© EuroFootball.com
The last match of the 15th round of the Scottish Premier League took place on Sunday - in a duel for the second place in Edinburgh, the neighbors on the tournament table "Hearts" and Glasgow "Rangers" clubs met. In a tense match, the victory was won by the guests from Glasgow, scoring the only goal in the final quarter of the game.
0 - 1
78' [0 - 1] Nacho Novo
Before leaving and handing over the temporary team steering wheel to Eugenijus Riabovas, the "Hearts" team was led by a specialist from Belarus, Eduardas Malofeyev, who returned Paul Hartley, one of the team leaders who missed the last round match against "Falkirk", to the starting lineup. However, captain Steven Pressley once again remained on the bench, where he was joined by Lithuanians Saulius Mikoliūnas and Edgaras Jankauskas.
The match started with three Lithuanians - Marius Žaliūkas, Nerijus Barasa, and Andrius Velička, and after a few attempts by the guests from Glasgow from set pieces, it was the latter who first threatened the "Rangers" goal, but his shot from 25 meters was a bit inaccurate. The Glasgow opponents responded with an attack by Nacho Novo, whose shot was saved by "Hearts" goalkeeper Craig Gordon.
Later, there was a lot of battle in the middle of the field, and both teams struggled to launch more dangerous attacks. One of the rare opportunities involved Lithuanian legionnaires when Andrius Velička stopped the ball and passed it to Nerijus Barasa, and after this pass, only successful defense play by Karl Svensson prevented Jamie Mole from scoring.
The half ended with two opportunities for "Rangers", both of which were missed by the Croat Dado Pršo. At first, the Glasgow club striker shot slightly over the goal with his head, and later, after a quick counterattack and a pass from N. Novo, he sent the ball just next to C. Gordon's guarded goal.
After the break, the game intensified, and A. Velička once again found himself in the midst of the "Hearts" attacks, but the Lithuanian's shot inside the penalty area was blocked by "Rangers" goalkeeper Allan McGregor. The guests responded with a strong shot from captain Barry Ferguson, which was saved excellently by C. Gordon.
N. Novo couldn't handle the tension, but the referee showed only a yellow card for deliberately pushing M. Žaliūkas, the "Rangers" forward, and the Glasgow fans, dissatisfied with the course of the match, started throwing objects onto the field. In the 62nd minute, S. Mikoliūnas replaced J. Mole on the field, but the Lithuanian, whistled by his own fans, lacked confidence in his abilities and failed to bring life to the "Hearts" game.
Meanwhile, "Rangers" gradually gained momentum and began to threaten the "Hearts" goal more and more. With the visitors attacking consistently, B. Ferguson's shot went inches wide of the goal, and after a pass from D. Pršo from the wing, C. Gordon unbelievably managed to deflect Kris Boyd's close-range shot. Soon, the hosts earned a penalty right in front of the goal, but P. Hartley's attempt was off target.
However, the initiative finally paid off for the guests in the 78th minute, when after a long pass the ball reached N. Novo and after his long shot ricocheted off Christophe Berra's foot into the corner of the goal. Managed by Paulo Le Guen, the "Rangers" players surged ahead and with no serious response from "Hearts" for the rest of the match, they celebrated an important victory.
This win allowed "Rangers" to surpass "Hearts" by three points and rise to second place. Meanwhile, the Edinburgh team shares the 4-6 places with "Kilmarnock" and "Hibernian" clubs with 22 points. In the championship, Glasgow "Celtic", defending their title, are in first place with 40 points.
