Resolute Rangers maintain their away day stranglehold

By Stuart Bathgate. at Tynecastle
Published on Monday 24 October 2011 12:17

RANGERS may have been on their knees financially for the past two or three years, but in footballing terms they remain head and shoulders above their rivals.

This solid victory which extends their lead over second-placed Motherwell to nine points and made it six wins out of six on the road, with a remarkable goal difference away from home: For 14, Against 0.

Take last season into account and they have now won their last 13 away games, and are unbeaten in their last 22 league fixtures. Apart from the Old Firm match, the trip to Tynecastle is often their most testing occasion, but on this occasion, while made to work diligently from first to last, they were not stretched anywhere close to breaking point.

Hearts, who had won their last three home games without conceding a goal, suffered again because of a lack of threat up front. Again playing without a recognised striker, they forced Allan McGregor into making a string of good saves, but when Ryan Stevenson was twice denied by the goalkeeper within a minute of Rangers going two ahead, the game was up for the home side.

That second goal, scored by substitute Nikica Jelavic, summed up two important differences between the sides. First, while Hearts had huffed and puffed in their attempts to beat McGregor, Jelavic showed how simple the act of goalscoring can be to a class striker, finding the net with his very first touch. Second, while Rangers manager Ally McCoist was able to call on such quality from the bench, his Hearts opposite number had virtually no threat to call on.

That was partly because of self-denial. Having decided some time ago that he does not rate John Sutton, Sergio yesterday opted to leave another striker, Stephen Elliott, out of the squad altogether. With Kevin Kyle and Calum Elliot on the long-term injury list and younger players being deemed unsuited for a start at this level, that has left attacking midfielder Stevenson to be played up front. Such a choice has worked at times, but when Hearts needed a Plan B they were unable to find it.

It was perhaps because of his lack of options that Sergio waited for so long before turning to his bench, with Mehdi Taouil being the first Hearts substitute to make an appearance, with barely a dozen minutes to go.

Still, notwithstanding that failing, or the defensive lapses that led to Rangers’ goals, this was by no means a poor performance from Hearts – indeed, it was probably better than the one which produced three points at Dunfermline eight days earlier, and a whole lot livelier than their early league games this season.

Unfortunately for Hearts, when they were at their liveliest here they were unable to make it count. In the opening quarter of an hour, for example, they had Rangers pinned back inside their own half, but had almost nothing to show for it other than a wildly inaccurate volley from Ian Black.

A shot by Lee McCulloch which was almost as wide of the target was Rangers’ first attempt on goal, but although wayward, it heralded a spell of the contest in which the visitors gradually got on top. Maurice Edu was next to attempt to test Marian Kello, but his shot was deflected for a corner which came to nothing.

A Hearts corner promised to be more productive when Stevenson got a header not only on target, but directed wide enough to evade McGregor. However, the effort was too soft to trouble Steven Naismith on the far post, and the midfielder put in an easy block before clearing the danger.

Having served as an auxiliary defender, Naismith then proved just as useful at the other end of the pitch, opening the scoring after being presented with an unexpectedly simple opportunity. Steven Whittaker did the damage with a surging run through the middle which he was allowed to continue virtually unopposed. Belatedly realising the danger, three Hearts defenders tried to close him down, but the ball broke to Naismith and he scored with a low first-time shot from 12 yards.

Hearts fought back in the latter stages of the half, their best chance to equalise coming a minute before the break after Eggert Jonsson beat three men and passed to Rudi Skacel. The wide midfielder shot from 30 yards out, but McGregor was equal to the challenge.

Rangers were as dominant in the first 15 minutes of the second half as Hearts had been during the same period of the first, and might even have doubled their lead in the first minute when Kyle Lafferty was presented with a half-chance. The big striker miscued his shot, however, and sent it some way off target.

Hearts’ most productive spell followed that period of Rangers control. A Jonsson shot in the 63rd minute was fumbled by McGregor before play was halted for an offside decision, then three minutes later the home team had a better chance of an equaliser following a run down the left from Templeton. A moment of trickery helped the winger cut inside Dorin Goian before cutting the ball back to Adrian Mrowiec at the back post, but the Pole shot wide with the goal at his mercy.

Hearts captain Marius Zaliukas sent a backwards header over the top of McGregor’s goal from a free-kick and then, deciding his team needed refreshed, McCoist sent on Jelavic and Gregg Wylde for the last 20 minutes. Neither player had more than a few touches in the time available to them, but Jelavic made an impact with his first, scoring the goal which all but ensured his team of the three points.

A deep ball from Carlos Bocanegra into the box was followed every step of the way by the Croatian striker, while no Hearts defender appeared able to track his run. Realising he would not need to add any power to the ball as it dropped from the sky, Jelavic volleyed with the side of his foot, scoring into the far corner of Kello’s net.

Almost immediately Hearts had a gilt-edged chance to pull a goal back, as a neat reverse ball from Templeton put Stevenson in the clear. McGregor proved equal to the challenge, however, and after that Rangers were able to play out time.

Taken from the Scotsman