Rangers settled for a stalemate against Hearts in their previous Premiership meeting at Tynecastle. They had little scope this afternoon to drop points again, but the outing turned out to be even worse as they surrendered a 1-0 lead to concede twice and suffer a shocking 2-1 defeat against the bottom-placed Jambos.
Below are the Rangers players rated in their disastrous defeat against Hearts.
Allan McGregor: 5.5
The Scotsman was having a comfortable outing until around the hour mark when Steven Naismith equalised against the run of play capitalising on Kamara’s mistake. Could have done a lot better though when Liam Boyce grabbed the winner in the closing minutes of the match.
Jon Flanagan: 5
Started down the right-hand side of the Gers’ backline. Looked nervy while defending deep and his tackles were rusty too, which resulted in a booking. The gaffer opted to take him off at half-time and brought in Matt Polster as his replacement.
Connor Goldson: 6
Was maintaining a towering presence in deep defence. Could have done little to deny Naismith, but the defence was all over the place when Boyce found the winner late in the game.
Nikola Katic: 5.5
Although threatened from set-pieces at the other end of the pitch, the Croatian was nervy at times while defending deep. An afternoon to forget for the centre-half too.
Borna Barisic: 6.5
Tried to create chances from the wide with his marauding runs, cut insides, crosses and link-up play with Ryan Kent which resulted in a well-constructed goal. Could have been more alert defensively though, particularly after Naismith’s equaliser.
Ryan Jack: 5.5
Was clumsy with his tackles and challenges. Denied Hearts an array of moves in the centre of the pitch, but was taken off at half-time after receiving a yellow card moments before the break. Scott Arfield was introduced as his replacement.
Steven Davis: 6
Worked hard to retain possession, distribute from the deep and orchestrate the show from the middle of the park. Should have offered more in terms of creativity while operating in the advanced areas.
Glen Kamara: 4
A nightmarish display from the Finnish professional who struggled to retain the ball. Was erroneous in Naismith’s equaliser and the gaffer decided to take him off midway through the second half.
Joe Aribo: 6.5
Played his part in Kent’s goal as he laid it off perfectly into the Englishman’s path who made no mistake in finding the right corner. However, the equaliser against the run changed the equation and the entire team, alongside the Nigerian, lost the plot during the final half an hour.
Ryan Kent: 7.5
Came close on a few occasions before finding the net with a trademark strike. Was lively from the flank, also used his pace to stage counter-attacking threats by carrying the ball forward.
Jermain Defoe: 5
Was wasteful while leading the line and the Gers paid the price for not making the most of those opportunities. The defeat has now put Celtic back in the driver’s seat in the title battle.
Rangers Substitutes
Matt Polster: 5.5
Featured for an entire half and failed to leave an impression both in defence and in the attacking third.
Scott Arfield: 5.5
Should have offered more considering his experience of the highest order.
Sheyi Ojo: 5
The struggle continues for the Liverpool loanee who failed to contribute anything noteworthy since replacing Kamara.
