Hearts 1-3 Rangers report and player ratings as one stand-out bags 9/10 but plenty of low marks

James Tavernier celebrates opening the scoring for Rangers against Hearts at Hampden.

Rangers breezed into the Viaplay Cup final with a comfortable 3-1 victory over an insipid Hearts at Hampden.

Philippe Clement’s team were a cut above the capital club and after a frustrating first half in which Rangers dominated without finding the net, a double from captain James Tavernier and a strike from substitute Scott Wright sealed the win. They will now take on Aberdeen in final, back at Hampden, on Sunday December 17.

Rangers were the superior team in the opening 45 minutes and while Danilo, Abdallah Sima and Todd Cantwell all had reasonable efforts, they were unable to properly test Hearts goalkeeper Zander Clark. The Jambos, set up in a 3-5-2 formation by their manager Steven Naismith, were organised but carried little threat in the final third.

Rangers, however, broke the deadlock on 50 minutes. Clark brought down Danilo while challenging for a loose ball in the box and Tavernier dispatched the penalty emphatically. Hearts tried to rally and Frankie Kent saw his header well saved by Jack Butland on 54 minutes but a minute later, Rangers doubled their lead. Danilo slipped in Wright, who replaced Cantwell at the interval, and the winger buried his shot low past Clark.

Butland was once again called into action to make an excellent save from a curling Stephen Kingsley effort but the match was all but settled on 64 minutes when Tavernier lashed a free-kick from 19 yards high past Clark.

Hearts grabbed a consolation on 81 minutes when Lawrence Shankland netted a penalty, awarded by VAR after referee Nick Walsh had originally sent Kingsley off for simulation following a Ben Davies challenge, but it was too little, too late for the Jambos, who are still yet to defeat Rangers at Hampden.

Player ratings

Hearts: Clark 5; Kingsley 6, Kent 6, Rowles 6; Sibbick 5 (Forrest 3), Nieuwenhof 4 (Denholm n/a), Baningime 5 (Devlin 2), Grant 4 (Oda 3), Cochrane 5; Vargas 4 (Boyce 2), Shankland 5.

Rangers: Butland 8; Tavernier 9, Goldson 7, Balogun 7 (Davies 2), Barisic 7; Jack 7, Lundstram 7; Lammers 6 (Lawrence 3), Cantwell 5 (Wright 8), Sima 7, Danilo 8 (Dessers 3).