Rangers Get Lucky As Hearts Keeper Gifts It

Keith Jackson Reports

RANGERS 2

HEARTS 1

THERE are only eight shopping days left until Christmas.

Just saying because almost 50,000 people wasted one of them on Saturday by turning up at Ibrox to stare at a football match that held all the appeal of a left-over Brussels sprout. It was limp and it stunk.

For two teams with so very much to prove and such a great deal to play for, Rangers and Hearts produced 90 minutes marginally less miserable than an afternoon on Sauchiehall Street. With the ex-wife. And her mother. In the pouring rain.

Yes, Rangers got there in the end, wrapping up another three crucial SPL points, but they claimed victory in spite of themselves and courtesy of a gift so ridiculous it almost defied belief.

Then again, perhaps the farcical attempts of Hearts' third-choice keeper Eduardas Kurskis - who somehow managed to palm the ball into his own net four minutes from time with a slap as limp wristed as Julian Clarey - were perfectly in keeping with the prolonged Lithuanian pantomime-still being played out on Gorgie Road.

All that was missing was the crowd screaming "It's behind you!" as the Not-So-Steady Eddie brought the curtain crashing down on a contest that had long since lost its hold on the audience.

Rangers started brightly enough and dominated for long spells of the first half.

But that was hardly surprising given that Hearts hadn't bothered to turn up.

The visitors went about their business in a half-hearted fashion and, at times, their lack of interest was little short of disgraceful.

That Rangers were only one goal better than their lacklustre opponents by half-time is, in itself, a damning indictment of Walter Smith's players who appear in serious danger of losing their direction as they attempt to win a title for the first time in three seasons.

Certainly, Smith has cause to be alarmed at the lack of leadership in his side at such a crucial stage in the championship marathon as there are few in his group who are willing to stand up and be counted.

It is almost as if they are reluctant to make the extra effort and if this apparent apathy is allowed to continue for much longer then, soon, they might find themselves plodding lamely towards second place. Again.

Without the urgency, energy and drive of Kevin Thomson - who was left in the stand from where he could not pick up the booking that would see him suspended from away games at Hibs and Celtic - Rangers were lethargic and at times utterly toothless in midfield.

Brahim Hemdani gave his usual 70 per cent, Barry Ferguson turned in one of his poorest performances of the season and, after an impressive start, Charlie Adam faded.

And so, when Hearts eventually began to function, 10 minutes into the second half, Smith's team was unable to respond and perhaps fortunate not to be swept aside.

Without question, were it not for Kurskis' buttery fingers they would have dropped another two points and blown the chance to seize pole position in the race towards the SPL crown.

It really was lamentable and not least because of the shamefully shoddy manner in which Hearts set about their business.

They could have been behind after four minutes when Adam smashed a wonderful, curling left-foot drive off Kurskis' crossbar and the keeper also did well to deny Steven Naismith at point-blank rangeless than 60 seconds later.

So when Rangers took the lead in 17 minutes, through Lee McCulloch, the result seemed in little doubt.

McCulloch took his goal expertly, bulldozing his way through the centre of Hearts' defence before deliberately opening up his body to clip a right-foot finish around Kurskis and in at the keeper's right-hand post.

But, even so, the resistance offered was woeful and summed up perfectly the lack of desire in Hearts' play.

The home crowd celebrated by telling Smith exactly where to stick his supposed interest in signing Kenny Miller.

They need not worry, of course, as despite fanciful speculation elsewhere, the truth is Miller's massive £25,000-a-week wages already mean this move is stuck somewhere that The Sun don't shine. But I digress. Back to the action. Or the lack of it. Much like Miller, Hearts were going nowhere.

Only Andrew Driver - watched by England Under-21 boss Stuart Pearce - was playing with any kind of zest and helped to stop Alan Hutton attacking down the right flank.

On the other side, however, sulked the almost tragic figure of Salius Mikoliunas who offered nothing at all.

He was removed at the break and with this change - on in his place came Kestutis Ivaskevicius - Hearts suddenlyachieved balance and serious intent.

Ivaskevicius was, in fact, something of a revelation. He was hungry, determined and direct and his runs down the right wing caused Steven Whittaker genuine concern.

Whittaker, for the second time in recent weeks, was asked by Smith to play at left back even though he is almost exclusively right footed. The youngster adds drive and imagination to Rangers' left flank but it was when tested by Ivaskevicius that he was made to look out of place.

It was from Whittaker's anxious, awkward challenge on the sub that Hearts won the free-kick from which they levelled the scores.

The highly impressive Driver whipped a terrific delivery into the six-yard box and Andrius Velicka planted a header past Allan McGregor.

If anything, Hearts looked more capable of claiming a winning goal from that point onwards even though Smith injected some badly needed life into his attack by replacing the ring rusty Kris Boyd with Jean-Claude Darcheville 20 minutes from time.

Boyd did not look at all pleased to get the hook and his substitution was greeted by a chorus of boos from the home fans but the striker had done little to justify staying on and Darcheville's lively contribution came as a stark contrast to what had gone before.

Suddenly Rangers were attacking with speed and flair but, even so, Hearts looked able to cope ... until Kurskis showed why he is rated as their third-best keeper.

The Lithuanian was caught like a rabbit in the headlights as Adam and Hutton worked a quick free-kick on the edge of his box. Even then, Hutton's shot was screwed into the turf and although McCulloch helped it on with a mis-hit slice, Kurskis needed to do nothing more than stand his ground and scoop it up on his goal-line.

Instead, he panicked and leapt into the air before twisting and clawing it into the roof of his own net.

It was a pathetic effort and a ridiculous concession. But then this was Mad Vlad's Hearts. What else did we expect?

MAN OF THE MATCH

Lee McCulloch (Rangers)

MATCH STATS

POSSESSION %

51 49

SHOTS ON TARGET

7 2

SHOTS OFF TARGET

6 4

CORNERS

4 3

FOULS CONCEDED

11 18

OFFSIDES

6 0

RANGERS

MAN BY MAN

Allan McGregor: Could have nipped away to do his Christmas shopping until Hearts drew level from nowhere. 6

Alan Hutton: Full of running but had to be mindful of Driver's forward surges. 7

Carlos Cuellar: Was cruising until he lost Velicka at the goal. 6

Davie Weir: Also posted missing at the goal but commanding overall. 7

Steven Whittaker: Struggled defensively in the second half. 5

Steven Naismith: All energy down the right but lacked composure when he got within range of goal. 6

Brahim Hemdani: Lacked urgency when it mattered. 5

Barry Ferguson: Off the pace again. 5

Charlie Adam: Had a terrific first half. 7

Lee McCulloch: Scored a peach then made the keeper look like a plum with the winner. Side's top man. 8

Kris Boyd: Didn't get a sniff of goal. 5

Subs: Jean-Claude Darcheville - full of drive and running, 6. Chris Burke - on for last 10 minutes and looked lively, 4.

HEARTS

MAN BY MAN

Eduardas Kurskis: One or two decent saves but what was he thinking about at McCulloch's winner? 3

Robbie Neilson: Battered by McCulloch in the air but stuck at it. 6

Marius Zaliukas: AWOL at the first goal but came on to a better game. 6

Christophe Berra: Another who stepped aside to let McCulloch through. 6

Jose Goncalves: All over the place yet seldom in the right place at the right time. 4

Saulius Mikoliunas: Said it before and I'll say it again. A waste of a football shirt. 3

Eggert Jonsson: Got to grips with the action after half-time. 6

Ruben Palazuelos: See above. 6

Andrew Driver: Worried Hutton and set up the equaliser. This boy can play 8

Calum Elliot:Put in a tireless shift. 6

Andrius Velicka: Did pretty much nothing until he scored. Then subbed four minutes later. It's a mad Vlad world. 6

Subs: Kestutis Ivaskevicius - made a huge impact, 7. Christian Nade - as bemused as anyone when sent on for Velicka, 3. Ricardas Beniusis - got last two minutes. 1.

MAGIC MOMENT

Charlie Adam's shot that rattled the bar in the fourth minute took the breath away.

Taken from the Daily Record