Rampant Rangers dished out a reality check for Hearts with another thumping Tynecastle win as they cruised to a 3-0 win to make it 11 unbeaten under Michael Beale. The Jambos were out for revenge after a four-goal hammering back in September but found themselves on the end of another heavy beating.
Alfredo Morelos bagged a double - to take his tally to 12 goals in 11 games against the Jambos - either side of Malik Tillman's goal to move 19 points ahead of third-placed Hearts.
But Beale's men were totally dominant and had THREE goals ruled out for offside as well as a penalty overturned for a Ryan Kent dive after VAR intervention which underlined how one-sided this game was. With only 24 games of the Scottish Premiership season played there is already a NINETEEN point gap between second and third. Robbie Neilson has talked about the next step for his side being to bridge the gulf to the Old Firm. But on this evidence, there is a long way to go. They’ve now lost seven in a row to Rangers and it’s a six-game losing sequence against Celtic. It’s a record they must improve on if they have ambitions of splitting the Big Two.
New boy Nicolas Raskin is still waiting for clearance with John Lundstram and Fashion Sakala returning to the XI in the only two changes from the weekend. Michael Smith, Cammy Devlin and Stephen Humphrys were all missing for the home side but Neilson went for an attacking line-up as they looked to take the game to Gers.
But it was the visitors who started on the front foot and Alfredo Morelos had the ball in the net early on only for it to be ruled out for offside. However, that only delayed the Colombian’s celebrations as he nodded the Light Blues ahead with less than 10 minutes on the clock.
Garang Kuol fouled Borna Barisic and from the resulting free kick the Croatian fed Ryan Kent on the left and he clipped a ball into the box with Morelos getting above everyone to head beyond Zander Clark.
The home side were so sloppy and invited wave after wave of attack from Gers but did have chance to level with a quick counter midway through the first half. Lawrence Shankland did well to win the ball and fed Kuol who raced away and slipped Barrie McKay through but Allan McGregor denied the former Rangers man.
Beale’s men had the ball in the net again before the break but the offside flag was up again - this time Fashion Sakala denied. It was a much closer call with the Zambian going a fraction too early but it was yet another warning sign for Hearts.
And they didn’t heed it. Zander Clark denied Sakala with a brilliant point blank save but from the result corner Rangers doubled their lead. The ball was played out to Barisic who swung a cross deep into the box and Connor Goldson nodded it back into the path of Tillman who hooked the ball home. Clark then denied Lundstram on the stroke of half-time to keep the Jambos in it as the men in maroon were jeered at the break.
Kio and Alan Forrest were thrown on for the home side at the break as Neilson responded to a poor first half. And they started much brighter after the restart but they were relieved not to concede a penalty early in the second half.
Ryan Kent went down under an Alex Cochrane challenge and John Beaton pointed to the spot but VAR Kevin Clancy asked him to check it on the monitor and the whistler overturned that decision - instead booking Kent for simulation. It was a big let-off as was the flag ruling out Sakala’s striker moments later. Morelos was then flagged as well - the fourth of the night for Gers - but this time VAR overruled as the Colombian had stayed onside to convert Sakala's cross after long ball forward from Goldson.
There was still time for VAR to get involved again as Hearts claimed Toby Sibbick's cross struck Goldson's arm. It's becoming a habit for the defender this year and he survived a penalty appeal again after a VAR check. Here's three talking points from Gorgie
Beale’s best yet
Winning without hitting top gear has been the story early on for Rangers under Beale. It’s hardly a criticism if you’re winning games but it was evident there has been room for improvement. This was the night they managed to get both - the performance and the points. They found their rhythm and that scintillating opening 45 minutes is the most free-flowing football they have played for some time. Yes, Hearts were unusually off it on a night when many expected them to take the game to Rangers but the visitors were as good as the Jambos were poor.
Hapless Hearts
The home side were in a bullish mood beforehand - and rightly so. They went into this on the back of a 10-game unbeaten run and manager Neilson was confident in his pre-match interview as he spoke about going on the front foot. But it was hard to believe just how bad they were in the opening 45 minutes and were lucky only to be two goals down.
They had personnel problems but Neilson was too adventurous in his approach and it backfired. They were too light in midfield and Alex Cochrane was eventually moved in to support Robert Snodgrass and Barrie McKay before he switched it around at the break. Rangers looked like they could score every time they went up the park. The Jambos have had so much praise this season and have enjoyed a good season but they have still been found wanting in games against the Old Firm.
VARy good
There has been plenty of criticism for the technology but there is no doubt it did its job here. John Beaton awarded Rangers a penalty when Ryan Kent went down under Alex Cochrane’s challenge and it looked like a foul from the referee’s angle. But Kevin Clancy rightly asked Beaton to take a second look and it was clear from the TV pictures that Kent had gone down looking for it with no contact. And on top of that, VAR confirmed Rangers rightly had three goals ruled out offside before overturning the decision to chalk off a fourth which was awarded to Morelos. Kevin Clancy also had a check of an alleged handball against Connor Goldson in the dying minutes but decided against asking John Beaton to take a second look.
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