Fine away day for Hearts brings home harsh realities to Rangers

Scottish Premier League 2011-12
Rangers 1

Davis 45+1

Hearts 2

Black 58,
Hamill 79

Ewan Murray at Ibrox
guardian.co.uk, Saturday 3 March 2012 19.48 GMT
Article history

Steven Davis of Rangers tackles Ian Black of Hearts
Steven Davis of Rangers tackles Ian Black of Hearts during the match at Ibrox Stadium. Photograph: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images

Not so much a fond farewell as an utterly acrimonious one. There was something fitting that this encounter descended into utter, frantic madness before the final whistle was blown. It seemed an appropriate end to Rangers' latest troubled week that was.

For some of the Rangers players, defeat to Heart of Midlothian will mark the culmination of their careers at the club. A decision on the scale of job losses, inevitable given the onset of administration, is now expected on Monday.

Those players and fans of a Rangers persuasion left Ibrox in a state of fury. The hosts complained bitterly about the penalty award that preceded Hearts' winner, Jamie Hamill scoring with a rebound after his initial effort was saved.

Yet when controversy is cut away, the harsh reality for Ally McCoist as he looks to pick through the wreckage to get to the end of this season is that Rangers are a mediocre team. And that's before any personnel cull.

Rangers' predicament shows no immediate sign of improving. Nonetheless, administrators have now been in position for almost three weeks without making any of the playing staff redundant, in what highlights this as an unusual scenario.

Members of the Rangers squad have said they are willing to defer wages until the end of the season, with that option rejected by the administrators. The basic fact that about £1m a month needs to be saved in the short-term renders it impossible this can be a painless process.

The visiting manager, Paulo Sergio, was guilty of an over-cautions approach from the outset. Kilmarnock's win here a fortnight ago highlighted the stage fright Rangers can suffer at Ibrox, something which has been recurring through the course of this season. Rather than look to exploit any sense of unease, Sergio initially deployed only a single forward with that player, Gary Glen, left so isolated in the early stages he had cause to wonder whether he was playing in the same match as his team-mates.

Sergio's mitigating circumstance comes in the Hearts goalkeeping position. The manager is unhappy about being denied the services of his first-choice custodian, Marian Kello, after the Slovak had the audacity to reject a move to Austria Vienna on transfer deadline day. The Hearts hierarchy thereby decided Kello should not be selected for first-team action. His deputy, Jamie MacDonald, was woefully culpable in letting a Steven Davis drive slide through him in first-half stoppage time. That was not so much the only incident of note during the opening period as the only incident at all; Hearts offered nothing in attack and Rangers were wasteful with their final pass.

To his credit, Sergio introduced a second striker, Craig Beattie, at half-time. That more adventurous approach roused Hearts into action, with Beattie's first contributions in a maroon shirt positive ones.

Yet Rangers should have been sent two goals in front by Carlos Bocanegra. Instead, the defender headed wide of MacDonald's goal from a Rhys McCabe free-kick.

Ian Black, who will not feature prominently in any popularity contests among the Rangers support, claimed an excellent equaliser. Andrew Driver's fine work on the left flank created a headed chance for Scott Robinson, which was cleared from the Rangers goal line by Bocanegra. As a subsequent clearance broke to Black, 25 yards out, the midfielder showed terrific poise to curl a first-time shot beyond the reach of Allan McGregor.

The game, thereafter hotly contested without clear-cut chances arising, looked to be heading towards a draw before chaos erupted. The referee, Crawford Allan, was firm in his assertion that Dorin Goian had impeded Andy Webster at the time of a Hearts corner, although Rangers were both stunned and infuriated by the penalty award. It looked a fair decision, although Rangers had an earlier strong penalty claim as Danny Grainger appeared to push Lee McCulloch. Amid the melee, Goian was booked with Allan threatening to show a second yellow card to the Romanian for dissent.

After a seemingly interminable delay, Hamill watched McGregor beat away his effort from 12 yards. The Hearts player was swift with his reactions, though, in allowing him to score at the second attempt.

The response from the stands to this turn of events, unsurprisingly, was vociferously belligerent. Allan left the pitch to concerted abuse, in a bizarre scene where the Rangers players were applauded off and the Hearts contingent celebrated wildly. Nowadays, nothing in these parts bears the resemblance of anything routine.

There have now been nine occasions in which Rangers have failed to win on their own patch this season. What is likely to transpire in the coming days will not make McCoist's bid to improve that record any easier.

Taken from the Guardian/Observer