All Black for Blues

ANDY DEVLIN
Last Updated: 04th March 2012
Rangers 1 Hearts 2

THERE was to be no heroic last stand.

No fond farewell — and no emotional lap of honour.

As the final whistle pierced the grey skies above Ibrox, hardly anyone in Light Blue even paused for a last look around.

Hearts had just rubbed salt into Rangers' gaping wounds by inflicting a fifth defeat of the season on the SPL champions, and Ally McCoist's crestfallen stars just wanted up the tunnel.

At the end of the most traumatic week of their lives, who could blame them?

This morning, while still digesting yesterday's 2-1 loss to Hearts, they'll wake wondering if they're still in a job.

The blood-letting begins in the next 24 hours with most of those who started against the Jambos fearing the worst.

Gers had taken the lead through Steven Davis but Ian Black levelled for Hearts before Jamie Hamill won it for the Edinburgh side.

Paul Murray was among the 50,000 sell-out crowd which packed itself into Ibrox. The former board member is waiting in the wings with his Blue Knights consortium, but he's just one of a number of interested parties mulling over a takeover at Rangers.

Yesterday, however, wasn't a day for any of that.

For 90 minutes at least, all the posturing could stop.

At the end of another gut-wrenching week, McCoist's men could forget their troubles for an afternoon at least and focus at last on the football.

For some it would be for the last time as a Rangers player.

The cull everyone knows has been coming will start tomorrow with as many as 11 top team stars being shown the door.

Administration is hell.

Yet if this was to be their last stand then McCoist's men seemed determined to walk out with their heads held high.

Rhys McCabe — perhaps in a sign of things to come — was handed his first start with Lee McCulloch continuing in attack.

Hearts, desperate to inflict more misery on Gers, went with just Gary Glen up top.

Ibrox, as it had been for the Kilmarnock match a fortnight ago, was packed out and rocking.

Gers responded by going on the attack almost from the off.

Davis was everywhere, pulling the strings in midfield, while McCulloch's presence was giving Andy Webster cause for concern in the Hearts defence.

Indeed, McCulloch was unlucky not to win a penalty after only ten minutes when he was clearly impeded by Webster as the pair contested a Davis corner.

Young McCabe was also showing up well with Gers keen to keep up the early tempo. Hearts, for their part, hadn't showed up.

McCoist's men were dictating the play yet chances were still few and far between.

Darren Barr picked up the first yellow card of the match when he clattered through the back of Davis.

McCoist certainly couldn't question the commitment of his players — to a man they were giving their all.

McCulloch was making a nuisance of himself and Gers were finally beginning to get support up to him.

And, on 43 minutes, the striker's neat flick sent Sone Aluko scampering clear.

He fed Salim Kerkar with the winger's cross being bundled goalwards by McCabe. Jamie MacDonald got a strong hand to it to beat it clear.

However, the Hearts keeper went from hero to zero seconds later.

Andy Little's cross, bang on half time, was pulled back perfectly for Davis.

The Ulsterman's shot was a decent one and, having got a hand to it, MacDonald should have kept it out. Instead, it nestled in the back of the net to give Gers a thoroughly deserved lead.

Paulo Sergio had to do something and he did, hooking Barr and replacing him with former Celtic striker Craig Beattie.

But it was Gers who almost doubled their lead five minutes after the restart.

Davis' free kick was met by Carlos Bocanegra, but the American's powerful header drifted just inches wide.

Then, out of nothing, and with their first attack of the match, Hearts hauled themselves level.

Scott Robinson's 57th-minute header had been cleared off the line by Bocanegra, but the ball fell for Black some 25 yards from goal.

The Jambos midfielder looked up before curling home a cracker.

McCoist's men came roaring right back but Little's drive, after more good build up play by Davis, was pushed away by MacDonald. All of a sudden we had a game on our hands.

Twenty minutes from the end McCulloch had a second — even bigger — spot- kick claim turned down.

Marius Zaliukas appeared to barge the Gers striker in the back but again ref Crawford Allan waved away appeals.

With 14 minutes left, Allan did finally point to the spot — lighting the blue touch paper on a frantic finale.

The whistler ruled Dorin Goian had wrestled Webster to the floor as the pair contested Andy Driver's corner.

As Ibrox erupted in fury Hamill held his nerve from the spot, turning home the rebound after Allan McGregor had saved his initial effort.

The referee then went to pieces, flashing cards in a game he'd lost complete control of.

Indeed, Goian should have walked for a second yellow, but Allan bottled out.