The previous encounter in October saw Rangers hold the upper hand for most of the game, scoring the winner late in injury time. After 20 minutes of today`s match, a repeat looked to be on the cards. Hearts struggled to put any moves together, while Rangers` incisive passing carved out several good attacks – and Hearts had Marian Kello to thank for keeping them on level terms with 3 outstanding saves.
Kello is fast becoming a contender to join Jim Cruickshank, Antii Niemi and Craig Gordon as Hearts best goalkeepers of the last 50 years – his agility and tenacity are quite remarkable, and he seems to give the defence in front of him a lot of confidence. His saves today from Ness, Lafferty and Naismith were quite magnificent.
A decent shot on the turn by Stevenson and 2 rushed crosses from the left by Skacel and Templeton were about all Hearts could muster in the first half – until a hopeful ball from Mrowiec was prodded on by Stephen Elliott and the bounce deceived McGregor. However the keeper`s touch was enough to divert it off-target.
The 2nd half was more evenly balanced, although neither side looked capable of scoring in a hard-fought midfield battle – until Hearts best move of the match in the 77th minute saw Skacel and Wallace combine well on the left to deliver a cross. The ball was knocked clear, but Wallace showed his strength and experience to try again – this time his pass to Elliott allowed the Irishman to fire in a tame shot which Stevenson cleverly controlled and knocked past McGregor. Cue an outburst of delirium for Hearts fans in the stadium and in TV-land – this was probably more than we could have dreamed of , yet there was still 13 minutes plus probably the same again of stoppage time left !!
Could our nerves stand it ? Well, when substitute Jelavic brilliantly volleyed a bouncing ball off the underside of the Kello`s crossbar after 85 minutes, flashes of deja-vous were already afflicting many fans – this would be the usual Old Firm storming finish, snatching an equaliser and then driving forward in search of a winner surely. However with Ian Black and Craig Thomson on for Skacel and Stevenson, Hearts seemed to find extra energy as they chased to close down Rangers players in these final minutes – and the sound of Mr Tumilty`s final whistle was very welcome indeed
You`d have to admit that Hearts` performance wasn`t one to remember – not like the victory over Celtic, when Hearts played some smashing football. Yet the battling qualities of this team is fantastic – with a slice of luck thrown in perhaps. I thought Kello, Bouzid and Wallace were the pick of the players today.
And so to Parkhead on Wednesday night in what will be another very hard game. There`s no doubt that Hearts are capable of scoring a few goals there and picking up a point or 3 – while the “wee team” can hopefully do us a favour by beating Rangers at Easter Road !
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Every game now is ‘the biggest of the season’. This was a painful in the first half, though a dogged performance in the second. Wallace and temps kept getting tangled in each others places in the first half, dare i say it we were better for him going off and lee being given more space. I thought rudis influence in the second half just in terms of reading the play took pressure off those around him and that was the biggest cheer i’ve given since we took the lead against aek a few years back :o). Kello was magnificent while others struggled – but if ever a team should go into a game high on confidence that should be us at celtic park.
Rangers didn’t deserve to lose this game but I think it would be fair to say that we were due a few breaks against them! Massive result for Hearts and like you say ptown, as the run continues, each game becomes more and more important. I think most of us are still waiting on the seemingly inevitable bursting of the bubble but it’s still rather nicely inflated for another few days….long may it continue!!