After an eight-game drought, Rangers forward Abdallah Sima has scored three goals in his last two games
Abdallah Sima's 12th Rangers goal ensured manager Philippe Clement's unbeaten start stretched to 11 games with a Scottish Premiership victory at Hearts.
Fresh off scoring a double against St Mirren on Sunday, the on-loan Brighton striker raced on to a defence-splitting James Tavernier pass and finished past home goalkeeper Zander Clark.
Prior to that opener, Rangers offered Hearts hope with some slack play as Lawrence Shankland forced Jack Butland into a fine near-post stop before Alex Cochrane's rebound was somehow blocked on the line by captain Tavernier.
But Clement's side improved after their goal and could have gone into the break two up when Danilo, who had an earlier finish ruled out for offside, was denied just yards out by the boot of Clark at close range.
A 10th win in 11 meetings against Hearts, who remain third, means Rangers stay eight points behind leaders Celtic with a game to spare.
Rangers ought to have killed the game by the 70th minute, but Danilo could only hit Kyosuke Tagawa on the line after Clark inexplicably spilled before Ridvan Yilmaz flashed two efforts off target either side of a close-range Connor Goldson header.
Kenneth Vargas could have made the wasteful visitors pay for their profligacy, but Butland emphasised his importance to the Ibrox side with another top save to his left.
- Keep up to date with HeartsThe latest Rangers news
Player of the match - Jack Butland (Rangers)Arguably Rangers' player of the season so far, the former England keeper bailed out a wasteful attack with vital stops at vital times
- Line-upsMatch StatsLive Text
Line-upsHearts
Formation 3-5-2
28Clark3Kingsley2Kent15Rowles13Atkinson8Nieuwenhof6Baningime7Grant19Cochrane9Shankland30Tagawa
- 28Clark3KingsleySubstituted forMcKayat 85'minutes2Kent15Rowles13AtkinsonSubstituted forVargasat 45'minutesBooked at 51mins8Nieuwenhof6Baningime7GrantSubstituted forOdaat 45'minutes19CochraneBooked at 62mins9Shankland30TagawaSubstituted forForrestat 65'minutesBooked at 90mins
Substitutes
- 1Gordon4Halkett5Haring11Oda17Forrest18McKay21Sibbick22Denholm77Vargas
Rangers
Formation 4-2-3-1
1Butland2Tavernier6Goldson27Balogun3Yilmaz4Lundstram11Lawrence45McCausland13Cantwell19Sima99Pereira da Silva
- 1Butland2Tavernier6Goldson27Balogun3YilmazBooked at 69minsSubstituted forSterlingat 71'minutes4Lundstram11LawrenceSubstituted forCifuentesat 19'minutes45McCausland13CantwellSubstituted forLammersat 88'minutes19Sima99Pereira da SilvaSubstituted forRoofeat 71'minutes
Substitutes
- 5Souttar9Dessers14Lammers15Cifuentes17Matondo21Sterling25Roofe26Davies28McCrorie
Referee:William CollumAttendance:17,759Match StatsHome TeamHeartsAway TeamRangersPossessionHome48%Away52%ShotsHome12Away22Shots on TargetHome5Away5CornersHome6Away5FoulsHome13Away11Live Text Post update
Match ends, Heart of Midlothian 0, Rangers 1.
90'+4'Full Time
Second Half ends, Heart of Midlothian 0, Rangers 1.
90'+1'Post update
Attempt missed. James Tavernier (Rangers) right footed shot from a difficult angle and long range on the left is too high from a direct free kick.
90'+1'Booking
Alan Forrest (Heart of Midlothian) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
90'+1'Post update
Dujon Sterling (Rangers) wins a free kick on the left wing.
90'+1'Post update
Foul by Alan Forrest (Heart of Midlothian).
90'Post update
James Tavernier (Rangers) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
90'Post update
Foul by Calem Nieuwenhof (Heart of Midlothian).
89'Post update
Corner, Heart of Midlothian. Conceded by Leon Balogun.
88'Post update
Attempt blocked. Lawrence Shankland (Heart of Midlothian) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked.
88'Post update
Attempt missed. Kye Rowles (Heart of Midlothian) header from the centre of the box misses to the left. Assisted by Barrie McKay with a cross following a corner.
88'Substitution
Substitution, Rangers. Sam Lammers replaces Todd Cantwell.
87'Post update
Corner, Heart of Midlothian. Conceded by José Cifuentes.
87'Post update
Attempt blocked. Kenneth Vargas (Heart of Midlothian) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Lawrence Shankland.
87'Post update
Attempt saved. Frankie Kent (Heart of Midlothian) header from the centre of the box is saved in the bottom left corner. Assisted by Alex Cochrane with a cross.
86'Post update
Corner, Heart of Midlothian. Conceded by Dujon Sterling.
85'Post update
Foul by Kemar Roofe (Rangers).
85'Post update
Alex Cochrane (Heart of Midlothian) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
85'Substitution
Substitution, Heart of Midlothian. Barrie McKay replaces Stephen Kingsley.
84'Post update
Attempt blocked. Ross McCausland (Rangers) right footed shot from the right side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Todd Cantwell.
Page 1 of 6rewindpreviousNavigate to the next pagenextNavigate to the last pageforwardhelpHow to play
Rate players out of 10 throughout or after the game. The rater will close 30 minutes after the final whistle.
Rating range key1 = Give it up10 = Pure perfection
- HeartsHeart of MidlothianHeart of MidlothianRangersRangersRangers
Heart of MidlothianStarting XIAvgSquad number28Player nameClarkAverage rating
5.34
12345678910Squad number3Player nameKingsleyAverage rating
4.92
12345678910Squad number2Player nameKentAverage rating
4.71
12345678910Squad number15Player nameRowlesAverage rating
4.92
12345678910Squad number13Player nameAtkinsonAverage rating
4.68
12345678910Squad number8Player nameNieuwenhofAverage rating
4.54
12345678910Squad number6Player nameBaningimeAverage rating
4.56
12345678910Squad number7Player nameGrantAverage rating
4.76
12345678910Squad number19Player nameCochraneAverage rating
4.83
12345678910Squad number9Player nameShanklandAverage rating
5.34
12345678910Squad number30Player nameTagawaAverage rating
4.56
12345678910SubstitutesAvgSquad number11Player nameOdaAverage rating
4.44
12345678910Squad number17Player nameForrestAverage rating
4.50
12345678910Squad number18Player nameMcKayAverage rating
4.11
12345678910Squad number77Player nameVargasAverage rating
4.27
12345678910Share your Hearts player ratings withFacebookTwitterWhatsAppCopy and share linkRangersStarting XIAvgSquad number1Player nameButlandAverage rating
7.77
12345678910Squad number2Player nameTavernierAverage rating
6.60
12345678910Squad number6Player nameGoldsonAverage rating
6.68
12345678910Squad number27Player nameBalogunAverage rating
7.00
12345678910Squad number3Player nameYilmazAverage rating
6.31
12345678910Squad number4Player nameLundstramAverage rating
6.79
12345678910Squad number11Player nameLawrenceAverage rating
5.78
12345678910Squad number45Player nameMcCauslandAverage rating
6.98
12345678910Squad number13Player nameCantwellAverage rating
6.81
12345678910Squad number19Player nameSimaAverage rating
7.40
12345678910Squad number99Player nameDaniloAverage rating
6.22
12345678910SubstitutesAvgSquad number14Player nameLammersAverage rating
4.30
12345678910Squad number15Player nameCifuentesAverage rating
5.93
12345678910Squad number21Player nameSterlingAverage rating
6.14
12345678910Squad number25Player nameRoofeAverage rating
5.51
12345678910Share your Rangers player ratings withFacebookTwitterWhatsAppCopy and share link
Source: bbc.com