IBROX CRAZY DAZE!; Hearts' four off in farce.

Rangers 3 Hearts 0

In One of the most remarkable games I've ever witnessed in all my years, Rangers were almost embarrassed to take the points.

Hearts had four players sent off in a game that was on the brink of being abandoned - yet there wasn't a nasty tackle to be seen.

The crowd of 47,240 watched in bewilderment as referee Gerry Evans sent off Bruno a minute after the interval and then showed the red card to Weir, Pointon and Ritchie in a dramatic and almost unbelievable six-minute period midway through that second half.

The furore brought about the unusual spectacle of Rangers skipper Gough running to the referee and the stand side linesman to appeal for compassion. He failed.

Every decision stood and Hearts were left with just seven players on the field trying manfully to go through the motions of playing out time.

One sensed that the Rangers players had lost their appetite on a team suffering the worst humiliation in many years and seemed quite content to settle for a margin of victory which was sufficient under the circumstances.

A great pity because the card tricks of the referee, flashing his four red cards and booking Robertson and Salvatori of Hearts along with McInnes of Rangers, really destroyed what was building up to a most entertaining game with Gazza orchestrating the whole affair.

Gazza indeed had them rocking in the aisles and eating out of his hand throughout the first half with that style that makes him a bit special.

Midway though the first half he showed he had fully shaken off the hangover of Zurich in midweek by holding off two challenges in a race into the Hearts box and pushing the ball forward to Albertz.

The German's finish was explosive - but a linesman's flag indicated he had been offside.

Two minutes later Albertz hit a blistering right-footer from 18 yards which came crashing off Rousset's crossbar.

Although there had been flashes of danger from Pointon and McCann the Rangers defence looked solid and the opening goal seemed inevitable at the other end of the pitch.

The breakthrough came when Durie got his first goal of the season. A smartly taken corner kick by Laudrup to McCall just 12 yards away saw the little midfielder whip the ball quickly into the box for the Scotland striker to smash it high into the net with his left foot.

A minute into the second half Bruno went off for a second bookable offence after a tackle on Durie. A minute later the match was really finished because of that man Gazza.

Quite brilliantly he controlled the ball with a run into the Hearts defence, turned McPherson, rounded the keeper then coolly slammed the ball high into the net.

It was sheer mayhem after that with the referee and stand linesman in constant consultation before the three further red cards appeared for offences which were not all that obvious to those of us watching.

With the Hearts manager Jim Jefferies in complete despair with his hands in the air outside his dug-out Rangers spent the rest of the afternoon in the Hearts box with Rousset constantly in action.

In the closing minutes McCoist, who had replaced Laudrup, scored a third goal and for once he didn't look for applause. He just quietly ran back up the field.

A dreadful day for Hearts - a victory on a plate for the leaders.