Rangers 2 Hearts 0

By Jon West, PA Sport

Rangers moved to the top of the table for the first time in more than two years thanks to goals from Claudio Caniggia and Shota Arveladze.

Such has been Celtic's dominance of the Scottish scene since Rangers lifted the 1999-2000 title under Dick Advocaat that only once had their rivals allowed them such an opportunity.

That had been wasted early last season but following Motherwell's fine 2-1 win over the champions last night, Rangers were determined not to let history repeat itself.

Caniggia had been the hat-trick hero at Dunfermline in the last game, where the home defence had been giving goals away for fun.

But Hearts, who came to Ibrox with an unbeaten start of their own, were far more resolute and the Argentinian's diving 41st-minute header was a mighty relief for the anxious home fans.

They had witnessed plenty of attacking endeavour but little end product - and it had been the visitors who had twice come the nearest.

Hearts' previous recent visits had seen them slated for timid tactics but their first-half performance possessed genuine threat up front as well as a well-stocked defence.

In the 13th minute only the crossbar denied new signing Phil Stamp his first Hearts goal as he rose unchallenged to meet Jean-Louis Valois' cross with a firm header.

The second near miss was also a header from Valois' supply, a corner which Kevin McKenna sent on to the base of a post that admittedly had been covered by a man on the line.

In reply, Rangers had produced many first-half moments to savour but the end product had either been sustained mayhem in the Hearts box, which ended unsatisfactorily for the home side, or plain bad finishing.

Ronald de Boer and Arveladze were both guilty of the latter and it was captain Barry Ferguson who had forced goalkeeper Roddy McKenzie, Antti Niemi's successor between the sticks, into his most difficult post-break save.

McKenzie had almost let de Boer in before that. But he could not hold on to an Arveladze drive and it needed Steven Pressley, who has been told a Scotland cap is up for grabs, to get there first to clear the loose ball.

But the breakthrough did come four minutes before the break when de Boer sent in a cross from the right and Caniggia got in front of his marker to send a diving header past McKenzie.

De Boer's involvement lasted only as long as the 51st minute when he was replaced by Billy Dodds.

Straightaway Hearts created another chance when Andy Kirk sent away Mark de Vries, the top flight's top scorer thanks to four derby goals against Hibernian.

But the big Dutchman made a hash of the opportunity by taking the ball too wide and had no chance of beating Stefan Klos at his near post when the shot eventually came in.

In the 65th minute it was Rangers' turn to rattle the woodwork when Craig Moore saw his header from a Mikel Arteta corner bounce back off the crossbar.

Moore and de Vries were the central characters in the next mini-drama when the defender was booked for climbing on the striker's back and then complaining about the foul that went Hearts' way.

The free-kick was headed behind for a corner which the Dutchman met at the back post with a powerful header that fizzed just off target.

With 12 minutes remaining Rangers finally made sure the points were there with a move that began in their own half.

Caniggia was the key man however, first by sending Dodds off in space down the left flank, where Hearts might have been expecting Arveladze to be.

The substitute played in a low cross into the box that might well have been intended for the Argentinian. It was behind him yet also wrong-footed the defenders, allowing Arveladze to steal in, take the ball past McKenzie and walk it into an unguarded net.

Hearts were denied a last-minute consolation goal when Stefan Klos pulled off a fine reaction save to thwart McKenna's header.

The last time Rangers went to the top of the league - on August 13, 2000 - it lasted just three days.

In three days' time they will seek to retain that lead at Livingston before embarking on UEFA Cup duty in Prague in a busy spell for Scottish football.

Teams:

Rangers Klos, Muscat, Malcolm, Moore, Numan (Ross 68), Ricksen, Ferguson, Arteta, Caniggia (Konterman 83), de Boer (Dodds 51), Arveladze.

Subs Not Used: McGregor, Latapy.

Booked: Moore, Ricksen.

Goals: Caniggia 41, Arveladze 79.

Hearts McKenzie, Maybury, Pressley, McKenna, McMullan, Boyack (Twaddle 77), Severin, Stamp, Valois, de Vries, Kirk (Wales 77).

Subs Not Used: Gordon, Webster, Janczyk.

Booked: Stamp.

Att: 48,581

Ref: M McCurry (Scotland).

Taken from sportinglife.com