How Hearts can beat Rangers and end Hampden hoodoo

While Hearts recovered from a mini-wobble to head into the Scottish Cup semi-final in good spirits, the same cannot be said of their opponents. The midweek draw with Dundee, the defeat in the Highlands, the dropped points in the derby - it has been a tough few weeks for Philippe Clement's side. With just two wins in their last eight games - both against Hibernian - there is no better time to face them.

Rangers are the only Scottish side Naismith has faced but failed to defeat as Hearts manager and the men in maroon have lost all four meetings since Clement took over at Ibrox. But what lessons can be learned from those defeats? What needs to change for Hearts to finally defeat Rangers at Hampden at long last? Let's take a look.

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Pressure on the ball

Whenever Rangers have built out from the back in previous meetings with Hearts this season, the men in maroon have had the most joy when pressing high up the park. Philippe Clement’s side are direct and like to play long balls in behind the defence for the forwards to chase – but committed pressing from the front can cut these attacks out at their source.

Take the 1-0 defeat at Tynecastle back in December for example. Hearts lined up in a 3-5-2 that day, with Lawrence Shankland and Kyosuke Tagawa leading the line in attack. Central midfielders Calem Nieuwenhof and Jorge Grant – and occasionally Alex Cochrane – would push right up for Rangers goal kicks to join the press, essentially going man-for-man with the visitors’ back four. Here are a couple of typical examples that resulted in Rangers going long at the wrong moment and surrendering possession.

Such a ploy can keep the opposition boxed in, but you must be careful as individual errors can be punished. That’s exactly what happened during the first half that evening. Hearts’ press was disorganised, James Tavernier bypassed Hearts' attack and midfield in a matter of seconds, and Abdallah Sima took full advantage of some lacklustre defending to score the game’s only goal.

It’s a high-risk strategy – but, if executed correctly, it can seriously hamper Rangers’ efforts at playing their own game on Sunday. Disrupting passing moves before they get going can only aid Hearts’ chances of victory, but there will inevitably be stretches of the game where Clement’s side dominate possession and Hearts have to dig deep.

During such periods, it is vital that Hearts continue to put pressure on the ball, particularly in the wide areas. Rangers’ forward line is narrow and all the team’s width is provided by the full-backs (more on that later). If they can be shut down and kept quiet – forced to play in tight, congested areas without a moment’s peace – then it forces Rangers into the even more congested centre. If they don’t? Well, you only need to look at last month’s 5-0 defeat at Ibrox.

Ridvan Yilmaz was afforded the freedom of Govan that afternoon and the Turk put it to good use. The left-back caused all sorts of problems during the first half before Naismith changed the team’s shape at the interval to specifically address this weakness. But just look at some of the positions he was getting in, and look at how much time he had to plot his next move. Believe it or not, these are four separate incidents.

Yilmaz may not feature on Sunday but it is a tactical frailty that will exist with or without the 22-year-old. Whether it is Borna Barisic or Dujon Sterling lining up there tomorrow afternoon, they simply cannot be given a similar amount of room to play in.

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Protect the centre

Rangers will be direct and look to attack the box, but the back three gives Hearts the numerical advantage in the centre. It’s crucial that the wide central midfielders – most likely Cammy Devlin and Jorge Grant – get out wide to put pressure on Rangers’ full-backs, and there’s every reason to believe they can do just that. It’s a role that Devlin was born to play, while Grant did so ably in December’s 2-0 win at Celtic Park.

It's important for the back three, Beni Baningime and the wing-back on the other side to flood the central areas when Rangers are attacking. Crowding out the centre proved highly effective in December’s 1-0 defeat in Gorgie, after all.

There is one crucial caveat, however: Hearts’ defence can’t afford to sit off the Rangers midfield and invite shots from distance. They did so repeatedly in the 5-0 loss at Ibrox and paid the price. Truthfully, the final scoreline could have been even more commanding. You simply can’t allow teams of Rangers’ quality to repeatedly hit pot-shots from 25 yards and expect to get away with it.

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Get Beni on the ball

In the first encounter between the two sides this season, October’s 2-1 defeat at Ibrox, Baningime was a standout for Hearts. In his second league start of the season, the No.6 did what he does best: sit at the base of midfield, provide Hearts with an option when building out, and carefully recycle the ball. The result was that Hearts were able to get men forward and enjoy sustained spells of possession in Rangers’ half, leading to their best opportunities of the game.

Baningime was subbed off on the hour mark and the game changed. There were a number of factors that led to the subsequent onslaught from Rangers but there is no question that the midfielder’s absence was chief among them. Hearts could no longer build out from the back or string any more than a few passes together before losing it, and they eventually paid the price through two late, late goals for Clement’s men.

The Ibrox manager learned his lesson. Going forward, he decided that Baningime should be man-marked by an attacking midfielder during Hearts’ build-up. In the 5-0 game, Tom Lawrence was the man tasked with keeping Baningime quiet – and he fulfilled it expertly, forcing Hearts into hitting long balls they didn't want to play where the Rangers midfield could seize upon the second ball.

Baningime barely saw any of the ball and Hearts’ build-up play suffered as a result. They had to find new ways to keep a hold of the ball – they had some joy when Shankland dropped deep into the channels to collect a long pass from the centre-backs – but they struggled to beat Rangers’ press consistently, and subsequently failed to gain a foothold in the match.

Baningime can expect similar treatment tomorrow in Mount Florida. It will most likely be Todd Cantwell who is breathing down his neck. If Baningime can win the individual battle then Hearts’ build-up play should be controlled; if not, then Naismith’s men will need to find another way.

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Using space and stretching play

Rangers’ press means that gaps should open up elsewhere on the park, and so it is important for Hearts to take advantage. If you want to beat the Old Firm, you need to be brave, take risks and exploit space when the opportunity arises. Finding the spare man in possession is crucial.

Watching back the previous games between the two teams this season, one thing becomes abundantly clear: Alex Cochrane is key to Hearts’ attacking play. The Englishman is often the free man in these games (Tavernier does like to get forward, after all) and is regularly dangerous in the final third. Look back at the best chances Hearts have created against Rangers this season and Cochrane is never far away.

In the examples below, Cochrane gets the ball in a promising area. There is lots of space to advance into down the line but instead, he cuts inside and hits an early floated cross out to Shankland at the back post. It got Shankland his goal at Ibrox back in October, and it is an area where Hearts have regularly found some joy in these fixtures.

Even when building out from the back, Cochrane is often the free man - but his team-mates don't always notice. In the examples below, the dotted line shows the pass to Cochrane that could have been played, and the solid line shows the pass that was actually played. 

Cochrane has a good track record in these fixtures, and it would help Hearts to have someone stretching the play on the opposite flank. Someone with pace and industry, who is comfortable carrying the ball forward and playing in the final third is required. 

Stretching the play is of the utmost importance. Rangers have been highly susceptible to counter-attacks recently and have developed a nasty habit of getting caught in transition. The centre-back partnership of Connor Goldson and John Souttar looks fragile in 2v2 situations. Souttar tends to get drawn toward the ball and suffers occasional lapses in concentration, while Goldson can be turned and has poor recovery pace

A front two of Shankland and Kenneth Vargas could do some damage here. If Shankland can get on the ball and draw Souttar towards him, space can open up in behind for Vargas to run into. Goldson isn’t comfortable dealing with sprints beyond him, and it might well be a profitable route to goal for Hearts. Think of Vargas' miss against Morton, only further out from goal - a great chance, but hopefully with a better outcome.

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Countering the centre

Rangers are a team that are very vulnerable in transition just now. The Glasgow club have conceded the most counter-attacking shots per 90 in the Premiership over the past six games. With no out-and-out wingers fit and available for Clement to select, the front three can become narrow and so it is down to the full-backs to provide the width. Normally, one will push up and the other will drop in and sit to join a trio at the base of midfield.

This has led to some problems down Rangers’ left. When the left-back (usually Yilmaz or Barisic) has pushed up in recent weeks, Lundstram has shuffled over to protect the space out wide. This protects the flank but leaves Rangers vulnerable to counter-attacks through the centre.

Take a look at these examples from recent matches against Hibs and Ross County, both of which led to goals. In the first, Lundtsram is very wide and has a lot of ground to cover if Rangers lose the ball.

Rangers do lose the ball, and now Lundstram is in a foot race that he simply can't win. He gets caught off balance after almost getting back, and Hibs make the most of it.

Here's Lundstram against County last weekend. Yan Dhanda has the ball, and the Rangers midfielder goes haring after him. He's never going to get there, and either Lundstrum or Barisic should retreat to protect the centre. Instead, they are both drawn towards the ball, and County break.

It’s an area where Rangers have looked weak lately, and Hearts can potentially do some real damage here. There is one rather sizable drawback, however. If space opens up and the opportunity arises for Hearts to strike quickly through the centre, do the men in maroon have the necessary pace to pull away?

Perhaps. Perhaps not. Either way, Hearts can still attack the centre and exploit this frailty, even if not quite as directly. If Naismith’s men can instead use the ball well, time their runs correctly and do the simple stuff right, then they can play their way through the gaps.

Hearts might well have never beaten Rangers at Hampden, but they have rarely had such a good chance either. Clement’s side are in disarray after falling behind in the title race, and Dujon Sterling’s despondent post-match interview at Dens Park revealed the squad’s wounded psyche. Plenty of records have fallen by the wayside on Naismith’s watch already. If he gets his game plan right, then there’s no reason he can’t break another.