Red-faced Robbie has an off day

Rangers 2 - Boyd (pen 46, 49)
Hearts 0

A CRUEL end to a potentially mind-blowing week was suffered by Robbie Neilson at Ibrox as the full-back was hauled down from his tartan-laced cloud nine. From Scotland recognition last Monday to an abject lesson by an Englishman at Ibrox, Neilson has endured a thorough repertoire of emotions during the last seven days.

His red card, which arrived in stoppage time at the end of this match, merely reinforced the misery that all connected with Tynecastle were suffering come the close of the afternoon. Lee Martin's tormenting of Neilson had a similarly deflating effect on the 1500 travelling supporters as it did on their side. Indeed, if Sir Alex Ferguson was watching, he may ponder the wisdom of allowing Martin to leave Old Trafford on loan.

Hearts could certainly only curse his presence on the left flank and left Glasgow with precious few positives to mull over. For head coach Valdas Ivanauskas, there was the debate over whether changing from a 4-4-2 formation to a 3-4-3 adversely affected his players, although making such a monumental decision in the first place indicates that the Lithuanian lacks nothing in guts when it comes to facing the Old Firm.

In this instance his admirable boldness was in vain as Rangers took command midway through the first half and could easily have bettered the two-goal victory afforded them by Kris Boyd. "Overall we must do better than that," admitted visiting captain Steven Pressley. "I believe we are a much better side than we showed but sometimes you have to get back to the basics. That is, become a difficult side to beat and an ugly side to play against and I thought we were too easy to play against.

"We spoke about a lack of concentration at the first goal when we lost the ball straight from kick-off, but that's part of football and it's about your reaction. We have to react better to losing goals. We came here top of the league after taking seven points from a possible nine, so we had a good start. I just think we didn't play to the levels I know we're capable of.

"We didn't show the composure or the belief that I think we should when we come here because there are a hell of a lot of good players in our dressing-room. We started well and showed purpose and played at a tempo. I really felt we'd go on and win at that point but you have to give Rangers credit because they played extremely well. Maybe this result can actually end up being a good thing for us."

Pre-match complaints from Boyd saw him restored to the Rangers attack, whilst Ivanauskas persisted with Saulius Mikoliunas on the right of a four-man midfield with Takis Fyssas on the opposite flank instead of Neil McCann. The defence comprised Neilson, Pressley and Christophe Berra.

The Hearts support in the north-west corner of the stadium couldn't have failed to note the sombre ambience around them compared with their last visit to Ibrox. Back in May, they sang and danced their way through a conga-peppered afternoon after securing a Champions League qualifying berth ahead of Rangers only days earlier.

Prior to an open and attack-minded start from both teams, Pressley had the temerity to switch Rangers from their favoured end of the ground. Upon winning the coin toss, Pressley utilised his knowledge of Rangers' preference to defend the Copland Road goal in the first half and ordered the teams to change sides, bringing a hostile response from the home fans. Hearts' pre-match huddle was only ever going to further antagonise after that.

Both goalkeepers had early saves from Karl Svensson and Bruno Aguiar respectively, then Brahim Hemdani headed powerfully over for Rangers before Craig Gordon expertly denied Dado Prso by spreading himself after the Croatian had taken Boyd's pass and executed a first-time shot from 14 yards. The Hearts goalkeeper then denied Boyd by pushing over the striker's netbound overhead kick as Rangers began to move into ascendancy.

The home side were benefiting from the new left-sided options offered by Martin. The Manchester United winger displayed pace and trickery in equal quantities as Mikoliunas toiled at times to keep track of his direct opponent. Neilson was often forced to compensate for the Lithuanian, who did at least show an improved desire from last week's draw with Falkirk. The full-back was also forced to rescue his colleagues a minute from half-time as Rangers passed up a glaring chance. Chris Burke meandered inside to lift the ball through to the on-running Prso, his shot brought an against-the-odds save from Gordon but the rebound fell at the feet of Boyd for a simple tap-in. He didn't bargain for the presence of Neilson on the goal line, though, and the recent inclusion in the Scotland squad became the temporary hero by blocking what would have been the opener.

Despite the half-time parity, there was no escaping the fact that Rangers were in control. And for Neilson the cruel side of football was not slow in manifesting itself. From the second-half kick-off Hearts conceded possession due to a weak pass from Elliot, Rangers moved down the left through Prso and as he entered the penalty area Neilson's challenge brought him to the turf. The resultant penalty was comprehensively dispatched beyond Gordon by Boyd, and minutes later the keeper was rendered helpless once more when the same player headed home Martin's back-post free-kick.

When Prso struck the crossbar after Fyssas had given the ball straight to Boyd, the thought arrived that exactly how wide the final victory margin would be in this game lay firmly at the discretion of the hosts. The double concession left Hearts more than a little punch drunk and playing the remainder of the match with scant genuine hope of cancelling out the deficit.

Their frustration remained within until the 85th minute. Neilson was cautioned for a lunge at Martin and minutes later was issued with a second yellow card by referee Kenny Clark for a blatant tug at the same opponent on the byline.

It was a harsh way for the 26-year-old's week to conclude, but then again the entire Hearts side had learned a few brutal lessons by the time they followed him up the tunnel.

Taken from the Scotsman