Although Steven Naismith was happy that his Hearts team held off Rangers despite conceding, there was some disagreement on the goal itself.

With Alex Cochrane missing a fantastic opportunity, the Jambos may have ended up in front of the Light Blues despite their strong performance. However, Gers easily dispatched them with a throw-in close to their own box, and Abdallah Sima provided the finishing touch.

The Jambos have given up goals in fast succession after conceding the first in games against both half of the Old Firm and some other opponents. This evening, that did not occur, and they proceeded to generate further opportunities on their own, which delighted the management.

According to Naismith, “I think we were decent when we moved the ball without overthinking it.” We asked them to defend, and we created opportunities.

Hearts manager Steven Naismith queries the “amazing” referee decision

“We have a great opportunity in the first half, and I believe that Alex can only put it where it strikes the defender, but that was a nice play.

Conversely, we let up a bad goal. It’s bad in our opinion that they have a throw-in in their defensive third and go through the pitch so rapidly and effortlessly.

“I don’t think we lost our heads, but you have to be careful when playing the Old Firm. I don’t think we did. We did okay, in my opinion.

“We made adjustments at halftime that both threatened us and helped us.” We have a few excellent opportunities, but we also have a few opportunities in their box that we ought to handle better.”

The legendary Craig Gordon, who missed nearly a year due to injury, was back on the bench. Naismith was not amused when it was suggested that Zander Clark, the current number one, was appearing nervous, maybe due to Gordon’s presence.

“It’s not in my opinion,” he affirmed. “Zander is a skilled goalkeeper. He is aware of the competitive nature of large clubs and football, but in my opinion, he saved us this evening.

“What a great save he makes. He made a fantastic reaction save to stop their scorer when he was four yards from goal.

“He experienced a few more pleasant times. He was proficient with the ball at his feet without any build-up as well.

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