Hearts 1 - 2 Rangers

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Rangers midfielder Steven Naismith broke Hearts with an injury-time winner to maintain his side's 100 per cent start to the SPL season.

Walter Smith's side looked to be heading towards their first league defeat of the campaign before two goals in the final 10 minutes turned the game around.

Hearts midfielder Rudi Skacel opened the scoring early on but Rangers substitute Kyle Lafferty, on just three minutes earlier, curled home a late free-kick to equalise.

And Rangers' perfect start continued when Naismith slammed home the winner in the fourth minute of stoppage-time.

The champions stayed top of the SPL table after Naismith, who also grabbed the midweek winner against Bursaspor in the Champions League, became the hero once again.

Nikica Jelavic - ineligible for Europe - and Vladimir Weiss both returned to the starting line-up for the lunchtime clash. Lee McCulloch and Kirk Broadfoot both dropped out of the side with hip and foot injuries respectively.

Skacel made his first start for Hearts since returning to the club last month as boss Jim Jefferies made five changes from last week's defeat against Motherwell.

Only some last-gasp home defending prevented Rangers from taking the lead early on.

An attempt from Jelavic was blocked by goalkeeper Marian Kello and fell to the feet of Steven Davis but he was denied when Ismael Bouzid cleared his shot off the line.

And it was Hearts who opened the scoring with 12 minutes gone. Kevin Kyle flicked the ball into the path of Skacel and a mix-up between Madjid Bougherra and goalkeeper Allan McGregor allowed the Czech star to bundle home.

Kenny Miller then went to ground in the box but pleas for a penalty were ignored by referee Craig Thomson.

Rangers pushed forward in search of the equaliser in a bid to haul themselves back into the game before the interval.

They were not too far away when Sasa Papac's cross was touched on by Naismith for Jelavic but an acrobatic overhead kick from the Croatian - similar to the one he scored against Dunfermline - was pushed over the crossbar by Kello.

Hearts could have doubled their advantage after the restart when Calum Elliot shrugged off David Weir and tried his luck with a shot at goal that went inches wide of the post.

At the other end Weiss was only able to produce a weak effort that was comfortably smothered by the goalkeeper as the home side defiantly clung on to their lead.

The champions threatened again when the clearance from a Weiss corner fell to the feet of Papac but his powerful volley was blocked by Kello, before Davis blasted well over after collecting a flick on from Jelavic.

With time running out for Rangers, Steven Whittaker had a go with a shot from distance that clipped team-mate Naismith but was still gathered by Kello at the near post.

Lafferty was then thrown into the action for Jelavic with 15 minutes to go, while Hearts replaced goalscorer Skacel with Ryan Stevenson.

And just four minutes later Lafferty equalised. Darren Barr was booked for hauling down Naismith 25 yards out and the Northern Irishman stepped up to dispatch a low free-kick into the back of the net.

Hearts should have restored their lead just moments later when Kyle met a cross from Craig Thomson only to squander a great chance by nodding over from six yards.

But it was Naismith who had the final say three and a half minutes into injury time when he embarked on a solo run before sending a left foot shot past Kello to snatch the points for Rangers.

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great result.....i've got a bet on that they won't finnish in the top six.

cheers.
 
Would be more worried about your own teams result

St Johnstone 2 - 0 Hibernian

to much moonshine in Leith:drink:
 
lol...ye ye i know spoke far too soon.

cheers.
 
SPL round-up

Neil Lennon's Celtic moved above Old Firm rivals Rangers at the top of the table following the Gers dramatic earlier win at Tynecastle.

Caley Thistle's wait for victory in the Highlands derby came to end after they defeated Aberdeen while two late goals helped Craig Brown's Mothewell snatch a dramatic late victory against St Mirren.

Celtic secured their seventh successive SPL win after coming from behind to defeat Hamilton at Parkhead.

There was a shock in the third minute when the Accies took the lead through Mark McLaughlin's close-range header but the Hoops hit back at Parkhead thanks to Shaun Maloney's brace and Gary Hooper's effort with 20 minutes remaining.

Rangers staged a dramatic late comeback to snatch the points against Hearts in the early kick-off.

Rudi Skacel marked his first start for Hearts with a first-half opener, before Kyle Lafferty came off the bench to haul Rangers back into the match.

However, Steven Naismith, who also grabbed the winner against Bursaspor, secured all three points deep into injury-time.

Inverness finally ended Aberdeen's unbeaten record at the Caledonian Stadium to move above their rivals in the process.

Winger Jonathan Hayes opened the scoring with a cross-cum-shot after 18 minutes. And the hosts secured the points as Adam Rooney bagged his sixth goal of the season just after the hour mark with a neat chip.

Two late Motherwell goals made sure St Mirren remained bottom of the table.

Chris Humphrey opened the scoring after just three minutes but Gareth Wardlaw scored his first goal for the Buddies just after the hour mark.

However, Tom Hateley's 87th minute penalty and a Jamie Murphy goal a minute later secured the win at Fir Park.

Dundee United cemented fourth position with a 2-1 victory against Kilmarnock at Rugby Park.

David Goodwillie's deflected shot looped over the grounded Bell for the opening goal and striker Jon Daly made sure of the points after 69 minutes.

Conor Sammon's stoppage-time effort was late consolation for Killie.

Liam Craig came back to haunt Hibernian with St Johnstone at McDiarmid Park.

The midfielder, who scored three goals in his three meetings with Hibs last season, opened the scoring after 76 minutes and on-loan striker Marcus Haber secured the points in the final minute as the Saints moved above John Hughes' side in the table.
 
On one hand, losing goals and giving the opposition the lead is not a trait that should be welcomed in a football side. Giving yourself the uphill task of coming from behind to grab a victory is not on the wish list of any manager….but for a fan, a turnaround victory can be the most exhilarating way to spend your weekend.

With the Pittodrie victory last Sunday and today’s last gasp win at Tynecastle, sandwiching a victory in the Champions League, the Rangers faithful have been through every emotion known to a fan. Its all worth it though and the chant of “that’s why we’re champions” which reverberated around Tynecastle after Steven Naismith’s winner will have Rangers fans feeling on top of the world.

Celtic two goal victory over Hamilton may see Rangers knocked back into second place but after victories like todays, that sort of thing doesn’t matter. After 7 games, the exact placing of the SPL table is not a major issue and Rangers fans will just be delighted they continued their winning run.



After the international break, a home game against Motherwell sees Rangers having an excellent opportunity to make it 8 wins out of 8. With Celtic at Tannadice on the same weekend, there is a possibility that Rangers can go to Parkhead with a lead in the league.

The amount of goals that Rangers are losing will be a concern for Walter Smith with Madjid Bougherra looking not too clever when Rudi Skacel bundled Hearts into a lead. The absence of Lee McCulloch and the protective barrier he provides for Rangers was a big loss but he should be back in the side after the international break.

From there on, aside from a few Kevin Kyle misses, Rangers were the dominant team and were rewarded with an equaliser from Kyle Lafferty’s free-kick. With ten minutes plus injury time to go, there were expectations that Rangers would again triumph…but they left it so late to clinch it.

Most fans probably felt the game was going to drizzle out to be a 1-1 draw but tell that to Steven Naismith. Hearts boss Jim Jefferies was fulsome in his praise of the former Kilmarnock player before the game and he was rewarded with a strike that took a point from his team.



Depending on which team you support or how optimistic / pessimistic you are, the ability to win late can be down to luck or determination. Happening once can be lucky, when you manage it twice in the space of a week; it’s likely that there is so much more to it than that.

Determination and the ability to never give up is indeed the mark of the champions. There is such a long way to go this season and there will be many more twists to come but for now, Rangers fans should be satisfied with a great spell.
moan the gers:banana:
 
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