Attendance 14,732
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