Boyd strikes to break Hearts' resistance

Patrick Glenn at Ibrox
Sunday August 20, 2006
The Observer

A headliner that was as fiercely contested as had been widely expected produced what could be described as a curiously comfortable victory for Rangers. Despite the frenetic pace, the home team had the composure to create a number of opportunities and, in Kris Boyd, the ruthlessness to exploit two of them.

Hearts' disappointment would be deepened by the last-minute sending-off of full-back Robbie Neilson for a foul on Lee Martin that brought a second yellow card. But no one who expected a high-energy, relentlessly competitive contest could have left Ibrox feeling cheated. The feverish activity on the field and the unremitting exhortations of spectators in the stands gave the event the unmistakable feel of an Old Firm match.

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In one sense, Hearts have joined the big Glasgow clubs at the forefront of the Scottish game, muscling in on their territory to such an extent last season that they created a divider between Celtic and Rangers for the first time in 11 years.

That is the kind of impertinence that is guaranteed to create hostility by itself, but the gloriously eccentric utterances of Vladimir Romanov, the Lithuanian who owns the Tynecastle club, have succeeded in heightening the tension between the traditional giants and the challengers from Edinburgh.

The players seemed on this occasion to have been as deeply stimulated by the collision as the supporters, both sets producing sinew-straining effort from the start, as though driven by the conviction that defeat, even this early in a long campaign, would cost them the championship.

It was understandable in a Rangers team who had failed to win either of their two previous matches - against Dundee United and Dunfermline - and whose manager, Paul Le Guen, had made four changes, the first time since opening day that he had altered the starting line-up.

If it was intended to provoke Chris Burke, Boyd, Phil Bardsley and Martin - the last two newly signed from Manchester United on loan - into producing the industriousness that would endear them to the fans, it was a resounding success.

Particularly during an endlessly energetic first half, Rangers enjoyed an emphatic territorial advantage, but they were denied the tangible reward their play merited by excellent work from Craig Gordon and a piece of unconvincing finishing from Boyd.

Boyd had forced Gordon to make a good save from an overhead volley before the moment, with half time only a minute away, that brought the striker a seemingly unmissable opportunity. It was Burke who started the process with a well judged chip forward that left Dado Prso with only the goalkeeper to beat. Gordon appeared to block out the sun as made himself a huge obstacle in front of the Croatia striker.

But, having made the block, he was on the ground when Boyd came in to complete the comparatively simple task of sending the ball over the line. He hit it too close to Neilson, the Hearts full-back making the clearance.

There was no lack of conviction, however, about the manner in which Boyd gave the home team a decisive advantage before the second half was five minutes old. Prso's run into the box on the left teased Neilson into a tackle that brought the penalty that was converted with a powerful drive to right of Gordon. Boyd followed that with a bullet header from close range from Martin's wickedly delivered free-kick on the left, the midfielder himself having been fouled by Saulius Mikoliunas.

Even if Rangers could not be said to have dazzled, they had done much more than their opponents to deserve their lead.

There was no questioning Hearts' diligence, but there was a lack of sharpness about their movement, especially from middle to front, and the deepest disappointment for their followers would be rooted in the absence of a threat in the vicinity of the Rangers goalkeeper, Lionel Letizi.

This was betrayed by the decision of coach Valdas Ivanauskas to substitute the substitute, striker Michal Pospisil making way for Neil McCann only 17 minutes after replacing Roman Bednar at the start of the second half.

There was an element of desperation, too, about the decision to bring Paul Hartley off the bench to replace Mikoliunas 20 minutes from time. A long-term injury victim, the Scotland midfielder, was in no condition to make the difference required to save Hearts.

Man of the match: Kris Boyd

Taken from the Guardian/Observer