Rangers 2-1 Hearts: 'Never give up' mentality pleases Ibrox boss Clement
- Published
Danilo (second from left) netted his first goal since sustaining a cheekbone injury in his last scoring appearance
Rangers' determination to "never give up" drew praise from manager Philippe Clement after his side overturned a deficit in the dying minutes to defeat Hearts.
James Tavernier atoned for an earlier penalty miss by converting a VAR-awarded spot-kick in the 90th minute then crossed for Danilo to head a dramatic winner, reducing Celtic's Scottish Premiership lead to five points.
Lawrence Shankland's header had silenced the Ibrox crowd early on but Steven Naismith's side ultimately sustained successive defeats.
Clement, who maintains his unbeaten record as Rangers manager with two wins and a draw, told BBC Scotland: "This is a reference game in mentality - not giving up.
"I told them I expect them in every circumstance never to give up and always to fight. Because of the mentality of the players, we changed the situation.
"The good teams are the teams who never give up, who always repeat. Those are the ones who win trophies at the end. That's our ambition, that's what we want to do."
The teams will meet again in next Sunday's Viaplay Cup semi-final.
Celtic's draw at Hibernian on Saturday had opened the door for Rangers to move closer to the league leaders.
They brought back the diminutive Ridvan Yilmaz at left-back, giving Hearts a potential height advantage on their right - and so it proved with the opener.
Alex Cochrane's deep cross sailed over those gathered in the box, including Yilmaz, and Shankland expertly headed past Jack Butland.
Cyriel Dessers thought he had levelled after helping on Connor Goldson's header but Shankland cleared off the line, with technology offering no reprieve for the hosts. And Shankland then set up Kenneth Vargas, who should have hit the target from the left side of the area.
Rangers scarcely deserved anything from the first half but were given a golden opportunity after Toby Sibbick upended Todd Cantwell. Tavernier went left and rattled the upright to end a miserable half for the home side.
Clement took action by withdrawing Dessers and sending on Danilo, still sporting a mask following his recent cheekbone injury. But the same patterns persisted with Hearts creating a solid block Rangers found difficult to breach.
Home forward Sam Lammers could not keep a close-range effort down and team-mate Nico Raskin was also off target as he picked up an injury in the act of shooting, a stretcher taking him off.
Hearts were restricted to counters and Shankland's teasing low ball across the face of goal found no takers.
Rangers' hopes looked forlorn and there was little fuss made after a corner came to nothing. However, replays showed a clear pull of the shirt by substitute Peter Haring on Goldson, and penalty was the result. Tavernier went central to finally beat Zander Clark.
And, moments later, Tavernier's superb cross was met by an equally astute Danilo header.
Man of the match - Lawrence Shankland
The captain (far left) made big contributions in both boxes before Hearts' late collapse
Smash and grab end breaks Hearts - analysis
Rangers were renewed and re-energised in Clement's debut win over Hibernian last week and showed a resilience to leave Prague with a Europa League point against Sparta on Thursday, while Hearts spent the week licking their wounds after a chastening 4-1 home loss to Celtic.
For most of the 90 minutes at Ibrox, the roles were reversed. Rangers were careless in possession, indecisive in attack and frail in defence.
Hearts' display was indeed one of heart. The visitors showed courage to get themselves in front and determination to keep it that way for as long as possible.
Though ultimately beaten, they can take much encouragement from their performance into the Hampden encounter.
But they will rue the Haring foul on Goldson, which proved a late and damaging turning point.
What the managers said
Rangers manager Philippe Clement: "The most important, it's a deserved win if you see the game, if you see the statistics in every sense. I'm still in an observation period. You saw today all the players that came in, they gave something extra for the team."
'It's not a penalty' - Naismith fumes at late Rangers penalty
Hearts head coach Steven Naismith: "I'm angry at the way the game unfolds after so much good work. The team played really well.
"The penalty changes everything. It's not a penalty. The initial contact is made by a player blocking our player, which VAR should then go back and look at. I spoke to the referee after it and he said he wasn't shown any images where there was a block. Ultimately, it's failed us. It's a clear block on our player. What happens next is irrelevant."
What's next?
Both sides are in Premiership action on Wednesday evening with Rangers away to Dundee and Hearts hosting Livingston (19:45 GMT).