Hearts 2-1 Rangers: Jam Tarts end ‘Gers title hopes and move three clear | OneFootball

Hearts came from behind at Tynecastle to beat Rangers 2-1, and move three points clear of Celtic at the top of the table, whilst simultaneously ending Rangers’ title dream.

Dujon Sterling opened the scoring inside the first half an hour, when he volleyed home at the back post following James Tavernier’s long throw. However, early in the second half, Stephen Kingsley stepped up to equalise for Hearts from close range.

The winner came from Lawrence Shankland in the 70th minute, when he fired past Butland and into the bottom corner from inside the penalty area.

As It Happened

Hearts made two changes following their Edinburgh derby win over Hibernian last time out. Meanwhile, Danny Röhl made four changes to his Rangers side, which included Tavernier coming in from the start, meaning he became Rangers’ fifth all-time appearance maker.

A cagey opening 10 minutes saw just one touch in either box, for Hearts, but no shots were registered early doors. The first chance of the game went to the hosts, when Marc Leonard’s free-kick found the head of Craig Halkett, who couldn’t keep his effort on target.

Alexander Schwolow was the first keeper to be called into action, palming Nico Raskin’s cross over the bar following a deflection; the resultant corner was also dealt with by the German. Another corner followed shortly after, Tavernier found Tochi Chukwuani at the back post, but he was unable to keep his header down, wasting the best opportunity of the game up to this point.

Rangers took the lead through Sterling in the 22nd minute, when Tavernier’s long throw made its way to the back post and the defender volleyed home with the help of a deflection, giving the Glasgow giants the breakthrough.

The Jam Tarts went searching for an equaliser, and once again it was Leonard who delivered a dangerous ball into the area, but Jack Butland claimed it well. Shankland was shown the first yellow card of the evening after he body-checked Emmanuel Fernandez.

As the first half drew to a close, Mohamed Diomande won Rangers a free-kick in a dangerous position, but Tavernier failed to get his strike past the wall. The right-back threatened again in the closing moments of the half when his cutback found Andreas Skov Olsen, but the winger was unable to control the ball, meaning Rangers went in to the break 1-0 up.

Derek McInnes made one change at half-time, Blair Spittal replaced Islam Chesnokov. Shankland took on the first shot of the second half, but his curling effort was blocked by Fernandez’s head. Cláudio Braga was next to have a crack at levelling the score, but the Portuguese forward saw his strike well saved by Butland.

They didn’t have to wait long for their equaliser, though, when Alexandros Kyziridis hit the post before Kingsley poked home the rebound to bring the hosts level. Tavernier took on an ambitious effort to try and regain Rangers’ lead, but cleared the crossbar by some distance.

The Rangers captain delivered another long throw shortly after, which found Fernandez; however, the defender’s header was comfortably saved. A spectacular run from Mikey Moore from one end of the pitch to the other won Rangers a corner, but Tavernier’s ball into the box couldn’t clear the first man.

Kyziridis came close to giving Hearts the lead when he stung the palms of Butland from a tight angle before Röhl turned to his bench to introduce Djeidi Gassama to replace Skov Olsen for the remaining 20 minutes of regular time.

The hosts took a 2-1 lead shortly after, through Shankland, who fired his left-footed strike into the bottom corner from inside the penalty area after a lovely passing move down the left flank. Both Sterling and Diomande were added to the referee’s notebook in the 72nd minute, after the former gave away a silly free-kick on the edge of his own area, which saw Butland deny Spittal a superb goal.

Tuur Romenns, Thelo Aasgaard and Ryan Naderi were all brought on with 15 minutes remaining, replacing Raskin, Moore and Sterling. Aasgaard nearly made an immediate impact, with his header rebounding off the crossbar. Fernandez was shown a yellow card shortly after for a foul on Braga. Both Braga and Kyziridis were then replaced by Jamie McCart and Pierre Landry Kaboré to help Hearts see out the remainder of the game.

Diomande was withdrawn in favour of Bojan Miovski for the final seven minutes of regular time, as Rangers continued to push for an equaliser. As the clock wound down at Tynecastle, Frankie Kent replaced Kingsley, who went off to a standing ovation following his equalising goal.

Hearts’ final change saw Shankland replaced by Jordi Altena. Rangers piled on the pressure as their hunt for an equaliser continued, yet the Hearts defence held firm to secure a vital win.