Jambos torn apart by rampant Rangers

Instead Hearts found themselves ripped apart by a rampant Rangers side who sent out a clear message to rivals Celtic by maintaining their four-point advantage at the summit of the SPL in emphatic style.

Rangers made two changes to the side that beat Gretna at the weekend for tonight's visit to Tynecastle to face Hearts in the Clydesdale Bank Premier League.

Christian Dailly and Charlie Adam were both drafted into the starting line-up, with Daniel Cousin named on the bench and Chris Burke dropped from the squad.

Hearts named an unchanged line-up after winning at Motherwell on Saturday and were without top scorer Andrius Velicka after he moved to Norwegian outfit Viking FK.

Only superb goalkeeping prevented Rangers from taking the lead with their first real chance of the match.

Dailly connected with Barry Ferguson's corner at the back post and nodded to Steven Naismith, whose point-blank header from six yards was blocked by Steve Banks.

At the other end, Robbie Neilson attempted to pick out Christian Nade from a long throw-in but the offside flag was raised before the striker even connected with the header.

Naismith then tried his luck with a long range effort which he blasted well over the crossbar.

The game was being played at a frantic pace but chances were few and far between, with both teams defending well.

The breakthrough came after 25 minutes when Rangers went in front.

Ferguson collected a neat pass from Steven Davis before sweeping the ball out to Darcheville as he cut inside from the left and the striker did well to squeeze the shot inside the far post from a tight angle.

Hearts tried to haul themselves back into the game and Lee Wallace burst down the left flank before setting up Calum Elliot but he failed to trouble Allan McGregor in the Rangers goal with a poor finish.

Instead it was Darcheville who found the back of the net again two minutes before the break.

Ferguson's corner was knocked back across goal by Carlos Cuellar with Naismith having a swipe before Darcheville fired home from a few yards.

Darcheville then helped himself to his second of the night two minutes before the break to give Rangers a welcome cushion.

With his work done for the night, Darcheville was withdrawn for Nacho Novo at the interval.

But if Hearts thought the departure of the Frenchman meant some much-needed respite, they were sadly mistaken.

Novo was
on the pitch for seven minutes when he helped himself to a goal of his own. Adam set up the shot with a low ball across goal, and all that was required from the tiny striker was to bundle home from close range.

The same two players combined again to supply Rangers with their fourth goal with 69 minutes gone. Adam was again the provider, and this time Novo produced a cheeky back-heel finish from six yards.

Novo then claimed for a penalty when he appeared to be tripped just inside the box by Christos Karipidis.

But he was denied the opportunity to claim his hat-trick from the spot when referee Stuart Dougal ignored his pleas and signalled for play to continue.

With the win in the bag, Rangers were able to hand Kevin Thomson his first appearance since undergoing a hernia operation five weeks ago for the final minutes of what proved to be an impressive outing from the Ibrox side.

Taken from the Scotsman