Driver force helps lift Frail's Hearts

Patrick Glenn
Sunday September 16, 2007
The Observer

The idea that Rangers had gone to the top of the league on the back of a series of easy fixtures was lent some substance by their failure to handle what could be considered their first serious test. Indeed, the Ibrox side's ragged performance - they never recovered from Hearts' blitzing start - will raise concerns over their prospects in Wednesday's Champions League match against VfB Stuttgart.

This visit to Tynecastle entailed a meeting with opponents who had won only two of their previous 37 matches against Rangers. Their third was almost assured before half time, goals from Andrew Driver and Ibrahim Tall having established the advantage. The lead was halved by Daniel Cousin's second-half penalty, before a similar conversion by Michael Stewart and a strike from Kestutis Ivaskevicius. DaMarcus Beasley's counter for Rangers was late and meaningless.

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Almost certainly mindful of their 5-0 embarrassment at Celtic Park three weeks earlier, Hearts brought a previously unsuspected vigour to this confrontation with the other half of the Old Firm. Where there had been lifelessness, there was energy, industry and commitment from the moment the referee signalled the start of the match.

It was a transformation that caught Rangers cold and even the visiting supporters would not have been surprised by the two-goal lead the home team built in the opening 25 minutes. It was, in fact, the least they deserved.

Walter Smith seemed to have anticipated a quieter day, too, if his selection was any guide. The Rangers captain, Barry Ferguson, was on the bench along with Jean-Claude Darcheville, the striker who had shown productive form in recent matches. The absence of Ferguson was a fillip for Hearts and one that they exploited to telling effect. To nobody's surprise, Ferguson and Darcheville arrived at the start of the second half in place of Amdy Faye and Kris Boyd.

Throughout the first period, it was remarkable how far out of the match Rangers were as an attacking force. By flooding the midfield behind the lone striker, Christian Nade, the Hearts coach, Stephen Frail, ensured an almost unchallenged superiority in that crucial area. Faye, making his debut after his loan move to Glasgow from Charlton, was unable to get into the rhythm of a game that, generally, passed him by.

Hearts were contrastingly menacing and, even if they enjoyed a piece of good fortune with each of their goals, it could not be said to have been unwarranted. It was when Carlos Cuellar tackled Audrius Ksanavicius and pushed the ball out to Driver that the young Scot had his 16-yard drive slightly deflected on its way past Allan McGregor.

The second goal was the result of a much more significant block, this time by Cuellar on Tall's shot, the ball spinning into the air and looping over McGregor and under the bar.

The appearance of Ferguson and Darcheville clearly encouraged the Rangers support, but even they could not have expected the reward of a goal less than three minutes into the second half. Kevin Thomson slipped the ball to Ferguson on the left edge of the area, Robbie Neilson was teased into the challenge and Beasley converted the resultant penalty kick by shooting low to the right of Steve Banks.

The goal brought a change of tone that asked questions of Hearts' resolve and, for a few minutes thereafter, there was a hint of doubt. Conviction was restored, however, when they converted a penalty of their own and went on to extend their advantage through Ivaskevicius.

It was the substitute who was fouled by Alan Hutton, bringing the penalty that Stewart drove powerfully to the right of McGregor. The Lithuanian followed up by cutting in from the left and hitting a low, right-foot shot that squirmed under McGregor's body as he seemed likely to make the save.

Beasley delivered a sweet finish - a drive from the left into the far corner - for Rangers' second, but it merely made the scoreline a little more respectable.