Rangers 2 - 1 Hearts

For all his control freakery, it seems there are still certain factors outwith the jurisdiction of Vladimir Romanov.

The Hearts owner likes to select the team, muse over the tactics and decide when substitutions should be made, often in advance and regardless of how the match is progressing. Romanov's incessant meddling, however, cannot prevent the sort of individual error that denied his team a point at Ibrox on Saturday.

Hearts, currently shorn of the dynamism and drive of Michael Stewart and Laryea Kingston in midfield through suspension and injury respectively, were second best for large sections of this contest yet still entered the concluding minutes clinging to a 1-1 draw.
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What happened next had to be seen to be believed as Eduardas Kurskis rose unfettered to claim Lee McCulloch's hopeful hoist towards goal only to somehow palm the ball backwards into his own net to literally hand Rangers a late winning goal.

McCulloch at least had the decency to look slightly sheepish when discussing the second of his brace. "I was obviously a bit lucky as he Kurskis got the last touch to it - although I thought it was going in anyway," he claimed unconvincingly.

McCulloch was an integral part of Rangers' new-look 4-3-3 formation - in essence a 4-5-1 but with greater emphasis on attack - and he and Steven Naismith were charged with the responsibility of supporting lone striker Kris Boyd, who was preferred ahead of Jean-Claude Darcheville and Daniel Cousin, the latter not even meriting a berth on the substitutes bench.

McCulloch and Naismith's predilection, however, for cutting in from the flanks only served to choke the central areas and, with Hearts lining up in similar style, the congestion nullified any real prospect of free-flowing football.

There were some exceptions. Andrew Driver, watched at Ibrox by Stuart Pearce, the England under-21 manager, was again Hearts' most creative outlet. Driver found himself in direct opposition with Alan Hutton down Hearts' left flank and just about shaded the fascinating duel between two of Scottish football's rising stars.

On the other wing, Saulius Mikoliunas made little or no effort to enhance his crumbling reputation and it was no coincidence that Hearts looked far more threatening in the second half after the Lithuanian had been replaced by his countryman, Kestutis Ivaskevicius, during the half-time recess.

If Mikoliunas' removal was of little surprise, there were eyebrows raised by the substitution of another Lithuanian, Andrius Velicka. The striker had toiled unsuccessfully for the best part of 56 minutes before emerging from his self-imposed winter hibernation to thump a header past Allan McGregor, the Rangers goalkeeper, for Hearts' equalising goal.

Galvanised by his strike, Velicka's reward was to be substituted just four minutes later. The timing of the change, exactly on the hour mark, seemed to suggest Christian Nade's insertion into the side had been pre-ordained and Stevie Frail, the Hearts assistant head coach, could do little to refute that suggestion.

"I don't think it's any secret that I don't make the substitutions," he said, a statement hard to imagine coming from any other club in the country.

Frail has been linked with the vacant managerial position at Dunfermline, although it is almost impossible to gauge his coaching credentials when he is not involved in many of the crucial decisions affecting team matters.

Squad rotation has become commonplace, if at times illogical, and results have suffered as a consequence. A team that finished second in the Premier League just two seasons ago now find themselves languishing in eighth position, a statistic which would suggest that constant tinkering is not an effective strategy.

A rare constant in that sea of change and one of only three Scots in Hearts' starting line-up is Robbie Neilson. The full-back, a one-time associate of the departed Riccarton Three' comprising Steven Pressley, Paul Hartley and Craig Gordon, spoke openly about the disruption behind the scenes at Tynecastle, although he felt helpless to affect the situation.

"I just get on with it now," he said. "We never know what the team will be and there are a lot of changes every week, not just personnel but formation changes too.

"We have got good players but it's been difficult to find a consistent team. It would be tough for any team if you have three different keepers in and out.

"The players have no influence on that at all so it's just a case of dealing with it. I had high hopes for this season but we've not gelled as a team."

For Rangers, a difficult afternoon in the immediate aftermath of their Champions League exit in midweek was soothed by the collection of all three points and a fine individual performance from Charlie Adam.

Shunted in to a central role in the absence of Kevin Thomson, rested to avoid collecting a yellow card that would have seen him miss the Old Firm contest on January 2, Adam provided the creative spark so often lacking in Rangers' recent displays.

He was unfortunate not to score early in the contest with a spectacular bending effort with the outside of his boot and was the instigator of both of Rangers' goals - feeding a pass through for Boyd that fell kindly for McCulloch after a botched attempt by Hearts to clear for the first and setting up Hutton at a free-kick that led to the winner.

McCulloch claimed that one too but the real scorer was in opposition colours.

Taken from the Herald