Hell of an afternoon….’kicked every ba”, etc……!
Player Ratings
Kello 9
Outstanding. Had to make a save as early as the first minute and was kept busy for most of the first half. His tip over from Ness was probably the pick of his saves. Only criticism I’d aim at Kello is that he could still command his area more….on a couple of occasions he stayed on his line when he could have taken the pressure off his defence by coming to collect the ball.
Jonsson 5
Given a roasting in the first half as Rangers quite rightly singled the right side of the Hearts defence out as being their weak area. Stuck to his task manfully though, and had a much more solid second half.
Wallace 5
Similarly to Eggert, Wallace also had a torrid time in the first half, misplacing passes all over the place and generally looking out of sorts. Thankfully was better in the second half, particularly in the last 20 minutes when his key contribution in the match led to the goal.
Bouzid 8
Thought he had arguably his best game for Hearts yesterday. Still looks shaky at times but he did the simple things well and won practically everything in the air. A really commanding performance.
Zaliukas 6
A long way from being at his best but thankfully the man alongside him was playing well enough to cover for him. Couple of slack moments nearly cost us goals, but he can learn from this and move on…
Palazuelos 5
For me he was the main weakness in the team in the first half. Rangers’ extra man in midfield during that period didn’t help him, but Ruben was caught in possession too many times and looked unconvincing against better players. Like the rest of the team he steadied himself in the second half, but I’d probably prefer Black to return in his place for Wednesday.
Templeton 4
Looks as though he could do with a rest for a few games now. Looked too keen to impress and tried fancy tricks when keeping it simple was more advisable. As such Hearts looked more solid once he went off. Will be interesting to see how JJ manages Temps over the next few weeks i.e. will he continue starting him or not?
Mrowiec 4
Has been doing a good job for Hearts but had his worst game in a while yesterday. His touch is generally shocking anyway but somehow it seemed worse than normal yesterday! Like the rest of the midfield though, wasn’t helped by the fact that Rangers had an extra man in there in the first half.
Skacel 7
As usual drifted in and out of the game, but I thought he was the only outfield player we had who looked truly comfortable out there. Was at the heart of anything creative Hearts did (admittedly that wasn’t a great deal!), including the goal when he and Wallace managed to craft out the opening.
Stevenson 6
Asked to play up front in the absence of Kyle and although it did look foreign to him, he did a decent enough job…certainly a lot more of a handful than the likes of Obua or Glen. Had one great turn and shot in the first half and was in the right place at the right time to score the all important goal. Was better when he moved back into midfield late in the game.
Elliott 6
As usual put in a real shift. Didn’t get too much service but he was always chasing down the Rangers defenders and in the end it was this sort of effort from throughout the team that helped get Hearts over the line.
Glen 3
Not on for long enough to make any real impression. Was on the end of some nasty work from Davie Weir though when he was barged into the crowd after the ball had gone out of play. Pity Weir has turned into this sort of guy now isn’t it?
Black 1
Very late sub
Late sub also…got pretty stuck in during his short stint, though.
