Attendance 17,046
The victory, in a tense and dramatic game, is a
massive step in the right direction for Manager Paul
Le Guen and his players, who will surely take
confidence from the three points gathered here.
Le Guen made just the one change from last Saturday
with Kris Boyd replacing Lee Martin against a club
who, if anything, have been in an even greater state
of crisis than Rangers. The Hearts line-up had been
the subject of much speculation pre-match but when it
was announced it included two of the ‘Riccarton
Three' with Craig Gordon and Paul Hartley in
the starting line-up, former Ranger (and club captain)
Steven Pressley named on the substitutes bench
as the Tynecastle fans sang his name, with Robbie
Neilson, Edgaras Jankausis and Christos Karipidis for
company. The announcement of the line-ups was in
itself remarkable with certain Lithuanian players in
the home side booed at the mention of their names.
This was clearly a club in turmoil, yet they almost
made a dream start when Andrius Velicka's
snap-shot from 25 yards whizzed past an upright in ten
minutes.
Seven minutes later Rangers, wearing all-blue, soon
began to make their presence felt with Nacho
Novo's shot from a Barry Ferguson pass being
blocked by Gordon.
The game was being played at a hectic pace without the
creation of many clear-cut chances, although Julien
Brellier tested Allan McGregor with a thirty-yard shot
that the goalkeeper held on the half-hour.
There was only one side playing football -
Rangers - and as the interval approached the
Light Blues began to impose themselves with Dado Prso
twice coming close to opening the scoring, firstly in
forty minutes when his near-post header from a
Ferguson corner was just over, then two minutes later
he stabbed Novo's low cross wide.
The last action of the half was at the other end
however when Bruno Aguiar's thirty-yard
free-kick flashed wide of the target.
Hearts almost broke the deadlock immediately after the
restart when Velicka broke clear on the right, his
drive being deflected over the crossbar by McGregor.
Five minutes later Ferguson's shot on the turn
following a Prso cutback produced a terrific save from
Gordon.
Hartley, captain in place of ‘Elvis', very
nearly caught out McGregor with an angled drive from
the touchline that the goalkeeper fisted clear, but
the replacement of Jamie Mole by Lithuanian
Internationalist Saulius Mikoliunas on the hour led to
a crescendo of booing from the home fans.
Nevertheless there was no booing of Velicka whose shot
on the turn three minutes later from a long Gordon
clearance was parried by McGregor.
Rangers continued to look the likelier however -
Novo's volley from a Prso cross was deflected
over by Gordon in 66 minutes, then from the resultant
Charlie Adam corner Boyd's netbound shot was
blocked as the Ibrox men piled on the pressure.
The breakthrough finally arrived in 78 minutes when
Novo's 25-yard shot from an Adam pass found the
corner of the net.
Seven minutes later it was almost two when
Boyd's volley from a Ferguson header flashed
across the face of goal.
There was no way back for Hearts however, and
afterwards a contented Le Guen summarised:
“It was a good performance - we had the
better chances and deserved to win. We were very good
defensively, and denied Hearts any clear-cut chances
except on the counter-attack. This win gives us a
lift, but we must carry on working hard. My players
have shown character and solidarity - team
spirit is better.”
Meanwhile Hearts' Sports Director (and
interpreter) Alex Kozlovski reflected:
“This was a game of equal opportunities. The
fans' booing of the Lithuanian players was
discriminatory, yet Marius Zaliukas was the best
player on the park. Vladimir Romanov will answer
questions himself when he arrives.”
Outside, some 200 Jambo fans staged a demonstration
against their club's owner at the main entrance.
HEARTS Gordon; Tall, Zaliukas, Berra, Wallace
(Goncalves 45); Barasa, Hartley, Brellier, Aguiar;
Velicka, Mole (Mikoliunas 60)
UNUSED SUBS Pressley, MacDonald, Neilson, Jankauskis,
Karipidis
RANGERS McGregor; Hutton, Hemdani, Svensson, Smith;
Novo, Ferguson, Clement, Adam; Prso, Boyd
UNUSED SUBS Buffel, Klos, Papac, Rae, Sionko, Sebo,
Martin
REFEREE Dougie McDonald