Bold Hearts undone by assertive Boyd

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Steven Pressley, the Heart of Midlothian captain, insisted that alarm is not the appropriate response to his team's defeat by Rangers at Ibrox on Saturday - the third successive match which failed to yield a win for the Tynecastle side - as he and his colleagues prepare to regroup ahead of their trip to Greece in the Champions League qualifiers.

Not only did Hearts lose 2-0 to fall behind Rangers, St Mirren and Falkirk in the Scottish Premier League table, but they will have to do without Roman Bednar - and perhaps also Michal Pospisil - when they try to overhaul a 2-1 deficit against AEK Athens on Wednesday.

It was a measure of the self-belief accumulated at Tynecastle during last season's rousing campaign that Valdas Ivanauskas, the Hearts coach, fielded three forwards at an inhospitable venue, and for quarter of an hour or so the visitors gave as good as they got for possession and counter-attacks.

However, aside from a Bruno Aguiar free kick, turned over the crossbar by Lionel Letizi after 11 minutes, Hearts scarcely troubled the Rangers goalkeeper, whereas Craig Gordon was kept alert by attempts from Kris Boyd, Dado Prso and Karl Svensson.

Boyd, who stated forthrightly last week that he was the man to convert Rangers' chances into goals, netted from the penalty spot immediately after the break and then headed home unopposed at Lee Martin's free kick from the left, four minutes later.

"We just didn't start the second half," said Pressley. "I believe we are a far better side than we showed in this game. "Sometimes you have to win ugly and I thought we were too easy to play against. We didn't react well to the loss of the opening goal. We went to Ibrox top of the league after seven points from a possible nine, but we didn't show what we capable of in terms of composure and belief."

Hearts' discomfort was illustrated by the dismissal of Robbie Neilson in injury time, for a second caution, plus four other yellow cards distributed among his colleagues.

Significantly, three of the Hearts back four went into the referee's book.

To add to their concerns, Pospisil - who replaced Bednar when his attacking colleague failed to reappear after the interval - also limped from the field, although he is more likely to see some action in the Olympic Stadium.

More encouraging was the appearance of Paul Hartley, who has been sidelined because of a groin injury since the start of the season.

As for Rangers, the win was a welcome relief after two wasteful draws, against Dundee United and Dunfermline Athletic, but although the Ibrox manager, Paul Le Guen, was pleased with the performance, he also sounded a cautionary note for Boyd.

"I am sure we will be able to fight for the title but it's only one victory," said the Frenchman. "Boyd did well but he must be aware that he can improve. He must be available for his partners, but he took responsibility when he scored with the penalty kick."

Elsewhere, Kilmarnock's first away win of the season came at Falkirk where they recovered from Russel Latapy's opener to win with goals from Gary Wales and Paul di Giacomo.

St Mirren's promising start to the season continued when Billy Kirkwood's late equaliser levelled Steve Crawford's strike for Aberdeen at Love Street. Abdessalam Benjelloun, Scott Brown and Ron Jones ran up a 3-0 lead for Hibernian at home to bottom club Motherwell before Scott

McDonald netted late for the Fir Park club, while Dundee United and Dunfermline Athletic slugged out a goalless draw at Tannadice.

Taken from telegraph.co.uk