Rangers 1 Hearts 0

By Simon Buckland, PA Sport

It has been a trademark of Rangers' season that even when not at their best they have been better than the rest.

And so it proved again as Hearts lost out narrowly at Ibrox.

Billy Dodds' 22nd-minute strike was worthy of winning any game such was the quality of its execution, but thereafter Rangers were never quite able to kill off the stubborn visitors.

Hearts came to the home of the Scottish Premier League Champions needing a point to be sure of UEFA Cup qualification and must now secure that at home to Hibernian next week.

Motherwell's win at Dundee United leaves the Edinburgh outfit only two points clear in third, though Hearts' only consolation is that to be overturned the Fir Park outfit must beat Rangers.

This latest success for Rangers means their commanding lead at the top is now a massive 24 points with only that one league game remaining at Motherwell, ahead of the Scottish Cup final.

Their form dipped at times today but the winning mentality shows no sign of vanishing and bottom club Aberdeen's task at Hampden Park in a fortnight promises to be huge and surely beyond them.

Jonatan Johansson made his first start since December for Rangers after being sidelined through injury, while Andy Kirk was offered his Hearts debut after a goal a game for their Under-21s this term.

Hearts started brightly but were dealt a major blow in the sixth minute when Gary Wales sustained a serious leg injury after cutting inside from the left-hand touchline.

The Scotland Under-21 striker fell to the ground under a challenge from Arthur Numan and after three minutes' treatment was carried off to be replaced by former Celtic forward Darren Jackson.

That forced Hearts to regroup, though they almost took the lead after 13 minutes when Lee Makel's corner found Gordan Petric unmarked inside the area only for his header to bounce wide.

Rangers started sluggishly with too many misplaced passes and an Albertz chip that was overhit and cleared the bar by some distance was their first attack of note in the 17th minutes.

Yet five minutes later they were ahead after a slick move which saw Kanchelskis and Johansson combine on the left to set up Dodds who netted on the half-volley with a stunning strike.

That lead could have been doubled two minutes later when Johansson burst clear on the left only for his low driven cross to be too powerful for the onrushing Kanchelskis to reach at the far post.

On the half-hour mark, McCann threaded a neat pass through to send Johansson clear on Antti Niemi, but the Finnish keeper was equal to the challenge with a save from point-blank range.

Rangers were now turning on the style and Tugay came close to scoring an astonishing second when his long-range volley, direct from an Albertz corner, prompted a fine save from Niemi.

Moments later the former Rangers keeper was again at his best to deny the home side, this time pushing over Johansson's near-post header from another Albertz cross.

Johansson, still searching for sharpness after his injury lay-off, then wasted two further chances, dragging shots wide when well placed as Rangers started to dominate.

Robert Tomaschek responded for Hearts with a powerful 25-yard drive however which was matched in thrilling fashion by a memorable Klos save, diving full length to his left.

Albertz then sent a shot from distance well over before, right on half-time, Johansson saw another flicked header drift just wide of the mark after McCann's precise delivery from the left.

Rangers were content to slip into a relaxed passing game after the restart, though Reyna's angled drive almost provided a second goal after Tugay and Dodds had linked up smartly.

After 62 minutes, McCann's trickery on the left gave him the space to find Johansson who in turn fed Albertz for a shooting chance at the edge of the area, but the German blazed over.

Kirk, who had found the pace tough to adjust to, was taken off after 64 minutes with Stevie Fulton taking his place with the intention of finding Hearts a much-needed creative spark.

Rangers made an emotional switch after 67 minutes as Gordon Durie, to be released in the summer and the last member of the nine-in-a-row side, came on for Johansson to warm applause.

Dodds was still proving a lively figure and he set up Kanchelskis after 71 minutes only for the Russian winger to snatch at the opening and scuff his shot wide of the mark.

Rozental came on for McCann with 15 minutes remaining, while it was Durie who almost profited when Niemi pushed away Dodds' close-range angled drive only for the rebound to elude the veteran.

Chilean substitute Rozental did spurn a chance of his own with nine minutes remaining when he misdirected a volley after Albertz had dashed down the left before crossing.

Colin Cameron sent a fierce drive over the bar with three minutes remaining, while Juanjo might have done better when clean through on Klos, but Rangers were never in serious danger.

Their final home game of the season came within inches of being marked by a Durie goal in his farewell display, but he headed wide, while in injury time Albertz missed a virtual open goal.

At the end, Durie did a lap of honour applauded by his own team-mates formally marking the end of Walter Smith's era.

A new one under Dick Advocaat may only just be beginning.

Teams:

Rangers: Klos, Reyna, Porrini, Vidmar, Numan, Kanchelskis (Hughes 79), Kerimoglu, Albertz, McCann (Rozental 74), Johansson (Durie 66), Dodds.

Subs Not Used: Brown, Malcolm.

Booked: Reyna.

Goals: Dodds 22.

Hearts: Niemi, Murray, Pressley, Petric, Naysmith, Cameron, Flogel (Juanjo 56), Makel, Tomaschek, Wales (Jackson 7), Kirk (Fulton 63).

Subs Not Used: McKenzie, Severin.

Booked: Jackson.

Att: 49,109

Ref: Kenny Clark (Scotland).


Taken from sportinglife.com