Lovenkrands is alone in seventh heaven

RANGERS supporters must be wishing Peter Lovenkrands had been permanently on short-term contracts throughout his five-and-a-half years at Ibrox, for the 35th-minute goal from the Dane that brought Alex McLeish's men a significant psychological victory over an insipid Hearts yesterday means he has now scored every one of his team's last seven goals.

Although tipped to leave when his present deal expires in the summer, following his hat-trick against Kilmarnock last week, Lovenkrands continued his purple patch and at the same time retained his status as Rangers' chief rehabilitator with a simple strike.

The single-goal victory did scant justice to the control exerted by the home side and the exuberant wing play from the captivating Chris Burke. The Ibrox men's effervescent spells were in sharp contrast to the desperately plodding nature of the visiting side. Their afternoon, indeed, was summed up by the red card administered to substitute Saulius Mikoliunas in the 85th minute, the Lithuanian dismissed by Mike McCurry for going through Barry Ferguson with a rash challenge from the back. Yet, it was one of the few signs of life from Graham Rix's men. And if there was ever an afternoon to judge that his promptings are putting the Tynecastle men on a downer it was yesterday.

For the first time in his five-game tenure, the Hearts coach was able to field something approximating his strongest side. The great significance of this was it gave him the luxury of fielding a forward line comprising the club's only two senior strikers in Roman Bednar and Edgar Jankauskas. Injuries to the pair over recent weeks had made Rix's tough job an exceedingly difficult one, but the return did nothing to arrest the downward spiral the Edinburgh club appear to be on.

McLeish must dream of the day his squad isn't missing half a dozen senior performers. It won't arrive any time soon but at least over the past week or so he is beginning to make do with the resources available.

Players are emerging, with Burke a constant thorn and Lovenkrands and Thomas Buffel brimming with the sort of belief that is providing Rangers with a potency. Having rediscovered the winning feeling after a record-setting ten game run when success had proved wholly elusive, there was an expectation that Rangers would start to progress more like their old selves.

It said everything about how much Hearts were considered on the wane that, despite been 14 points to the good on their hosts prior to yesterday, the expectation was that at Ibrox they would continue to stumble and be more like their old, pre-Vladimir Romanov selves.

For 20 minutes it was a grim affair, the only passes made skidding off the boots of their intended receivers.

Hearts have a punch drunk look about them most matches these days. They have lost their mojo in major fashion and contributed practically nothing noteworthy to a contest that belonged to Rangers as soon as the home side found their rhythm. As is so often the way when the Old Firm perform at home, McLeish's side sparked to life on the back of the crowd involving themselves in the encounter. The Ibrox punters did so through being outraged by the lily-livered nature of referee McCurry. Taking his goodwill to all men Christian cheer too far, he allowed a raft of heavy challenges on the Rangers attackers to go unpunished. At that stage it was the only means by which the Hearts back line could halt the twisting, turning, forward-dapping of Burke.

It wasn't until the 21st minute that either keeper had to slap hands on the ball. Then, Craig Gordon was required to push over a header from Hamed Namouchi as it threatened to creep under the crossbar following a wickedly flighted free kick from dead ball specialist Robert Malcolm. The Tynecastle No.1 was pretty soon experiencing further palpitations but Marvin Andrews, on the goal-line, contrived to knock the ball upwards when it seemed any touch from him would produce the opener.

A pattern was emerging however, the flow of traffic towards the Hearts penalty area increasing from a trickle to a steady stream. It was no surprise, then, when Rangers scored ten minutes from the interval. Neither was the fact that it should be born-again goal plunderer Lovenkrands who should earn them the lead. Having shown clinical finishing of the highest order lately, yesterday he demonstrated he could also net with a right-place-at-the-right-time effort.

A teasing, curling free kick from near the touchline on the left flank that Malcolm delivered into the box found a taker in Namouchi. His header was weak and misplaced but it dropped perfectly for the Dane to prod the ball over the line from four yards out.

An intemperate confrontation threatened to turn ugly on the stroke of half time when a melee ensuring from an altercation between Andy Webster and Barry Ferguson somehow mutated into a Steven Pressley and Lovenkrands showdown. As the whistle sounded for the interval indeed the Hearts captain was seen to point the Rangers forward down to the tunnel in a manner known in Glasgow parlance as asking for a square go. The Edinburgh club could not make a square go of matters on the field in the second period and Lovenkrands twice in the early stages almost doubled Rangers' advantage. One goal always looked like being enough, however, and it spoke volumes about how everything Rix is doing is turning to dust that Mikoliunas should be the man to receive a red card after being the player that the Hearts coach had turned to in the 64th minute to retrieve the game.

Taken from the Scotsman