Hearts 1 - 2 Rangers

Nikica Jelavic tries his luck with an acrobatic volley
It was end-to-end stuff in the early kick-off at Tynecastle

By Colin Moffat

Steven Naismith struck deep into injury time to complete a thrilling Rangers comeback at Tynecastle.

Rudi Skacel capitalised on poor defending to shoot Hearts into an early lead and Kevin Kyle missed two close-range chances for the home side.

Hearts keeper Marian Kello made great saves to deny Nikica Jelavic, Vladimir Weis, Kyle Lafferty and Steven Davis, while Sasa Papac hit the woodwork.

But Lafferty's late free kick squeezed in and a Naismith's shot settled it.

The late show from Walter Smith's side maintains their 100% domestic record and keeps them at the top of the table.

And the result said much for the battling qualities of the defending champions, who laid siege to the Hearts goalmouth for the final quarter of a match packed full of incident.

Hearts will rue the missed efforts from Kyle and goalkeeper Kello can feel particularly hard done by after a string of first class stops.

But he was let down by his defensive wall for Lafferty's free kick and Naismith's last-gasp strike was buried low into the corner.

The hosts were on the back foot for long spells and a goal-line clearance from Ismael Bouzid prevented Rangers from taking the lead early on.

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Jelavic fired in a shot from the edge of the penalty area that was blocked by Kello and fell to the feet of Davis but the midfielder's less-than-cleanly hit effort was kicked to safety by the Algerian defender.

And the home side took the lead on 12 minutes, following some sloppy Rangers defending.

Kyle flicked a header into the path of Skacel and the Czech, making his first start since returning to Tynecastle, ran through to score.

Skacel first evaded a half-hearted challenge from Steven Whittaker and a nudge from Madjid Bougherra induced a fresh-air kick, which bamboozled goalkeeper Allan McGregor and set up a simple tap in to an empty goal.

Soon after, Kenny Miller tumbled after a stray arm caught the in-form striker but referee Craig Thomson waved away Rangers' penalty appeal.

Sasa Papac then saw his volley from a Davis free-kick deflected off team-mate David Weir and Whitaker blazed hopelessly high and wide from long distance.

With Rangers continuing to press, Kello was scrambling after mazy run from Miller into the penalty box and David Obua got an outstretched toe to the ball to deny Naismith a shot at goal.

The Hearts keeper then made his first fantastic save to tip over an acrobatic close-range volley from Jelavic.

The hosts scorned a wonderful opportunity to double their advantage in the first few minutes of the second half when Kyle, ghosting in unattended at the back post, side-footed a shot over the crossbar.
Hearts celebrate Rudi Skacel's 12th-minute opener
Hearts established an early lead but could not hold on

Rangers were seeing most of the ball but Hearts threatened again when Calum Elliot dragged a strike wide from 18 yards.

Weiss drew a comfortable save from Kello with a long-range strike before Papac had the post shaking with a dipping volley from the edge of a crowded penalty area on 65 minutes.

A neat passing move from the visitors then cut open the Hearts defence but Davis could only fire a cute, chipped set-up from Jelavic over the crossbar from near the penalty spot.

Kello made another smart save to prevent a deflected drive from Whittaker creeping inside the post but Rangers found a way back into the match with ten minutes remaining.

From 20 yards, Lafferty, on for Jelavic, side-footed a low free-kick wide of a shambolic defensive wall and the ball skidded beyond the grasp of Kello.

Hearts missed the chance to immediately regain the lead when Kyle failed to find the target with a header from a fantastic Craig Thomson delivery.

In a grandstand finish, Kello got fingertips to efforts from Weis and Davis and his legs blocked what looked sure to be a second goal for Lafferty from close range.

However, the keeper's sterling efforts went for nothing as Naismith jinked into the penalty box and found the back of the net with a drilled shot across the bows of Kello.

Taken from the BBC