Why Hearts attack struggled v Rangers as uncertainty evident

There was another costly mistake which offered the Ibrox side a 1-0 lead five minutes after the interval. An irksome habit this campaign. As has the recent tendency to ship goals in quick succession, with three given up in 14 minutes in Mount Florida. In addition there was a frustration that Hearts didn't do enough with the ball, especially when the game was level. 

Steven Naismith was asked about the side's hesitation to play forward when the opportunities presented themselves.

"I wouldn't say it was overly obvious," the Hearts head coach said. "The biggest frustration is when we never switched it as much, there was loads of space, Rangers narrowed the pitch a lot. There was maybe a couple of times players were uncertain of a pass."

Watching the game back that was the case.

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Hearts, as a collective, did well in the first half defensively. It wasn't an uncommon sight for all 11 players to be back in their own half as displayed below. 

It meant John Lundstram and Ryan Jack controlled the game, the latter would look to take up wider positions to try to change the angle of attack but Hearts were content for Rangers to focus their attacks in wide areas. As they did for the majority of the time at Ibrox, Naismith's men defended crossed balls well with Kye Rowles in particular impressing in the air.

There were really only two occasions where Rangers carved Hearts open to an extent. Both moves saw Danilo drop off the back three, no one keen to follow, and link with Todd Cantwell. The striker shot over in the first instance before Cantwell was denied by a strong Zander Clark save after Toby Sibbick played him onside, as shown below.

Overall it was an impressive containment job until a very messy concession of a penalty which was subsequently tucked away by James Tavernier after the interval. From there it was an uphill battle.

Prior to the first goal, Hearts weren't unwilling to attack. In the eyes of many supporters they didn't do it frequently enough. There is, to be fair, a balance to be sought against the Old Firm, especially at Hampden, keen not to overcommit and leave gaps at the back for the likes of Sima to rampage into. The main attacking issue, as stated by Naismith, was an uncertainty amongst the players, whether it be decision making or execution.

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Where was the space against Rangers? Often it was on the Hearts left, an area they got joy at Ibrox recently, Alex Cochrane's cross for Lawrence Shankland to grab an early lead. In the opening four minutes the left wing-back appealed for the ball with Jorge Grant in possession. The midfielder was not aware his team-mate was free, failing to check his six on receiving the ball and not getting his head up. He went back to Kye Rowles and any potential attack petered out. Yes, he is pressured by Sam Lammers from behind but the Englishman has the quality to clip a pass with his left out to the flank.

The most galling example came in the 11th minute. Nieuwenhof this time gets the ball to his feet, facing his own goal. He did really well under pressure to free himself of John Lundstram and create space. Look at Cochrane on the flank, the space he is in. It appears to be a simple pass. However, the Australian went back to Rowles, preventing a good attacking opportunity. Grant can also be seen directing him back to his countryman. The ball ended up being shelled diagonally by Frankie Kent to Kenneth Vargas but it went straight to James Tavernier.

Seven minutes later Nieuwenhof found himself even higher up the park with Cochrane free to his left but opted to try to break the lines with a pass into Grant who was advancing centrally. At least in this instance there is the ambition to play forward and try to get the team further up the field.

It wasn't as if Hearts were ignoring their left side. There were promising moments where the ball was or being prepared to be worked left. In the 10th minute, the team were doing well to get the ball to Cochrane only for Nick Walsh to bring the play back for a foul. Yet, later in the half when Rowles was fouled by Danilo around 35 yards from the Rangers goal the official signals advantage. The advantage? Frankie Kent with the ball on the half-way line and had to go back to Clark. No one needs to be reminded of such questionable officiating.

Either side of that moment there were two examples of a frustrating element of Hearts' play of late. This is likely something which is common around football at all levels but when the team is trying to build play, players can be guilty of slowing it down by passing behind their team-mate.

In the ninth minute Sibbick did well to spot Cochrane rampaging down the left. However, he took on the pass with his stronger right foot, directing the ball behind his colleague. Cochrane was forced to check his run and turn back. Instead of running onto the ball and being one v one with Tavernier the ball behind him allowed Cantwell to come across and force him backwards. In this instance, Hearts recycled the ball well out to the right where Sibbick and Nieuwenhof combined to allow the former to motor forward but the attack was stopped.

Just after the half hour mark, the ball fell to Beni Baningime in the Rangers half. He had the chance to pop a first-time left-footed pass out to Cochrane but took a touch, there seemed to be a small hesitation as he steadied himself, then passed with his right foot. Again, it was not in front of Cochrane and the wing-back needed to wait for the ball to come to him rather than running onto it in a dangerous situation. Credit to Cochrane who, from deep, delivered an excellent cross to the back post for Lawrence Shankland. The striker's header back across was cleared to Sibbick whose clean shot, heading for the target, was blocked by Leon Balogun.

It is one of the few occasions where the right wing-back attacked the box. As a defender there was an expectation that he wouldn't give the team the same attacking impetus as Alan Forrest would. Yet, an early sign was encouraging. After just three minutes Lawrence Shankland did really well to carry the ball high up the pitch and was supported by Sibbick who offered a great option. Someone like Alex Lowry or Barrie McKay would likely have tried the clipped ball into his path.

But fast forward 10 minutes and Sibbick failed to offer an option quick enough when Hearts broke forward through Vargas. The team were four on six and had a presentable attacking opportunity. But as the move developed the Costa Rican had to look back infield for a pass before Sibbick eventually joined in. Rangers had, by then, somewhat returned to a good shape.

A lot of these instances may seem like nitpicking. However, what it highlights is the importance of making the right choices when coming up against a team like Rangers or Celtic. The nature of games, especially in Glasgow, will see Hearts go periods without the ball and in their own half. When possession is gained the Old Firm are usually in an attacking shape. Therefore it is imperative they are attacked quickly and efficiently. Hearts didn't do enough of that on Sunday before going behind.