Key events
Some Marc Leonard quotes from the BBC: “I thought [Blair] Spittal coming on at half time was excellent, got us back into the game We managed to get a foothold in it, and then Craig Halkett and Stuart Findlay must have headed every ball clear.
“It’s a true team performance, and just happy to come back from 1-0 down. It’s amazing. What a feeling, what a club, I’m just honoured to be a part of it at the moment.”
James Humphries, presumably a Well man, gets in touch: “ Rangers “can do [celtic] mortal damage” – but only /after/ the Hoops have come to Fir Park? Have you perhaps not been keeping across our results against the two cheeks this season?”
Steven Hughes speaks for many when he gets in touch to say: “Give me this, the Scottish League, and then even the lower English divisions (who’ll ever, ever forget Rochdale versus York City), over the flim-flam, will-this-do?, English Premier League? Radio 5 know it themselves and do a fantastic job for the whole of Britain to dig these battles.”
Look at the table with three games to go:
Hearts play at Motherwell, then face Falkirk before the final day at Celtic Park.
Next week, Celtic play Rangers, who can do them mortal damage, then play Motherwell. Then, it’s Hearts. What a season it’s been, what an end to the season it could be.
Full-time: Hearts 2-1 Rangers
Into the last minute, whistles ringing out. Rangers try to set something up. Leonard pumps the ball out. Then Chermiti climbs highest and nods…wide. In the stands, Tony Bloom is swilling water, moments before the final whistle sounds. Hearts are top of the league, and heading for glory. Rangers’ hopes are surely dashed.
90+6 min: Jeers as Gassama smashes the ball over the bar. And relief, too. The scenes in the crowd are of people of all ages praying.
90+5 min: Boos as Rangers pass the ball around. Cheers as Chermiti is tackled twice in succession. Groans as Kabore fails to hold the ball up. Moans as Rangers get a corner.
90+4 min: Shankland, who hopes he has scored the winning goal, leaves the field. His wife has a broad smile in the stands as he departs.
90+3 min: Such a good noise from the Hearts fans. They have been through the mill today, as they have in recent history. Time to start believing?
90+2 min: Kent gets an early touch in taking the ball from Cherniti; then follows more delay. The clock being run down here in classic style. Rangers have lost the mojo of the first half they so dominated.
90 min: Kingsley takes on energy in fluid form, he’s run himself ragged, the scorer the equaliser as Frankie Kent replaces him. There will be seven minutes to be added on.
89 min: The boos resume as Rangers pass the ball around slowly. Then cheers as Kabore wins the ball. Kingsley goes down with cramp and it’s a Rangers player who runs to assist him in shaking it out.
86 min: Those subs, as often happens, have affected the flow of the game. Huge cheers as Hearts win a throw. There will be twists to come. Hard to stay calm at this point.
84 min: Rangers want a penalty, as Gassama and McCart collide. It won’t be given, it would very soft. This title race doesn’t need a dodgy penalty for added drama.
83 min: Final Rangers change. Diomande is off, and on comes Miovski.
82 min: Braga goes down with cramp and that’s the last we will see of him. McInnes makes changes: Kyziridis departs, too, and on come McCort and Kabore.
81 min: Chermiti smashes into Findlay and it’s Rangers’ time he’s wasting.
80 min: Fernandez is booked for a cruncher of a tackle on Braga. Was it a foul, though? Plenty of force involved, that’s for sure.
79 min: Hearts will have a lot of defending to do, and there will be a lengthy amount of time after that earlier clash of heads.
77 min: Oof! Goalmouth scramble, another long throw, Aasgaard climbs and Hearts clear, just as they do the next corner.
75 min: Three Rangers changes: Moore, Raskin and Sterling off; Rommens, Naderi and Aasgaard on.
As it stands:
74 min: Ooof! Kingsley lays up Spittal and his shot is well saved by Butland. Hearts are trying to kill off the Rangers challenge.
72 min: Derek McInnes in dreamland. Can his team see this out? From the whistle, Hearts swarm all over Sterling he concedes a free-kick and a yellow card for pulling back Kyziridis.
Goal! Hearts 2-1 Rangers (Shankland, 71)
Hearts pushing on, they’re not yet sitting on their advantage….in fact, the ball falls to Shankland, who swivels and shoots after Kingsley’s cross.
69 min: Hearts rage as Halkett is penalised for what looks a decent win of the ball. Skov Olsen departs as Gassama arrives in a Rangers substitution.
67 min: Kyziridis forces himself down the outside of the Rangers box and gets a shot in. Butland will not be troubled by that.
66 min: Shankland is back to defend the corner and Rangers have started to look more comfortable on the ball again.
65 min: The corner is cleared and Moore sets off on a trademark run and wins a Rangers corner. End to end stuff here.
64 min: Braga continues to chase shadows, but that’s his game. He believes his chance will finally come. Shankland, similarly full of vim, forces a corner.
62 min: That delay might have taken the sting from Hearts. They really had built up some momentum.
60 min: Lengthy treatment taking place; Rudi Skacel and Jim Jeffries, club legends in the stands. Steinwender comes on with a Terry Butcher bandage on.
58 min: Another Tavernier long throw, Fernandez and Steinwender clash heads. Both go down. There will be a delay in play.
57 min: Jeers as Tavernier blams a shot into the Tynecastle stands, and they’re bouncing.
55 min: What noise, big smile on Tony Bloom’s face. Hearts have been excellent and have their reward.
As it stands:
Goal! Hearts 1-1 Rangers (Kingsley, 55)
Raskin gets a chance to shoot when Halkett falls over. But: Hearts go back on the attack. Kyziridis’s shot comes off the post and back out and Kingsley strokes the rebound home.
53 min: Braga gets chance for a first shot as Spittal forces danger. He’s made a difference. The shot is not enough to beat Butland.
53 min: Kyziridis’s cross is a beauty. Sadly for Hearts, nobody reads it. But this is much better.
51 min: Another long throw from James Tavenier; he’s an expert. Perhaps he can move into being a specialist coach in the future. There’s plenty of football left him in, mind.
50 min: Kyziridis hits the ball to Shankland but fine defending from Rangers clears it and Spittal smashes over. That’s the first Hearts shot for almost 40 minutes.
48 min: Mikey Moore on another sortie, though this time he’s stopped in his tracks. Hearts much more up for this, and so are their fans.
46 min: What can Hearts find? Braga finds space but that’s closed down by Djiga. The front foot adopted, though. Rangers have struggled to put together a full 90 all season.
The teams are back out, Danny Rohl looking as immaculate as ever. Derek McInnes had much more to wory about. Blair Spittal is a half-time introduction for Chesnokov as Hearts attempt to go man for man on Rangers.
Paul Simpson gets in touch: “I don’t care if the equaliser goes in off Lawrence Shanklands jacksy, if that lucky draw is still on offer i would definitely grab it now.”
Simon McMahon gets in touch: “Evening John. Kári knows more about Scottish football than me, but I wonder if he’s heard this version of a fantastic song by Dundee songwriting legend Michael Marra about United keeper Hamish McAlpine. Michael was a Dundee fan himself, but knew an open goal when he saw one, as evidenced by the reference to Princess Grace of Monaco when she visited Tannadice in 1981 to watch a Uefa Cup tie.”
Half-time: Hearts 0-1 Rangers
Just 60 seconds added on, and Rangers continue to dominate. Tavernier and Olsen both have chances to create something. Hearts cling on towards a much-needed break. The title race is coming down to a single point if it stays this way at full-time.
45 min: It’s been some time since Hearts mounted a proper attack. Will Rangers come to rue not making enough of their dominance?
44 min: Derek McInnes makes copious notes ahead of another huge team talk. He’s had to give a few this season but each week, they become more and more important.
43 min: Rangers are well on top, and want more. Braga is chasing shadows and getting frustrated. Romance, such as it is, is dying on the vine, as Hearts are breaking.
41 min: Tavernier will take, and there’s a delay as he demands a full 10 yards for his kick. Tavernier, after all that, can only hit the wall. Typical.
40 min: Djiga breaks up a Hearts attack, shimmies and sets up a Rangers attack. Then as the ball bounces up, Diomande is clattered by Chesnokov who has run all the way back.
38 min: Mikey Moore sorties across the field as Rangers mount their latest attack. Shankland smashes into Chukwuani and is booked. Steve Clarke is in the stands, with Chris Wilder for convivial company.
36 min: Olsen extends a leg but cannot reach a Diomande pass. Rangers look the likelier team for the next goal.
34 min: Leonard’s ball booms in and Butland climbs highest to jump and claim the ball. Rangers try to send away Raskin but Leonard gets back to clear and concede a corner.
33 min: Not actually many fouls in this game, despite of the intensity but Olsen clatters into Baningime to set up a free-kick.
32 min: Rangers are taking control, while Hearts are struggling to keep hold of both their nerves and the ball. The long balls have been wayward.
31 min: Tavernier goes forward, and is tackled, to set up a Hearts attack. There’s anticipation when Shankland supplies Braga, only for the Portuguese player to lose his footing.
