Vaclav Cerny scores his 14th goal of the season to put Rangers back in frontSNS

Vaclav Cerny scored his 14th goal of the season to put Rangers back in front

Clive Lindsay
BBC Sport Scotland

Two Jamie McCart own goals helped Rangers escape Tynecastle with a victory over Hearts as they narrowed the gap on Scottish Premiership leaders Celtic to 13 points and earned breathing space for under-pressure manager Philippe Clement.

The hosts had gone into the game unbeaten in eight outings and seeking a fifth win on the bounce - and can count themselves unfortunate not to at least secure a point that would have taken them into the top six.

McCart's first own goal had been cancelled out by Michael Steinwender, but Vaclav Cerny restored the lead and the home centre-half's second deflection ensured defeat, despite Hearts dominating possession and chances.

Rangers had looked in the mood to atone for their shock Scottish Cup defeat by Queen's Park and former Hearts defender John Souttar had the ball in the net within two minutes only for his back-post tap-in to be ruled out for offside.

However, when Ianis Hagi sent a low cross into the six-yard box, goalkeeper Craig Gordon could only parry the ball on to the shins of centre-half McCart and into his own net.

In-form Elton Kabangu was denied by a stubborn Jack Butland once before the opener and twice shortly after, while strike partner Lawrence Shankland was also thwarted by the Rangers goalkeeper's fingertips.

Gordon prevented a second McCart own goal, but despite Rangers' improvement near the end of the first half, Steinwender started the second by meeting a James Penrice corner to flick a header into the far corner for the centre-back's first Hearts goal in his home debut since arriving from Varnamo.

However, Cerny provided the clinical finish when a Hamza Igamane shot was deflected into the winger's path and the points were secured when McCart knocked the ball past Gordon chasing a through ball with Cyriel Dessers.

Kabangu denied hat-trick

Hearts head coach Neil Critchley, his players and the home fans will be left wondering how they did not take their chance to move up to fifth place before city rivals Hibs faced St Mirren in Sunday's afternoon kick-off.

It looked like they would badly miss the industrious Cammy Devlin, absent in midfield through concussion, as Rangers threatened early down the wings.

However, once Hearts settled, the visitors looked there for the taking, appearing vulnerable in defence and shot of confidence following last week's cup exit.

On-loan Union St-Gilloise striker Kabangu should have had a first-half hat-trick to add to his five goals in his previous four games.

Hearts have scored more set-piece goals than any side in the Premiership this season and it was no surprise that Steinwender rose above Souttar to head the equaliser after the latest in a series of badly defended corners.

However, while two goals on the break halted Hearts' momentum, Critchley will have seen plenty of positives to take into next weekend's trip to bottom side St Johnstone as they emphasised again their potential to finish in the top six.

Clement has Butland to thank

Clement had made five changes from the side that lost to Queen's Park while insisting they were the result of squad rotation rather than a response to that historic defeat.

Rangers had been nine unbeaten domestically before then but were five away games without a win prior to beating Dundee United in their previous road trip.

Which Rangers would turn up after heading along the M8?

It was certainly a more familiar line-up than the one that started the cup defeat and they looked to have returned to their previous form early on.

However, the fragility and inconsistency that has marred Rangers' domestic season returned and they can count themselves fortunate to have extended their unbeaten run against Hearts to 18 meetings.

That goalkeeper Butland was man of the match tells its own story.

In the end, captain James Tavernier was able to celebrate his 300th Premiership appearance - the first non-Scottish player to reach that total in the competition since its 2013 rebrand - with a victory.

More importantly, Clement and the club's board will be able to breathe a sigh of relief as the pressure eases on the Belgian and he and his players took a small step towards mending the relationship with their disgruntled fans.

What they said

Hearts head coach Neil Critchley: "I thought we played very well. I thought we were the better team, to be honest.

"We've had more of the ball, more passes, more shots, more clear chances yet we've lost the game 3-1. The story of the game is they've been clinical and we haven't. If we take our chances, big chances, then I think the game would've been different.

"Tactically, I thought we were good and we created those moments and we created big moments to score. We had a little bit of misfortune with a couple of the goals."

Rangers manager Philippe Clement: "Everybody was devastated after last weekend. There was only one way and that is getting a better result.

"Hearts went all in. We knew there would be spaces for us also. Jack, we know his qualities. He was for a reason a player of the year last season. Today, he had a really strong performance.

"There's been a lot of talk about our away form and deserved in the first part of the season. Winning at Hearts, it's an important one - Dundee United was also an important one."

Related topics