CALAMITY KURSKIS

0 Comments | Sunday Herald, The, Dec 16, 2007 | by Michael Grant at Ibrox

Rangers 2 McCulloch 17, Kurskis 86 OG

Hearts 1 Velicka 55

HEARTSseemtobe building a funeral pyre of flawed goalkeepers, and by the time they left Ibrox last night another gloved corpse looked ready to be thrown on the flames.

Eduardas Kurskis had waited almost a year before making his debut last weekend but notoriety has arrived quickly for him. A dreadful late mistake handed Rangers the win which took them to within two points of Celtic with a game in hand.

Kurskis is 31 and has played half a dozen times for the Lithuanian national side, but he was having to fight off tears in the away dressing room and no-one was able to put a gloss on it: he let his team-mates down.

Hearts are getting used to it, given that Steve Banks and Anthony Basso have also been tried as Craig Gordon's successor only to be found wanting. The three successors have all had a chance in the last six Hearts games alone, but having elbowed his way to the front Kurskis is suddenly at the back of the queue after his late mistake.

Rangers played the ball into the box from a short free-kick and it squirted off Lee McCulloch and high towards the goal. Kurskis had both hands on it for an easy catch only to fumble the ball into the net.

"A goal like that can win you a championship, " said Rangers' grateful Charlie Adam. The home supporters showed their gratitude by directing donkey chants at Kurskis.

"It is going to be difficult to lift him up, " said Stevie Frail, Hearts' assistant head coach.

"It was a bad mistake. We need to look at the situation and make sure we get the best goalkeeper and play him every week.

"We have to make sure that, whoever picks the team, the right one is picked. It's the most important position, even more than the main striker. When a goalkeeper makes a mistake it can cost you the game and that's what happened today."

Rangers were happy for the gift because they have more strikers than goals at the moment. During the first half their supporters in the Copland Road end made a derogatory chant about Kenny Miller in response to speculation that he may return for a second spell at the club.

When Smith was asked about Miller he alluded instead to reports that Thomas Buffel, Brahim Hemdani, Kris Boyd and Daniel Cousin were all on their way out: "If you believe the papers we are not going to have anyone left after the transfer window, so we had better take someone in! But there won't be that many leaving."

It is clear that Smith is not the type to be perturbed by the criticism he generates for playing with only one striker and - regardless of this being a home game in the SPL - he did so again.

The woeful midweek contributions of Cousin and Jean-Claude Darcheville meant there was a chance from the start for Boyd.

Although there were jeers when Boyd was replaced deep in the second half, it had not been his day.

Hehad a hand in Rangers' opener and later threatened with a header but the booing when he was taken off owed more to the fact the game was level at the time and Smith was still refusing to go with two outright strikers.

His starting formation was suitable for the time of year:

4-3-2-1 aka the Christmas tree, and Kevin Thomson was rested because he is one booking away from being suspended for the New Year Old Firm derby.

For Hearts, Saulius Mikoliunas was jeered at every touch, still the villain for diving to earn a penalty when Scotland beat Lithuania more than three months ago.

They had the players to have a go at Rangers but only at the start of the second half, during which they scored, did they have a grip on the match.

They almost fell behind in the fourth minute when Adam bent a long, looping shot which dipped to bounce off the junction of the crossbar and post, although if that raised supporters' expectations of a bright match they were slowly dampened down.

Rangers did manage an early goal but it was one of precious few chances and all the graft and running didn't amount to a great deal.

Hearts' defending was a mess when McCulloch put Rangers ahead. Boyd and Jose Goncalves both went to meet Adam's long ball but it bounced past them to McCulloch, who had the poise to take out two defenders and adjust himself before placing the ball past Kurskis.

More than half an hour of playing time dribbled away before Rangers created another noteworthy chance when Adam's free-kick was flicked wide of the far post by Boyd's header.

Hearts had been anonymous in the first half but the introduction of Kestutis Ivaskevicius at half time gave them energy and presence on the right side and for 20 minutes Rangers left-back Steven Whittaker struggled far more against him than he had against Mikoliunas.

When Robbie Neilson also ran at him Whittaker gave away the free- kick from which Hearts equalised, with Andrew Driver's ball into the box met by Andrius Velicka's confident header.

Hearts flooded forward for a while and threatened to find a winner, especially when the lively Driver hit a rising shot.

They could not sustain that level of pressure, though, and Darcheville's pace and aggression helped turn the play Rangers' way again.