Hearts title mood shifts amid Tynecastle noise as Derek McInnes rights his wrong to KO Rangers

He stressed before the match that Hearts would need to be at it right from the start. They weren’t. But a Hearts side firing on all cylinders only for half the game was still enough to tighten their grip on the Scottish title and all but eliminate Rangers from the equation.

Silverware has already been displayed at Tynecastle. The triumphant Hearts youth side was invited to take a bow before kick-off with the trophy they won last week against Queen’s Park. Might there be something else gleaming at the stadium before the season is out? It now seems very likely.

Following this victory, secured by skipper Lawrence Shankland’s winner after 71 minutes, the mood seemed to switch from hope to expectation. Of course, Hearts know better than anyone not to count their points before they are in the bag. Motherwell on Saturday, at the home of one of the best teams in the country on their day, is the next biggest game in the Tynecastle club’s history.

But this was the toughest of tough obstacles to overcome, particularly after giving their opponents a goal start. Rangers were deservedly in front when the teams went in at half-time following Dujon Sterling's deflected opener 23 minutes in.

McInnes made a fairly straightforward alteration during the interval, replacing Islam Chesnokov with Blair Spittal, but for whatever reason Rangers simply could not cope with it. The inquest will be long and possibly painful for manager Danny Rohl following a second successive defeat at a critical stage of the season.

Everything for McInnes, on the other hand, is coming up roses, even when he appears to get things wrong. His starting XI underwent heavy scrutiny for including Chesnokov and excluding Spittal. The latter scored the winner against Hibs in Hearts’ last outing and is becoming an increasingly pivotal figure in this Hearts story.

The midfielder was involved in the equaliser after 54 minutes, passing wide to Alexandros Kyziridis before creating space by running outside the Greek winger. Kyziridis cut inside and sent a sweet shot against Jack Butland’s far post. The ball bounced back for Stephen Kingsley, who reacted smartly and prodded home.

Hearts had ample time to source the winner, but then so did Rangers. Who could emerge the mentality monsters? Hearts again came up with answers amid almost intolerable pressure. Shankland unerringly buried an opportunity with a well-struck left-footed hit past Butland following Kingsley’s cut back from the left, with Spittal having fed the ball down the line.

Hearts fans bring the noise

This was the third time in a row Hearts have won a match from a goal down. “Keep believing because the Jambos are still top of the league!” urged the Tynecastle Tannoy Man at the end.

The Hearts ultras were being drowned out by their own supporters at the start of the night. The noise came from everywhere. All sides, young and old. "Pure theatre," said McInnes later. And when referee John Beaton blew his whistle for half time, what a spirit-crushing let down the opening 45 minutes had proved for most of the 18,831 fans inside Tynecastle for this unusual Monday tea-time kick off. McInnes had asked the home fans to bring the noise and twirl their scarves. They responded. As for the players, well, not really. Not initially, at least.

Amid this rousing atmosphere, McInnes struggled to get information onto the pitch to his players. Ryan Fulton, the substitute Hearts goalie, was sent round with a message for Alexander Schwolow. Rangers were attacking, so Fulton had to wait. When the ball went out on the far side, he shouted on instructions. Schwolow didn’t seem to immediately understand what he was being told to do.

It’s the kind of thing that happens all the time in football but when it occurs right before a goal, it’s natural that some retrospective importance might be attached. Did concentration waver momentarily? Schwolow was not at fault with the goal. However, it felt almost inevitable that something of consequence might unfold when Tavernier hurled in a long throw from the right. Stuart Findlay failed to make the connection required with his head and the ball fell to Sterling, whose downward shot took a flick off Michael Steinwender and looped over Schwolow. Tynecastle fell silent except for the 700 or so away fans permitted entry to the Roseburn end of the ground.

Their volume had been increasing as Rangers started to take a hold of the game. A pass from Alexandros Kyziridis to Shankland that went astray early on was evidence Hearts were not quite on each other’s wavelength, not in the opening half at least. A connection was made between Marc Leonard and Craig Halkett shortly afterwards with the former’s free kick headed over by the latter from a good position on the edge of the six-yard box. Rangers wasted a similarly good chance at the other end when Nasser Djiga header over from Tavernier’s corner.

Rangers were beginning to exert control and when they took the lead midway through the first half, it felt like the goal had been coming.

When Islam Chesnokov careered into Diomande on the edge of the Hearts box five minutes before half time, home fans could barely bring themselves to look.

It was set up nicely for Tavernier. Hearts’ season was at risk of going down the drain. The Rangers skipper’s effort hit the wall. Andreas Skov Olsen had a far easier chance to make it 2-0 shortly afterwards but was unable to control the ball. Regrets? Rangers will have a few. As for Hearts fans, the emotion was etched across their faces at the end.

Some slapped the memorial bricks on the concourse inside the main stand when they eventually departed. No one was being forgotten on a night of nights.