Cyriel Dessers capped off a fine personal week by scoring the winner as Rangers laboured painfully to a 1-0 William Hill Premiership win over Hearts at Ibrox.
The much-maligned striker notched in the 2-1 Premier Sports Cup semi-final win over Motherwell last Sunday and again in the deserved 1-1 Europa League draw at Olympiacos in Greece on Thursday night.
And he got the home side off to the perfect start when he prodded in from close range after five minutes for his 10th goal of the season, but Philippe Clement’s side failed to kick on.
Hearts striker Kenneth Vargas missed a couple of good chances and Ibrox became increasingly racked with tension during the nervy second half which had the home fans at times groaning in frustration at another poor performance.
The Light Blues are nine points behind leaders Celtic and Aberdeen going into November’s international break and there is still plenty to fix, while Hearts are second bottom, one point ahead of Edinburgh rivals Hibernian.
The Tynecastle side went into the game on the back of a 2-0 defeat by German side Heidenheim in the UEFA Conference League on Thursday night, and having last won at Ibrox 10 years ago when both clubs were in the Championship.
And the quest to amend that poor record suffered an early blow.
After a perfectly-observed minute’s silence to commemorate Remembrance Sunday, Dessers gave the home side an early lead.
A flowing move involving Nico Raskin, Jefte and Nedim Bajrami ended with the ball speeding across the visiting area and skipper James Tavernier, back in the side after being dropped in Athens, drove towards goal with Dessers helping the ball over the line from close range.
The Nigeria striker then had two efforts which were less successful, a blocked drive and a chip which went wide.
Hearts, with Daniel Oyegoke, Kye Rowles, Cammy Devlin and Vargas back in the side, began to play but Rangers midfielder Mohamed Diomande drove wide from the edge of the box on the half-hour mark before Hearts goalkeeper Craig Gordon beat away a powerful drive from Vaclav Cerny after Connor Barron had sent him clear on a counter-attack.
However, the Gorgie outfit should have levelled in the 35th minute when Gers defender John Souttar’s short back-pass to Butland was picked by Vargas, but the Gers keeper used his leg to clear the ball.
Vargas then cracked a post with a shot in the first minute of the second half after the Rangers defence was split wide open by skipper Lawrence Shankland’s pass and only had Butland to beat.
Rangers had lost tempo and drive, and progress up the pitch was often laboured, although Tavernier had two goal-bound drives blocked by Hearts defenders.
In the 65th minute, Clement replaced his captain with Neysharo Kasanwirjo and there were boos when popular centre midfielder Connor Barron was taken off for Dujon Sterling.
For Hearts, Yan Dhanda and Beni Baningime took over from Alan Forrest and Malachi Boateng, and within minutes Baningime sent a curling shot just past Butland’s right-hand post.
Rangers at last broke with purpose in the 77th minute and Gordon saved Bajrami’s drive after he played a wall pass with Cerny.
However, there still slack passes and indecision although in the 89th minute, Kasanwirjo hit the crossbar from a cut-back from Danilo, who had replaced Dessers.
[(San Lorenzo de Almagro) Strength]: 1. In the league, San Lorenzo de Almagro drew 0-0 with River Plate in the last round. They have achieved an unbeaten record of 1 win and 2 draws in the first three rounds of the new season's league.[(San Lorenzo de Almagro) Neutral]: 1. San Lorenzo de Almagro's last 3 games ended with Under 1.5 Goals.2. San Lorenzo de Almagro alternated between wins and losses ...
[(BK Hacken) Strength]: 1. BK Hacken eliminated Belgian Pro League giants R.S.C. Anderlecht in the last round and advanced to the third stage of the UEFA Europa League qualifiers. Facing Eliteserien giants Brann, BK Hacken hope to strive to take the lead and lay the foundation for the second leg, so they are motivated.2. BK Hacken have performed relatively steadily at home in European competitions...
[(FCSB) Strength]: 1. FCSB will host the first leg of this tie before traveling for the return match, and they surely hope to win to take the initiative in advancing.2. Florin Tanase scored a hat-trick in the last game, demonstrating an outstanding form.[(FCSB) Weakness]: 1. FCSB lost 3-4 to Dinamo Bucuresti in their last away game and have suffered four consecutive defeats recently.2. FCSB lost b...
[(AEK Larnaca FC) Strength]: 1. AEK Larnaca FC have remained unbeaten in their last two Europa League matches with one win and one draw, showing a decent form. In the second leg of the Europa League second qualifying round, they defeated NK Celje 2-1. They have ruled out their opponents with 3-2 on aggregate and advanced to the third round.2. AEK Larnaca FC have recently achieved two consecutive v...
[(CFR Cluj) Strength]: 1. The two sides have met twice, with CFR Cluj winning both matches and having an edge in the head-to-head record.[(CFR Cluj) Weakness]: 1. CFR Cluj's recent performance in the Liga I of the new season has been rather mediocre, and they currently ranked 13th. Facing Primeira Liga giants SC Braga, CFR Cluj will find it more difficult to win, so they are not motivated.2. CFR C...
[(Lincoln Red Imps) Strength]: 1. Lincoln Red Imps have scored a total of 14 goals in their last 5 home games. The team's offensive power at home is not bad, and their scoring ability is reliable.2. Lincoln Red Imps have achieved 4 wins and 1 loss in their last 5 home games, with a win rate of 80%.3. Lincoln Red Imps won 3 of their last 4 games in AH.[(Lincoln Red Imps) Neutral]: 1. The two teams ...
[(Fredrikstad) Strength]: 1. Fredrikstad drew 0-0 with Tromso IL in their last Eliteserien match. Currently, they have 32 points and are fourth in the Eliteserien table. Their overall performance is acceptable.2. Fredrikstad have scored a total of 8 goals in the last 5 matches. The team's offensive performance has improved significantly, and their goal-scoring ability is strong.3. Fredrikstad have...
[(Minnesota United FC) Strength]: 1. Joaquin Pereyra provided three assists in the last game, demonstrating his outstanding ability.2. Minnesota United FC have remained unbeaten in their last four games and are in decent form.3. Minnesota United FC have scored a total of 19 goals in their last 10 games, averaging nearly 2 goals per game.4. Minnesota United FC won their last 3 games in AH.[(Minneso...
Let's start our Daily Laugh today. The bidding war has begun! Caicedo silencing the haters. Gerard Pique: "Watching Football for 90 minutes isn't EXCITING Anymore!" Cristiano's bond with Pepe was Truly SPECIAL! This summer has truly been the summer of heartbreak, with several club legends bidding farewell Messi's really gonna retire with900+ goals400+ assists12 League Titles4 Champions...

Simons to Chelsea is on as Leipzig enter Elliott talksAccording to The Athletic, RB Leipzig have contacted Liverpool to enquire about the availability of Harvey Elliott this summer. While the talks are not currently in an advanced stage, discussions between the two teams are ongoing.Leipzig see the 22-year-old as a direct replacement for Simons, who is expected to leave the club before the summer ...



- 1 Bayern Munich confirm Palhinha "transfer negotiations" as Spurs move closer
- 2 TIPS - Real Salt Lake VS Atletico San Luis
- 3 TIPS - FCSB VS KF Drita Gjilan
- 4 Daily Laugh - Raya nair
- 5 TIPS - Lincoln Red Imps VS FC Noah
- 6 TIPS - Rigas Futbola Skola VS KuPS
- 7 Man Utd, Newcastle turn to Stuttgart striker Woltemade
- 8 TIPS - FC Kairat Almaty VS SK Slovan Bratislava
- 9 Transfer rumors, news: Chelsea face dilemma over Simons
- 10 Man City loanee Simpson-Pusey ready to prove himself at Celtic: This is a big opportunity!