Hearts 0-2 Rangers extras: Roy Makaay's long chats with data analysts, referee's stand-out stats that paint picture

The extras from Rangers’ 2-0 win over Hearts in the cinch Premiership ...
Rangers manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst and assistant Roy Makaay at Tynecastle.Rangers manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst and assistant Roy Makaay at Tynecastle.
Rangers manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst and assistant Roy Makaay at Tynecastle.

Man of the match: There were a few contenders for this one, but despite scoring twice, it is a man at the other end of the pitch who gets the vote. Allan McGregor made five good saves to keep Hearts out, putting in one of his best performances of the season.

Letdown: Sadly for Hearts, Liam Boyce did not have his shooting boots on. The Northern Irish striker did everything right up until the final moments, either being denied by McGregor or not hitting the target. Boyce was fairly downbeat in his post-match interview, admitting he should have done much better.

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Turning point: Once again, Boyce and McGregor are involved here. In the opening stages, Boyce was sent through on goal, but dithered too much with his finish, allowing McGregor to paw the ball over the bar. Had that gone in, with Hearts in the early ascendancy at 0-0, it would have been a very different match.

Referee watch: Nick Walsh booked 11 players. Needless. There were some tackles that needed addressing, but it was not a dirty match, which is what the card count suggests. Furthermore, he has now refereed three Rangers matches this season and sent off an opposition player in each of them after Josh Ginnelly’s late dismissal for Hearts, and across all teams and competitions this season, he has red-carded eight players in 20 appearances.

Gave us a giggle: Perhaps more intrigue than humour was assistant coach Roy Makaay’s frequent visits to the two Rangers data analysts, who were stationed right in front of the press box at Tynecastle. Watching them work, cutting frame after frame, was a sport in itself, but intrigue levels rose when Makaay came over to talk to them and garner little snippets of information. At 0-0, he barked an instruction “five” at them, while in the second period he was in deep conversation with one of them. Rangers clearly lean heavily on their backroom staff, with Makaay then relaying his conversations to manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst.