By Stewart Fisher

THE Ladbrokes Premiership title will belong to the best of the west this season but that doesn’t mean that Edinburgh’s finest can’t inflict some capital punishment from time to time. For the second time in a month, one of the Glasgow giants ventured to the other side of the M8 and had to battle back just to escape with a share of the spoils.

A few weeks after Celtic came a cropper at Easter Road, yesterday it was Rangers’ turn to come up short in their attempts to reclaim top spot in the Ladbrokes Premiership, although the margins could hardly be finer. With the two Glasgow giants having both an identical points tally and goal difference, Celtic stay top as they have scored a solitary goal more. But what else did we learn from a day where Auld Reekie bit back against the Old Firm?

Tynecastle still packs a punch

Without Hearts languishing in 11th and without a league win at this venue since March, certain media pundits were suggesting a trip to this Gorgie ground should no longer carry the threat it once did. Hearts yesterday seemed to take personal umbrage at that idea. The tight pitch and unique atmosphere played to their strengths here as it has done since time immemorial, not least because of the aggressive start the home side made to this match. It took Rangers’ defence too long to get to grips with Uche Ikpeazu, who had already rattled the face of the bar with a header by the time he won the flick on which led to Heart’s seventh minute opener. With James Tavernier fluffing a chance to clear, Jake Mulraney scampered in only for Allan McGregor to produce a fine save. Ryo Meshino was following up and the on-loan Manchester City man’s instant lobbed finish with his left foot was a thing of beauty.

Vexing day for the visistors

One of the perils of having a high-performing squad is the fact that Steven Gerrard’s side are scattered to the wind on international duty these days. This last week or so has seen Joe Aribo scoring for Nigeria against Brazil out in Singapore, Scott Arfield starring for Canada against the USA and Steven Davis making two more appearances for Nothern Ireland, but they might just have been suffering for it here. While they could have done with the injured Ryan Jack in there to solidify things, the visitors laboured during that first period and did little more than break even in the second. With captain James Tavernier not away anywhere on international duty, there was no excuse for the poor deliveries which pockmarked this match, all the way through to the poor free kick which wasted his side’s last chance.

Semi-final scouting report

While no two matches are the same – particularly when you trade the tight confines of Tynecastle for Hampden – Hearts put a marker down here for the BetFred Cup semi-final between these two teams in a fortnight’s time. In particular, there were big performances in their ranks from the likes of Michael Smith, Glenn Whelan and Sean Clare and for all Hearts’ struggles in the league, there is accumulating evidence that bigger matches bring out the best in them. With referee Kevin Clancy having his hands full, and booking eight players in all yesterday, it will certainly be a physical contest.

Harsh lesson for Hickey

Hearts’ teenage full back Aaron Hickey has a massive future in the game and his willingness to get the ball down and play is to be commended. But asked once again to play on the right flank, rather than his favoured left, yesterday was a valuable life lesson that sometimes less can be more. Attempting to play the ball back to his centre half when pinned on the byeline, he only conceded a Rangers corner and three touches later the ball was in his net, courtesy of Morelos’ close-range finish after a Nikola Katic headed flick. To compound the player’s misery, it was also the youngster’s designation to pick up the Colombian from the set piece.

Ryan Kent’s return is timely

While the international break wasn’t long enough to allow Ryan Jack to return from the calf injury which kept him out of Scotland duty, Steven Gerrard must have been delighted to welcome Ryan Jack back into the fold after the hamstring problem which stopped his second debut for the club in its tracks. The former Liverpool man came into the fold from the bench in the second period for the underwhelming Sheyi Ojo and immediately posed threat with a run off the left and a shot which flew wide. He will be crucial in the weeks to come, even if yesterday didn’t see any of Rangers’ skill players at their best.