Hungry Rangers take a bite of toothless Hearts

HEARTS 0
RANGERS will return to Hampden on 16 March to contest their first domestic cup final for three years after overcoming a spirited but ultimately toothless Hearts side at the national stadium last night.

Second-half goals from Barry Ferguson and Jean-Claude Darcheville, the first of them highly controversial after a handball offence by the Rangers captain was not spotted by referee Mike McCurry, secured Walter Smith's team a place in the CIS Insurance Cup final against the winners of next week's rescheduled second semi-final between Aberdeen and Dundee United.

While the Ibrox club took another significant stride towards winning silverware for the first time since 2005, Hearts are left with the sole target of trying to claw their way out of the bottom half of the SPL table.

They showed enough drive and determination last night to suggest that is well within their capabilities, but were undone by poor finishing during the periods of the match when they were in the ascendancy. By contrast, Rangers have rediscovered a winning instinct under Smith and few would bet against them now lifting the League Cup for a 25th time.

Unless lines of communication were down between Kaunas and Riccarton, there was the strongest evidence yet that Stephen Frail has indeed been given complete command of team selection at Hearts as they fielded an unchanged starting line-up for the first time in all of 21 months.

There was a sense of purpose and intent in the way they started the match which suggested that Frail's greater responsibility can only lead to stability and progress on the pitch.

With the bustling aggression and pace of Christian Nade troubling the reshaped Rangers defence in the early stages, there was some encouragement for the Hearts supporters who witnessed the big Frenchman's strike partner Andrius Velicka sweep the first attempt of the evening wide of Allan McGregor's left hand post.

In addition to restoring Sasa Papac at left-back as Steven Whittaker switched flanks on the back four to replace Alan Hutton, Rangers manager Smith opted to drop top scorer Kris Boyd to the substitutes' bench and pair Lee McCulloch with Jean-Claude Darcheville in attack.

Smith clearly felt McCulloch's physical presence would be important in conditions where strength and power could play a key role and the Scottish international duly put himself about with some relish.

Rangers struggled to find any rhythm or fluency against a Hearts side who contested the midfield area ferociously, but the first piece of penetrating play from the Ibrox men forced a terrific save from Steve Banks to deny them a 17th minute lead.

Whittaker made the kind of forward surge which had become Hutton's trademark and bamboozled Ruben Palazuelos on the edge of the Hearts penalty area before curling a cross to the back post. Charlie Adam met it with a well struck left foot volley but it was just close enough to Banks for the English goalkeeper to throw himself to his left and keep it out.

Hearts responded positively and had loud appeals for a penalty kick turned down by referee Mike McCurry when Nade tumbled under a clumsy challenge from Carlos Cuellar as he forced his way into the penalty area. If that was a fortunate escape for the Spanish central defender, he was the subject of another claim by Hearts when he barged into the back of Velicka as they contested a cross ball. Again, Cuellar received the benefit of the doubt from McCurry.

Jean-Claude Darcheville is sandwiched between Christos Karipidis and Robbie Neilson as he bears in on goal, but referee Mike McCurry ignored penalty claims Picture: Ian Rutherford
Jean-Claude Darcheville is sandwiched between Christos Karipidis and Robbie Neilson as he bears in on goal, but referee Mike McCurry ignored penalty claims Picture: Ian Rutherford
The referee then had Rangers players screaming at him to point to the spot when a typically powerful surge into the area from Darcheville was halted by a combination of Christos Karipidis and Robbie Neilson. It would have been an award of the soft variety, but was as worthy of a claim as either of those made by Hearts.

It was the Tynecastle men who came closest to a first half breakthrough. Four minutes from the interval, Eggert Jonsson delivered a fine cross from the right to pick out Velicka who had eluded his marker. The Lithuanian's looping header eluded the backtracking McGregor's grasp but rebounded to safety off the crossbar.

A bumpy pitch and swirling wind ensured there was no shortage of unforced errors from both sides and Hearts seized on one by Davie Weir at the start of the second half, the veteran defender's stumble in possession allowing Nade to set up Velicka for a low driven shot which McGregor was relieved to clutch at the second attempt.

But it was Rangers who took the lead five minutes after the restart in contentious circumstances which saw referee McCurry fail to spot two handball offences in the move leading up to Ferguson's goal. First, Hearts defender Jose Goncalves used his left arm in the process of clearing an Adam free-kick. While some of the Rangers players appealed for a penalty, Chris Burke gained possession and played the ball back into the penalty area.

It was controlled by Ferguson but clearly bounced up and made contact with his left hand. McCurry was well positioned but again saw no offence. From Rangers' viewpoint, it was a case of two wrongs making a right as their captain turned and hooked a superb left foot shot over his shoulder and beyond the helpless Banks into the bottom corner of the net.

Hearts caretaker manager Steve Frail shows his frustration
Hearts caretaker manager Steve Frail shows his frustration
As Rangers looked to make the tie secure, the Hearts goalkeeper did well to turn an imaginative effort from a tight angle by Darcheville onto the crossbar. McCulloch then shot wastefully wide after good work from Burke and it almost proved costly as Hearts missed an equally good opportunity to equalise.

Michael Stewart dispossessed Ferguson to set Nade free on the right. With the Rangers defence caught out, he squared the ball to Velicka whose accustomed high standard of finishing deserted him as he drove a shot wide of McGregor's left hand post.

It proved a pivotal moment in the tie as Rangers earned themselves a degree of comfort by doubling their lead in the 69th minute. The lively Burke got in behind the Hearts defence on the right and delivered a low cross to the far post which was converted from close range with precision and nonchalance by Darcheville.

Referee: M McCurry
Attendance: 31,989

Taken from the Scotsman