Leading 1-0 at half-time, Rangers had a golden opportunity to drag themselves back into the title race. They bossed the first half and Hearts were fortunate to only be one goal behind.
Fortress Tynecastle looked liked it would fall in this Bank Holiday blockbuster, with Danny Rohl’s side set to become the first away team to win here in the league this season.
Yet, in what has become a worrying trend under Rohl over the past couple of months, Rangers lost their nerve and bottled it.
Just as they bottled it against Celtic at Ibrox in March when they blew a two-goal lead. Just like they bottled it last week against a Motherwell side who hadn’t won in their previous five matches.
Just like they bottled it by labouring to a 2-2 draw against bottom-of-the-table Livingston in February. Just like they bottled it by losing a lead to draw 1-1 with ten-man Motherwell at Fir Park a couple of weeks earlier.
Danny Rohl’s Rangers collapsed in the second half after dominating the first
This theory that Rohl has worked wonders at Rangers really needs to be tempered. Yes, he steadied the ship when he arrived back in October. But the cold harsh reality over these past couple of months is that he and his players have totally lost their nerve and made a mess of it.
The parallels with Philippe Clement are already becoming clear; start well and build some momentum, before ultimately choking in the home straight of the title race. That’s exactly how Clement’s first season panned out when he took charge. Rohl’s long-term suitability as Rangers manager has to be questioned.
He won’t lose his job in the summer. But the collapse, both in terms of this match and the title race as a whole, raises serious doubt about his ability to take Rangers forward.
He was backed with significant investment in the January transfer window to sign Tochi Chukwuani, Tuur Rommens, Ryan Naderi as well as the cash to finance the loan deal for Andreas Skov Olsen.
Damningly for Rohl, the team still have no appreciable style of play. That has to be a concern. Rangers need a manager and coach who can do more than just stop the rot and steady the ship.
This was one last chance for Skov Olsen after failing to even make it off the bench in the last couple of games, but he was utterly anonymous. The prospect of Rangers paying £8million to sign the Danish winger from Wolfsburg in the summer simply is not going to happen.
Rangers’ second half of the season cannot be viewed as anything other than a failure. They have capitulated and are now effectively out of the title race with three games to play. Rohl did not hide from the fact that this was a must-win game. Three points were non-negotiable. But the title dream was swallowed up in this maroon cauldron.
Hearts captain Lawrence Shankland celebrates after scoring the winner
Hearts celebrated lustily at full-time. A rollercoaster of emotions over the 90 minutes, the comeback propelled them one huge step closer to winning the league title.
With Colin Chisholm on the pitch belting out the Hearts song prior to kick-off, Tynecastle was rocking and rolling. It was a sea of riotous noise and colour, as McInnes had wanted it to be.
But it didn’t take long for the atmosphere to turn to one of frustration and anxiety. After about 15 or 20 minutes, a decent start from Hearts had fizzled out and it was Rangers who turned the screw.
Hearts began to look stale and one-dimensional. They couldn’t build any decent spells of possession and instead resorted to long punts forward to Claudio Braga and Lawrence Shankland.
Up against Manny Fernandez and Nasser Djiga, those aerial and physical battles were never likely to end favourably for the two Hearts strikers.
On the touchline, McInnes did not hide his frustration. He was animated, jumping around, living and breathing every kick and every refereeing decision.
Hearts players celebrate at full-time after a momentous win over Rangers
The system plainly was not working. Rangers were bossing the midfield. The 4-4-2 which has served Hearts so well this season left them light in the middle of the pitch and it began to show.
This was now a major test for McInnes and his ability to make in-game changes. The biggest half-time team-talk of the season was followed by Blair Spittal coming on to replace Islam Chesnokov at the break.
The improvement was stark and instantaneous. Rangers simply fell apart. This has happened too often under Rohl for it to be a coincidence.
Stephen Kingsley slotted a lovely composed finish to make it 1-1, before Lawrence Shankland lasered one into the bottom corner with his left foot.
The trophy is close for Hearts now after this. So tantalisingly close. Anyone who believed they would fall away have been made to look very foolish.
There’s only one team who have lost their nerve in this title race. They wear blue jerseys, not maroon.
