Kyosuke Tagawa’s magnificent volley earned Hearts a dramatic 3-3 draw against Rangers as their Premiership campaign ended in the Gorgie sunshine. Losing 3-2 in stoppage-time, the Japanese substitute produced an outrageous finish for his second goal in two games following one at St Mirren in midweek. That brought a feel-good ending to what has been a very successful season for Hearts.
Lawrence Shankland claimed his 31st club goal of the season to open the scoring in the first half. However, strikes by Ross McCausland, Todd Cantwell and Fabio Silva after the interval put Rangers 3-1 ahead the game. Dexter Lembikisa struck before Tagawa’s last-gasp goal restored parity at 3-3.
It must be said Hearts were architects of their own downfall at times in this encounter, conceding possession cheaply in midfield before being punished by the opposition. They did, however, compete well and scored three very fine goals of their own - superbly finished by all three scorers.
There was the unseemly sight of Rangers fans fighting in the Roseburn Stand at full-time as police and stewards waded in. The Ibrox club were allocated less than 600 tickets for the match and some of their followers breached a security cordon as things got heated. For several minutes, the situation got out of control as supporters battled among themselves near an exit before authorities managed to restore order.
Positions in the Premiership’s top six were finalised over the last week so this match had nothing significant riding on it. Hearts wanted victory to reach 70 points and Rangers were seeking to continue momentum ahead of next week’s Scottish Cup final against Celtic.
Proceedings began at a good pace and Rangers appealed strongly for a 13th-minute penalty when striker Cyriel Dessers appeared to have his shirt pulled by the Hearts defender Frankie Kent inside the box. A VAR review concluded there was no infringement.
The visitors should have been ahead on 20 minutes after winger McCausland dispossessed Kye Rowles in the defender’s own penalty area. McCausland squared to the unmarked Dessers but his tame finish from around eight yards was collected by Hearts goalkeeper Zander Clark.
Having failed to properly threaten the opposition goal since kick-off, Hearts took the lead on 33 minutes. Cantwell’s slack pass inside the hosts’ half was seized upon by the alert Yutaro Oda, who slid a perfectly-weighted first-time through ball to Shankland running in behind the Rangers back line. The captain took a touch to compose himself before chipping a delightful finish over the emerging goalkeeper Jack Butland into the net with his weaker left foot.
Hearts supporters goaded Dessers following a couple of failed attempts at goal with chants of: ‘You’re just a sh*** Lawrence Shankland.’ The Nigerian internationalist had scored five times in his last five appearances, including twice against the Tynecastle side in last month’s Scottish Cup semi-final. However, it was young McCausland who drew this match level six minutes into the second period.
He flicked the ball over Alex Cochrane’s head in midfield and then dispatched a precise shot past the diving Clark, off the inside of the post and into the net from 22 yards. Hearts then fashioned a glorious chance to score again when McKay’s lob found Shankland free of a marker, but the striker’s heavy touch saw the ball run through to Butland. Then Dessers missed another opportunity at the opposite end, taking a touch and volleying past Clark’s left post.
Silva lashed a shot against Clark’s palms on 64 minutes and Frankie Kent blocked Cantwell’s follow-up effort. Eventually, the pressure from those in blue yielded a second goal. Cammy Devlin’s forward pass was collected by James Tavernier inside the Rangers half. He fed Dessers for a first-time clipped ball towards Cantwell. The Englishman took a touch before a left-footed finish in off the same post as McCausland.
Rangers now had control and should have put the result beyond doubt when Silva fired their third on 79 minutes. The Hearts substitute Lembikisa allowed the Portuguese to nip in ahead of him and score, but three minutes later Lembikisa reduced the deficit to 3-2 with an emphatic strike from Vargas’ cross moments later. That gave the locals some hope for the final stages with a fightback now on the cards.
Clark was called upon again for his best save of the afternoon from the Rangers substitute Kieran Dowell. The keeper was at full stretch to touch Dowell’s low drive on to the post, and then reacted to block Abdallah Sima’s follow-up attempt with his foot.
Tagawa only replaced Vargas on 86 minutes but was alert to take his opportunity when it arrived. A long ball forward from Clark was headed on by Frankie Kent, and the Japanese arrived at pace to lash it first time past Butland into the net from 12 yards, tying the game at 3-3.
Hearts took the acclaim from their supporters at full-time after a fine first year under head coach Steven Naismith. They finished third in the Premiership and will play European league-stage football next season in either the Europa League or Conference League. Fans are eagerly anticipating another busy few months.
Here are the Hearts player ratings from Tynecastle:
1. GK: Zander Clark
7/10 Back in for the last game. Made a number of good saves. Needed more protection at all three Rangers goals.
2. RB: Stephen Kingsley
7/10 Unusual to see him at right-back in a four-man defence. Didn't faze him. Good performance.
3. RCB: Frankie Kent
7/10 Each time a high ball landed in the Hearts penalty box, Kent seemed to be there to head clear. Very dependable.
4. LCB: Kye Rowles
6/10 Caught on the ball in his own box in the first half but got away with it. Booked in the second half for holding Dessers back.