February 06, (THEWILL) – After Rangers’ heartbreaking loss to arch rivals Celtic last weekend, a reaction was unavoidable, and that is exactly what happened against Hearts at home on Sunday.
Hearts were neither outplayed or outfought in the first half, and they generated enough to cause problems for their hosts. Nonetheless, a brutal second-half Rangers performance placed a clear gap between the clubs.
Nigeria’s trio of players, Leon Balogun, Calvin Bassey and Joe Aribo all featured in the starting lineup for Rangers with the defenders Balogun and Bassey finishing with yellow cards while Aribo was subbed off in the second half.
Alfredo Morelos scored twice on his return from international duty, with Scott Arfield and substitutes Glen Kamara and Fashion Sakala adding gloss to the final score. Rangers led by one goal at the halftime break, and Hearts needed to score to keep it competitive.
There was nothing as such because Morelos struck again four minutes after the hour mark.
During the visitors’ best run, half-time substitute Ellis Simms showed a lot of promise at the start of the second period. They were a little tentative in the final third, but their pressing game caused some confusion in the home defence.
Rangers, on the other hand, stayed patient, and were rewarded with that Morelos second goal that gave them complete control. Kamara’s third, Arfield’s fourth, and Sakala’s fifth only added to the misery for visiting fans crammed into a nook of the Ibrox grounds.
Hearts’ consolation was that none of their European rivals gained any distance over the weekend, as Rangers remained within a point of Premiership leaders Celtic. Defeats for Motherwell and Hibs enabled the league’s third-placed team to keep a ten-point lead in place.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
