(Credit: Imago)

Jacob Raw

Mon 4 May 2026 19:36, UK Updated Mon 4 May 2026 19:58, UK

Danny Rohl watched on as Rangers crumbled to a 2-1 defeat against Hearts to all but crush their title hopes, as there were plenty of talking points from the top-of-the-table clash.

The Bears managed to silence a noisy Tynecastle Park crowd early, with Dujon Sterling’s deflected volley finding a way into the net in the first half.

But a rejuvenated Hearts came back to hurt Gers in the second 45, as Stephen Kingsley followed in a rebound, before Lawrence Shankland’s sweeping effort was slotted past Jack Butland for the win.

Rohl made big changes for this game, and though it looked to be working at first, Hearts got the better of his side in moments that mattered the most.

Rangers’ title hopes are now gone, but there were plenty of other points from the match to dissect.

Danny Rohl was furious with lazy midfield work

Rohl demands a lot from his midfielders and has implemented a high-pressing system that forces opponents to feel uncomfortable, and that was on show in the first 45 at Tynecastle.

However, there were some moments the Rangers boss would not have been happy with from his midfield players, especially when Tochu Chukwuani missed a golden opportunity to score.

Regardless, the table above shows that Gers dominated the middle of the park in the first half, though Rohl was still not happy with one moment in particular.

Joshua Barrie claimed that the Rangers head coach was seen “furious” when no midfielder pounced on a second ball, following a long pass from Emmanuel Fernandez.

For the most part, Rangers’ midfield was too much for the Jambos in the first 45 minutes, but this was far from the case in the last part of the match.

Hearts were much more proactive than Rangers with tactics

The first period of the game proved that Rangers and Rohl got it right by opting to have the extra man in midfield.

However, Hearts should have then had more of their success with width on paper, and though this wasn’t the case early on, the Jambos soon exploited this in the second half.

Ryan Stevenson pointed out on BBC Sportsound that Derek McInnes chose to switch their wide players, Kingsley and Alexandros Kyziridis, which did not faze the Bears at first.

The change came after Sterling’s goal, and then this was reverted in the second 45, where Kingsley scored the goal to fire Hearts back level.

Rohl took too long to make big changes and made three after the Bears were already 2-1 down.

John Beaton had another shocking ref display for Rangers

Rangers fans probably accepted defeat before the game kicked off after learning John Beaton was the man in black for the contest.

The Bears have had controversial moments when the referee has been in charge, and the last thing they needed was his presence at Tynecastle Park.

• Rangers were given two cards and committed 12 fouls
• Hearts were given one yellow and made eight fouls

The Sky Sports co-commentator suggested he didn’t agree with Beaton’s decision to book Emmanuel Fernandez in the 80th minute, following a natural collision with Hearts’ Claudio Braga.

Rangers fans will start to pick up on these performances from Beaton, as it seems he completely crumbled to the Hearts supporters.

Updated 24/7 with expert analysis from the heart of Govan.