.
Rangers were well on top now, but clear-cut chances
were in short supply until Ferguson brought the house
down in 78 minutes when he found the net with an
eighteen-yard scissors-kick after Prso's penetrating
run down the left ended with a cross that was headed
down by Brahim Hemdani for the midfielder to pounce.
There was no way back for the Tynecastle men, and
their frustration clearly showed nine minutes later
when substitute Saulius Mikoliunas put the ball out of
play with Ferguson on the ground injured only to be
harangued by his teammate Christos Karipidis for his
sportsmanship.
Afterwards Walter Smith summarised:
"We worked hard and battled away. We had most of the
territorial advantage. Slackness cost us the first
goal. Both of our own goals were superb."
Man-of-the-match Dado Prso reflected:
"We showed character and deserved to win. Walter Smith
is the right man to bring the title back to Ibrox. I
want the fans to remember me."
They certainly will, Dado.
RANGERS McGregor; Hutton, Weir, Ehiogu, Papac (Murray
37); Rae, Ferguson, Hemdani, Thomson; Prso, Boyd
UNUSED SUBS Klos, Sionko, Svensson, Lennon, McMillan,
Shinnie
HEARTS Gordon; Karipidis, Berra, Zaliukas, Wallace;
Ivaskevicius (Mikoliunas 82), Brellier, Kingston,
Driver; Pospisil (Aguiar 73), Velicka (Elliot 56)
UNUSED SUBS Kurskis, Tall, McCann, Kancelsku
REFEREE Iain Brines
Attendance 50,099