We may never discover just how close Giovanni van Bronckhorst came to a messy end last night.
But if this much-needed win turns out to be the. beginning of another clean slate for the beleaguered Rangers boss, then he’ll owe a debt of gratitude to a man who has been the scapegoat of his side’s traumatic fall from grace. Ryan Kent has been the human collateral damage of the Ibrox implosion.
But last night, at a moment when his manager was most in need, Kent dug deeper than anyone else to grab this match by the scruff of the neck and turn two dropped points into a crucial, job-saving victory. It was his determination and delicate ball control which finally undid a stubborn Hearts rearguard effort, allowing Borna Barisic to set up Malik Tillman ’s second-half winner. And sparing his boss from further furious fall-out as he teeters on the brink. To tumble into the clutches of one crisis may be regarded as unfortunate. To stumble into two of them in little more than six months looks a lot like carelessness.
And yet here he was again, just as he was at that critical point back in April, staring at the end of the road and knowing one more step in the wrong direction might finish him off for good. That van Bronckhost did turn it around so spectacularly towards the end of last season, as his side surged towards Seville and a first Scottish Cup in 13 years, will have provided some comfort.
But, even so, this felt like a whole new level of jeopardy as Hearts motored across the M8, fuelled by their momentum. So the Dutchman sifted through what few fit options he had left and, for reasons only known to himself, chose to make just one change to the line-up which lost in Perth at the weekend.
In came Rabbi Matondo for the injured Fashion Sakala which seemed like much of a muchness if not a downgrade. James Sands and Tillman kept their places in midfield while Steve Davis and Scott Arfield remained on the bench. Given what was at stake, van Bronckhorst’s selection felt more like a resignation letter. And, no, not for the first time.
In the other dugout Robbie Neilson made a big call of his own in leaving Barrie McKay on the sidelines. But with Robert Snodgrass adding poise and creativity to supply an attack spearheaded by Lawrence Shankland and Josh Ginnelly, the visitors carried some serious threat nonetheless.
Five minutes in, Snodgrass was splitting the Gers defence in two with a perfectly measured probe over the top which sent Ginnelly tearing in behind. Allan McGregor, sensing the danger and the enormity of the moment, came racing out of his box to slide into a tackle. That held Ginnelly’s progress up long enough for Ben Davies to get back and scramble the ball clear.
Had the keeper’s timing been just a split second out then his night might have been over. It was an early warning at one end. At the other, it was more of the same old story – plenty of possession but almost all of it painfully pedestrian and predictable.
With Matondo offering nothing on the right flank as usual, it was left to Englishman Kent to overcome a deepening
confidence crisis on the left as Rangers’ only meaningful creative force. The winger could have let fly in the opening seconds but opted to chop inside and tee up Tillman instead.
The American also declined to take on the shot and, at that point, his boss must have known a long night lay ahead. Kent did set up midfield pal John Lundstram with the best chance of the half in 19 minutes with a flashing cut-back after being released by a forward surge from Sands.
But Lundstram’s first-time effort blazed over from 12 yards when it ought to have found the roof of Craig Gordon’s net. A couple of half-chances then fell the way of Antonio Colak before the interval but both of them were snuffed out comfortably by experienced keeper Gordon.
Once again, Rangers left the pitch to the sound of simmering anger in the stands. Van Bronckhorst’s response was a glaringly obvious one. He kept Sands inside at half-time and asked Arfield to add some attacking urgency.
Within 60 seconds Gordon was forced into a save at his right-hand post, bundling the ball behind for a corner after Kent had headed Matondo’s deep cross into the path of Tillman. But an even better chance arrived at the other end when Andy Halliday let Ginnelly’s flashing cross squeeze through his own legs, just five yards out from an open goal.
Still, this contest was picking up much-needed tempo now. Colak tried his luck with an overhead kick which flew wide and Tillman fired one into the side netting. As the pace of the action increased so did the sense of Ibrox desperation.
Van Bronckhorst replaced the ineffectual Matondo with Scott Wright on the hour and the substitute instantly injected some menace down the right-hand side.
And within five minutes Rangers were ahead but it was all down to Kent’s quick feet on the other side. The wide man cut inside neatly, danced through three challenges and then slipped full-back Barisic in behind the Jambos defence.
The Croatian’s first-time cross was met on the slide by Tillman at full stretch and his finish was too hot for Gordon to keep out. Suddenly, Rangers began to function with confidence and chances came and went before the end.
But this game was always going to be won by a single goal. And it was Kent who made it happen.
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