LAST RESTING PLACE

HEARTS 4

RANGERS 2

THERE is nothing in Scottish football like Tynecastle when it bubbles and boils as it did on Saturday.

It seethed with spite as Hearts and Rangers went to war in what resembled abear-pit at times, with fans, players and coaches baiting each other for 90 pulsating minutes. And the bears got mauled.

Walter Smith's team arrived in Edinburgh aiming to protect their 100 per cent league record but it was ripped to shreds in the opening 26 minutes as they failed to live with a Hearts side that came out of the traps like men possessed.

The Cheat hadn't made it because of injury but Hearts didn't miss Saul Mikoliunas one little bit and in his absence one of his countrymen clawed back some respect for Lithuania and drove Stephen Frail's side to victory.

Audrius Ksanavicius' arrival at the end of July might have been overlooked as just another loanee from Kaunas but on Saturday this stocky little 30-year-old provided fireworks to match the pyrotechnics that greeted the players as they emerged from the tunnel.

Playing in the hole between a midfield marshalled magnificently by Michael Stewart and striker Christian Nade, Ksanavicius was the brightest star in a galaxy of them for Hearts.

He floated around in an area between Rangers' two lines of four, picking away at them with probing passes and intelligent darts into areas that hurt the visitors.

If Andy Faye, making his Rangers debut and probably still sitting in a darkened room trying to recover from the shock, had dropped off just five yards, he might have nullified the Lithuanian's threat but the experienced midfielder looked completely taken aback by the pace of the game and lasted only 45 minutes.

His inclusion at the expense of Barry Ferguson was a shock and while Smith was trying to protect his captain after his exertions for Scotland in midweek, the plan backfired because without him Rangers were rudderless.

In fact, Smith must be concerned at the difference in his lot when Ferguson isn't on the park. They don't have another leader like him.

Ferguson ran his heart out in Paris but hadn't played against Lithuania, so his legs would have carried him through this one - and he proved it by galvanising his team when he arrived for the second half.

But with Stuttgart looming in the Champions League, Smith decided to give him a break. Lee McCulloch was missing for the same reason, which was more understandable given he's had health problems and played both matches for Scotland. But so had 37-year-old David Weir and Alan Hutton and both played from the start. They might have been fit enough to get through 90 minutes but mentally they had to be drained and Hutton's ill-judged tackle on substitute Kestutis Ivaskevicius smacked of tiredness.

The challenge, inside the box in the 65th minute, gave Hearts the breathing space they needed after Rangers had halved the deficit a couple of minutes after the break, also from the spot.

Ferguson had burst past Robbie Neilson, drawing the foul and Daniel Cousin converted with as much aplomb as Stewart did at the other end 17 minutes later.

Stewart, though, excelled in everything he did. He ran the show in the first half particularly, outplaying Faye and Kevin Thomson, and although Rangers improved dramatically after Ferguson's arrival, the Hearts man more than held his own in the second period as well.

Talking of Thomson, he needed the half-time break to cool down because he was in danger of being sent off, such was his frustration at the way things had gone. With Faye struggling and DaMarcus Beasley hugging a touchline, Thomson and Steven Whittaker were overrun and, being former Hibs players, they were baited mercilessly from the stands.

It all got a bit much for him and he pushed his luck by mouthing at referee Mike McCurry after being ngbooked for afoul on Stewart. But wasn't the he only one - Beasley and Neilson had a pop at each other, which held to all sorts of pushing and shoving before Frail and Ally McCoist got involved in a spot of handbag waving across the no-man's land between the dug-outs.

There were a lot of committed people at their work all right but Hearts had most of them. They started in whirlwind fashion and before Rangers had caught their breath they were behind, thanks to Andy Driver's drilled drive after Carlos Cuellar - who had his most uncomfortable day in a blue shirt - had directed a clearance into his path.

Ibrahim Tall added a second with the help of a vicious deflection off Cuellar, which made the ball loop up and over Allan McGregor, and at that stage Smith's side were all over the place.

They improved dramatically after the break - Jean-Claude Darcheville on for the injured Kris Boyd also gave them some impetus - but Stewart's spot-kick killed their momentum and Hearts' fourth goal three minutes later ended the contest.

Ivaskevicius cut in from the left to smash a low shot practically through McGregor from the edge of the box. It was a rare mistake from the Rangers keeper but summed up the defence's day. That goal had Hearts fans shouting for five but the last goal of the day belonged to Rangers and even if it didn't matter, Beasley would have been pleased with his clinical finish. There were 16 minutes left and Rangers needed another goal to make their opponents sweat. They didn't threaten to get it and Hearts eased to their third straight win since being hammered 5-0 by Celtic three weeks ago.

They were a shambles that day but showed on Saturday just what can be achieved when they all pull in the same direction.

Rangers have to put a miserable afternoon behind them pronto. The games are piling up for them and Stuttgart won't arrive on Wednesday night feeling sorry for their hosts.

This is a spell that will test the depth of Smith's new-look squad and before too long, guys like Alan Gow, Chris Burke and Charlie Adam, who seem to have disappeared from sight, might be called upon.

But on Wednesday, the manager will ask his tried and trusted men to give him yet another massive effort. If they respond as they did at the weekend, Rangers will be in bother.

MAN OF THE MATCH

Audrius Ksanavicius (Hearts)

Taken from the Daily Record