Hearts earn their keep with new hunger

But nobody would quibble with the home fans' entitlement to the celebration that acclaimed their team's deserved victory. Before the match, there had been an air of frustration among Hearts fans as they learned that the club had failed to pay its players on time for the second occasion this season.

As it turned out, the financial concerns in players' minds must have been put to one side on Saturday afternoon, as the two teams generated a rare level of excitement that reverberated around Tynecastle.

What is unarguable is that Hearts were, in the main, the more spirited, the more committed and the more forceful, a side that bore no resemblance to the lifeless, purposeless easy victims witnessed by this observer on his last visit to Gorgie. That was the day, a mere four weeks earlier, when they submitted without a fight to a Celtic team who were not out of a canter to win 2-0.

That Hearts had gone on to win their next four matches before this latest success extended the run to five suggested that they had been both suitably shamed and inspired to greater efforts by that performance against the champions. It was a notion that was confirmed by Christophe Berra, the central defender who was an essential contributor to both their goals against Rangers.

"Yes, that was a bad day," Berra recalled. "But we know we have more character than that, and I think we have shown that in the matches since. And today, we did to Rangers what Celtic did to us.

"That day, they were in about us from the start and we never got going in the match. Today, we were determined to make the good start and we did. We were on top of Rangers right from the start and made it hard for them to get going."

Hearts' superiority could be measured from the illusion that they had more players on the field than their pedestrian, largely marginalised visitors. But, with the exception of the outstanding Bruno Aguiar and, less frequently, Laryea Kingston and Ruben Palazuelos, their authority derived from a swarming, energetic imposition of will, as opposed to skilful, incisive surges into their opponents' penalty area. It was another of those bizarre peculiarities that all three goals had been scored before the crowd were treated to the first and only genuine opportunity to be contrived from outfield play. That was just before half-time, when Aguiar's perfectly measured pass released Kingston into the right side of the box and, with only Allan McGregor to beat, the midfielder drove the ball straight at the legs of the goalkeeper.

In the circumstances, it was neither a coincidence nor a surprise that the goals themselves should come from set pieces. Hearts' two in as many minutes midway through the first half involved the same personnel apart from the executioners, an indicator of Rangers' sluggishness in defence.

Aguiar's first free kick from the left was headed towards goal by Berra and, when it emerged from the ruck, Marius Zaliukas, Berra's henchman in the home defence, drove it low and hard over the line from a mere six yards.

Aguiar's second free kick, also from the left but closer to the by-line, this time was met by Berra at the far post, his header directed across the six-yard box. McGregor got a touch on its way past, but directed it straight to Kingston, who stooped to head it into the net from about three yards.

Rangers responded in similar manner, when Charlie Adam's free kick from the right was contested in the air by Christos Karipidis and Kris Boyd. It was difficult to say which of the two headed the ball against the crossbar, but, when it came down, Karipidis, scrambling back to try to clear, knocked it into his own net.

With the defeat at St Mirren and the draws with Dundee United and Motherwell so close behind, these are worrying times for a Rangers team desperate to retrieve the championship after an absence of four years. Even in some of their recent victories, they have looked unconvincing, with Pedro Mendes having shaded after a promising start and Barry Ferguson still well off the pace after his injury-enforced absence. They even failed to capitalise on a numerical advantage in the last 14 minutes in this game, following Hearts full-back Lee Wallace's dismissal for a second bookable offence.

The last of those unusual occurrences was that Rangers should now be seven points behind Celtic in the Premier League, despite having won the only Old Firm match to have been played so far. To have conceded ten points to the supposedly lesser teams while their great rivals have won all 12 games since does not augur well for their prospects.

MAN OF THE MATCH

Bruno Aguiar (Hearts)

In a match generally undistinguished by skill and inventiveness, Hearts' Portuguese midfielder was a light in the gloom. Aguiar's sure touch, perceptive and accurate passing and intelligent movement ensured that he would be constantly involved, easily eclipsing a lifeless Rangers midfield.

Taken from the Scotsman