What a game, what a week, what a month! (GERS … 3 Jambos …2)

Yup - the Sectarian Triangle has conspired aainst Martin O’Neill to the best effect yet. All three “total proddy teams” ganged-up on the most beleagured millionaire in Christendom to engineer Celtic’s demotion from first to second in Scotland’s top flight. Dundee, sperated from Celtic by the full length of the SPL table at the start of the day, held the reigning champions to a thrilling 2-2 draw at Red, White and Dark Blue Dens Park and the life-long enemy of Edinburgh’s Hibernians happily lay down to their Combat 18 brothers from Govan to ensure the best placed of the Orange Trio would top the table by the end of the month of November.

Then, of course, ye have the Masonic Lodge throwing their weight behind the bigotry masterplan - why the hell was Boumsong not sent off when we conceded that penalty?! De Vries might have been going slightly away from goal but it was defo a goal-scoring chance and more of a sending of for definite last man Jean-Alain than the red card Caldwell of Hibs received for bringing down Hamed Namouchi at Easter Road two weeks previously.

That was a huge let-off - almost as much of a relief as the fact Dundee were beating Celtic as I entered The Brox at 2:55 pm. Knowing their recent proclivity for conceding second-half goals to SPL opponents, if Dundee could score first then there was a real chance that suspension-ravaged Celtic would give us the opporchancity to end November in the only way our form this month could possibly deserve: Topping both the SPL and Uefa Cup Group F.

As I parked the car on Shieldhall Road, Dundee scored - live on BBC Radio Scotland. At that moment I knew what I’d hear before I was sat in my Blue Bucket seat up the back of the Govan Stand: Sure enough, as I walked hrough the Jambos trundling up to the Broomloan, a big Bear roared “2-0 to Dundee - ya byootehy!”. As I climbed the steps to Row M I heard a very loud “Is it really 3-0 to Dundee??!!”. A quick bit of texting confirmed, yes, it was still only 1-0. Celtic equalised and then took the lead - all on mobile phones apparently - but by the time The Ragners came back down the tunnel for the second half, matters on Tayside and Setanta had been concluded at 2-2. Celtic were temporarily two points clear. A win would put us top but, my god, what we’d witnessed in the first half in the flesh left us in no doubt that The Gers were far from guaranteed the three points necessary to regain their natural vantage point.

Make no bones about it: Hearts were absolutely magnificent today. They did Scotland proud once again on Thursday with a thrilling, late Uefa Cup win in Basle. We played and won in the same competition on the same evening but we were fully expected to do so and found ourselves up against far less testing opponents. This plus the travelling from Switzerland and the very real emotional and physical drain which a momentous win can cause tempted me to think Hearts would be in no state to give us a real game today. I apologise right now for ever having thought that. Rangers might be back but, unless the whole Anatloy Byshovets thing back-fires on their prospective new owner, the Hearts renaissance is in safe hands: They did not give us an INCH in this game.

Levein already had them well drilled and pressing us in recent league encounters. After a thrilling, narrow win for The Gers at home to the Jambos last December, the Ancient Marooners won 1-0 on their last visit to Ibrox - the only Scottish team outside Celtic to have defeated McLeish’s Rangers in Govan - and they matched us all the way in the 0-0 at Tynecastle earlier this season. But John Robertson, in replacing his auld team-mate at the Hearts helm a few weeks ago, seems to have already added another dimension .

Robbo scared the hell out of us earlier this season when Inverness Caley Thistle had us hanging on to a 1-goal lead almost from the moment we scored the only goal of the game. We’ve improved considerably since that day - and hanging on for that win probably kept McLeish in his job - but Robbo’s on-field personell have also improved dramtically in the intervening period.

Ramon Pareira was outstanding in the first half, the entire Hearts side played high-tempo with a high line and got in our faces and Mark de Vries gave Boumsong all sorts of trouble - more trouble than from anyone else he’s met this season. It was a definite penalty - Jean-Alain just couldn’t cope with the big Dutch striker and clattered him in the box right below me. We kept eleven men on the pitch but the penalty was struck home sweetly by Hartley and the visitors had not exactly scored out of nothing.

Yet The Gers knuckled down and soldiered on. Big Prso, from missing an absolute sitter in the opening minutes, was not at his sharpest but he, liek the rest of the team, were playing their way through a lack of fluidity. Alex Rae carved this win out of stone for Rangers today. Mozza Ross was in for Vignal at left-back (What’s up with Ball and Vanoli?) and was eventually replaced by young Stevie Smith at half-time as his fitness seemed to fail. Or was it just that he wisnae very good? We’ve conceded two goals in only two matches this season - Maurice Ross also played in Moscow. That’s not fair on Mozza - particularly as he wsn’t around for Hearts second today, but it speaks about how a little disruption to the balance of the defence can have serious ramifications.

Thank god for Big Marvin Andrews. I really think he should have been on De Vries today - coz he seemed to be everywhere else. Big guy never stops.

Rangers were good enough and spirited enough to conjure up a goal before half-time - the timing was crucial, not allowing our opponents to think we’d surrender to their slapping us about a bit. With Ricksen loitering with intent at the back-post, Jamie Mcallister stuck it into his own net. I have absolutely no recollection about the build up as, with the nails already shredded and the knuckles more purple than white, the explosion of relief which washed over me at the equaliser caused a retrospective blanking of my internal video.

Big John McLelland on the pitch for the half-time tombola and he too was washed away with the news that Dundee had done us a big favour at Dens and the big push which started in September could now reach it’s natural climax before December. When Nacho ran onto that long ball to the edge of the box and beatifully lobbed Craig Gordon - how can someone travelling so fast after such a speeding object, effect such a delicately slow placement?!! - it seemd like the kind of slowly dawning strike which perfectly matched this improvement in Rangers’ fortunes over the course of this season.

But I knew the scoring had already gone against this Old Firm team the way it had up at Dens. Hearts should, by my unbelivably pessimistic brand of superstition, be equalising. The visitors capitalised brilliantly on a move of ours which broke down when Namouchi didn’t square the ball across the Hearts box. De Vries again left Boumsong struggling as he dive-headed home another well-earned goal.

Namouchi went off and Stephen Hughes came on to what has to be described as a merely polite reception. Not a lot of people were too convinced. But then Mr Hughes wandered across the Hearts box with a ball he then chipped back across perfectly for the LITTLE GOD we call Novo to head home. Hughes then concussed himself in a ridiculously brave aerial challenge with the equally determined Andy Webster. The Hughes legs were visibly wobbling as he was led off the pitch he’d just entered. But in that short space of time he’d caused as much damage to Celtic’s title hopes as he had to his own noggin. Hearts had further chances - we had more - but at the end of the day, 3-2 was the score …. not for a year has the final whistle brought such a roar.

Rangers, ladies and gentlemen, are TOP OF THE SCOTTISH PREMIER LEAGUE.

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Published:
11.29.04 / 1am
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