Hearts 0 - 4 Rangers Wed 27/02/08

Jean Claude Darcheville (25)
Jean Claude Darcheville (44)
Nacho Novo (53)
Nacho Novo (70)

Jean-Claude Darcheville and Nacho Novo claimed a double to fire Rangers to their 10th consecutive Clydesdale Bank Premier League win as Walter Smith's men showed their title credentials with a 4-0 rout of Hearts.

The clash at Tynecastle was supposed to represent one of Rangers' toughest tests of the campaign so far.

Instead, Hearts found themselves ripped apart by a rampant Rangers side, who sent out a clear message to rivals Celtic by maintaining their four-point advantage at the summit of the SPL in emphatic style.

Rangers were subjected to their worst result of the season when they lost 4-2 here back in September so it was no real surprise to see Smith adopt a more cautious approach for their return to Edinburgh.

Darcheville was deployed as the lone frontman with Cristian Dailly drafted into the team to anchor a five-man midfield, which also included Charlie Adam on the left. Chris Burke and Daniel Cousin were the players sacrificed following Sunday's win over Gretna.

Hearts caretaker boss Stephen Frail named the same 11 players who notched up a win over Motherwell on Saturday but it was soon apparent the Jambos would be facing a far sterner challenge at the hands of the SPL leaders.

Only superb goalkeeping prevented Rangers from taking the lead with their first real chance of the match. Dailly connected with Barry Ferguson's corner at the back post and nodded to Steven Naismith, whose point-blank header from six yards was kept out by an impressive reflex save from Steve Banks.

Naismith then tried his luck with a long-range effort that he blasted well over the crossbar, before Darcheville claimed the opener after 25 minutes.

Ferguson collected a neat pass from Steve Davis before sweeping the ball out to Darcheville as he cut inside from the left and the striker did well to squeeze the shot inside the far post from a tight angle.

Hearts tried to haul themselves back into the game and Lee Wallace burst down the left flank before setting up Calum Elliot for a shot that went well over.

The departure of leading goalscorer Andrius Velicka meant an opportunity for the young frontman to impress but he failed to trouble Allan McGregor in the Rangers goal with this poor effort.

Instead it was Darcheville who found the back of the net again two minutes before the break.

Ferguson's corner was knocked back across goal by a Carlos Cuellar header, with Naismith having a swipe before the ball fell to Darcheville and his shot found the back of the net from a few yards.

With his work done for the night, Darcheville was withdrawn for Novo at the interval.

But if Hearts thought the departure of the Frenchman meant some much-needed respite, they were sadly mistaken.

Novo was on the park for seven minutes when he helped himself to a goal of his own. Adam set up the shot with a low ball across goal and all that was required from the tiny striker was to bundle home from close range.

The same two players combined again to supply Rangers with their fourth goal with 69 minutes gone. Adam was again the provider and this time Novo produced a cheeky back-heel finish from six yards.

Novo then claimed for a penalty when he appeared to be tripped just inside the box by Christos Karipidis. But he was denied the opportunity to claim his hat-trick from the spot when referee Stuart Dougal ignored his pleas and signalled for play to continue.

With the win in the bag, Rangers were able to hand Kevin Thomson his first appearance since undergoing a hernia operation five weeks ago for the final minutes of what proved to be an impressive outing from the Ibrox side.

RANGERS: McGregor, Broadfoot, Cuellar, Weir, Whittaker, Ferguson, Davis (Thomson 85), Dailly, Darcheville (Novo 45), Adam, Naismith,

Subs Not Used: Alexander , Furman, Lennon, Cousin, Boyd,

Ref: S Dougal

Man-of-the-match: Davis

Attendance: 16,173