RANGERS TRUMP SEVEN OF HEARTS; Rangers 3 Hearts 0: Gazza gem put in shade.

Rangers wrapped it up within 60 seconds of the start of a mayhem- packed second-half which saw FOUR Hearts players sent off.

It was definitely kamikaze stuff by the Edinburgh side but, it has to be said, it was not helped by referee Gerry Evans and a stand-side linesman who played their part in reducing it to a shambles.

It was not a dirty match by any means - even the Rangers fans were furious with the referee.

Indeed one further red card and the whole circus might have been abandoned. It was that close.

First to go was defender Pasquale Bruno, sent packing for a foul on Gordon Durie - his second yellow card of the match.

And he was followed in quick succession by David Weir, for elbowing Durie, Neil Pointon, for foul and abusive language, and Paul Ritchie, who took the long walk on the say-so of the linesman.

All that and five bookings for Pointon, Bruno, Stefano Salvatori, Robertson and Rangers' Derek McInnes made it overtime for the match officials.

A shocking state of affairs and one which I'm sure will be the focus of an SFA investigation.

Even Hearts chairman Chris Robertson went trackside in a bid to bring some calm to the chaos. Before all hell broke loose it was Gazza putting it all beyond doubt with a vintage strike on 47 minutes.

Picking up a loose ball he waltzed his way round goalkeeper Gilles Rousset.

And as McPherson raced frantically back to cover he arrogantly stood on the ball before lashing an angled shot into the net.

Before that it was Gordon Durie getting Rangers off the starting line with his first goal of the season.

And it was as timely a strike as you could wish to see as, until Bruno's departure, they found Hearts a very tough nut to crack.

It was left to Brian Laudrup to lay the groundwork for the opening goal with a 39th-minute short corner to McCall.

The energetic midfielder quickly switched the ball in front of Durie some eight yards out.

Juke Box was right on song with a blistering kleft foot shot high into the net.

Durie may have been the hero of the moment but Richard Gough played the captain's part to a tee.

He was superb in defence, although he was once skinned by Neil McCann. The youngster's shot lacked power, however, and Goram had no problem saving it.

When Gazza struck that magical second it really looked all over for Hearts. And it certainly was with the procession of red cards.

Yet it wasn't until ten minutes from time that Ally McCoist - sub for Laudrup - put it all beyond doubt when he tucked away a loose ball with the Hearts' remains all at sea.