Hearts 1 - 1 Rangers

Scorers: Hearts – Jankauskas (8); Rangers – Buffel (64)

The status quo was preserved after a stodgy stalemate at Tynecastle: advantage Hearts in the quest for the Champions League preliminary place.

A game high in intrigue proved low on quality. None the less, it leaves Graham Rix's side with a six-point advantage over the champions in the race for second place.

With only eight games left, Rangers are calling on favours. They finished with a flourish after Thomas Buffel bundled home an equaliser but the tactical trial-and-error adopted by Alex McLeish accentuated the disjointed look of his team.

Buffel, in particular, was fortunate to leave with his bearings intact, having spent the afternoon yo-yoing up and and down the forward line. He started behind Peter Løvenkrands – a combination that has often been Rangers' most productive this season – but was shifted out wide as McLeish sought the physical presence of Dado Prso in a more central area. Buffel was then pushed up front, with Løvenkrands going to the left, and then reverted to the wing as Rangers finished with Kris Boyd and Nacho Novo up front.

Buffel was Rangers' most prominent performer throughout, bringing bouts of elegance to a contest that struggled to live up to its billing. Rangers failed to fashion the win required for a grandstand finale to a faltering domestic campaign, and could have headed home with their flickering aspirations doused had Hearts fulfilled their early progress.

Inability to capitalise on early supremacy has been a recurring theme under Rix. It cost Hearts any chance of catching Celtic after their 3-2 New Year's Day defeat and reared itself again yesterday after they had engineered a lead in only eight minutes. A squad strengthened by the acquisition of an entire team in the January window retained a familiar look: only Samuel Camazzola was missing from the team that beat Rangers 1-0 last September, during George Burley's reign.

The physical stature of Edgaras Jankauskas and Roman Bednar up front was central to Rix's plan to keep possession high up the pitch and unsettle Julien Rodriguez and Sotirios Kyrgiakos.

For 45 minutes it worked a treat, but Hearts seemed unwilling to gamble for a decisive second goal and paid the price as Rangers were roused from their slumber.

Clearly, there was too much at stake for either side to be concerned with aesthetics. The flow of the game was not aided by the pedantic performance of the roundly unpopular referee, Craig Thomson.

In their haste to obtain an early ascendancy, Hearts left themselves woefully exposed to a counter-attack in the opening minute. Buffel collected the ball inside his own half, chugged forward and funnelled the ball wide to Chris Burke.

The winger's shot was blocked, but Hearts demonstrated their own intentions with similar urgency, but greater reward. Deividas Cesnauskis, who could do no right in the opening eight minutes, redeemed himself in style. Pressed to the touchline by Ian Murray and an inexplicably out-of-position Kyrgiakos, Cesnauskis lifted the ball over the full-back, drove in front of the Greek and motored towards the box.

With the defence in disarray, he sprayed the ball to Paul Hartley, unmarked in Murray's area, and the playmaker's first-time cross to the near post was clipped into the net by Jankauskas.

It sparked a period of slick supremacy for the home side but the dominance did not endure. Hartley and Rudi Skacel revelled in the room afforded by the visitors. For all the possession, though, Ronald Waterreus spent the rest of the match redundant but for the occasional cross, pass back, and speculative 35-yard shot from Robbie Neilson.

A game which started in spectacular fashion was soon mired in midfield mediocrity, with Rangers consumed with anxiety and Hearts content to defend their lead.

However, Rangers' last act of the first half signalled their awakening. Burke, hitherto anonymous, drilled in a dangerous cross that evaded Buffel by inches at the back post.

Prso's attempts to inspire after the break incurred the wrath of the referee, with a wild, arm-flailing challenge on Steven Pressley earning a booking. The Croat cannot be faulted for effort but a series of over-zealous tackles prompted McLeish to replace him.

Buffel's influence grew as Hearts inexplicably retreated towards Craig Gordon's goal. The Scotland internationalist made a tremendous stop from the Belgian's volley but Hearts refused to heed the warning.

Prso, with his last notable contribution, cushioned a long free-kick towards Burke and the winger's driven cross made its way through a pack before being clipped home by the ubiquitous Buffel.

Bellowed on by McLeish, Rangers attempted to complete the comeback. Hearts, though, had the best opportunity to steal the points.

Neilson, on a rare foray forward, looked around for assistance and with no colleague worth consideration, the full-back elected to shoot and watched his dipping drive crash off the crossbar.

Hearts (4-4-2) Gordon; Neilson, Pressley, Webster, Fyssas; Cesnauskis, Hartley, Brellier, Skacel (Mikoliunas 86); Bednar (Elliot 76), Jankauskas. Subs: Banks, Berra, Gonçalves, Aguiar, Petras

Booked Hartley, Skacel, Brellier.

Rangers (4-4-1-1) Waterreus; Hutton, Rodriguez, Kyrgiakos, Murray; Burke, Ferguson, Hemdani, Prso (Novo 75); Buffel; Løvenkrands (Boyd 56). Subs: Klos, Andrews, Ricksen, Namouchi, Smith. Booked Burke, Prso

Referee C Thomson

Taken from the Herald