Hearts 0 Rangers 0 LIVE as first half ends all square in Viaplay Cup semi final

It ends all square after 45 minutes at Hampden with both teams well in the game.

Much to think about from both dressing rooms at the national stadium.

Kingsley flies in to a challenge on Sima and gets a yellow for his troubles as we edge towards the interval.

Vargas hounds Balogun over at least thirty yards and gets Hearts up in the final third, the Costa Rican is carrying some threat when he gets going.

Rangers haven’t been short of half chances but Hearts will be chuffed their scars from Ibrox appear to have healed over.

Plenty of pondering in both camps at the break.

Kye Rowles reckons a foul should be coming Hearts way but Nick Walsh waves away protests.

We’ve not been short of a flashpoint in this first 45 as the officials have their work cut out with two minutes to be added.

Toby Sibbick continues to struggle against Sima as the winger sends another cross in to the area but Cantwell sees his effort blocked by the sturdy Jambos.

A lot, and I mean a lot, of joy for Rangers down the flanks.

And Barisic has been more successful than Tavernier.

Clement praised his skipper last week but bar the pitching wedge onto Sima’s head it has been more miss for Tavernier.

Plenty to work on as half time draws closer.

Borna Barisic sees his charge down the left end in what can only be descibed as a skewwhiff cross that ends up going nowhere.

The Croatian’s crossing needs to improve

Yet another Sima header goes begging after the forward rises highest but watches his effort go agonisingly wide.

That’s more than a few the Brighton loanee has had.

Hearts boss Naimsith goes from seething to calmess personified in an instant and it’s the latter as he gives message of encouragement to those in maroon with Balogun hobbling off for treatment.

Leon Balogun’s block is causing the big defender a problem.

A fiery effort from Sibbick after Shankland’s knock-down smashes off the Nigerian and he’s in some pain.

A Hearts long free kick can’t allow them to win the second ball with Rangers acting faster.

It’s not what Naismith wants to see as their opponents work harder to regain possession.

Clement goes tonto at the fourth official as he vents his fury over the foul on Grant on Goldson.

Cantwell sees yellow for a clash with Cochrane for clumbsy clambering.

He reckons there’s not much in it but Nick Walsh is unmoved.

Cantwell’s booking irks Rangers fans inside Hampden and the boss pleads his star’s case on the touchline.

Cantwell’s movement dazzles Hearts with some tidy link-up ending in the former Norwich man forcing a big save from Clark on the spin.

It’s one of the best moves of the game so far and the resulting corner nearly sees Leon Balogun head home. One team motoring majorly here.

The midfielder has been told by his boss ditch the measured build-up and speed it up.

The manager’s hand signals came second after 20,000 Ibrox punters sighed in unison over the Scouser keeping it steady.

Rangers players know the message is clear.

Steve Clarke is taking in the action at Hampden Park.

He’ll be watching more than a few in blue and maroon.

A cross from deep from Barisic isn’t near enough to the penalty area.

But Hearts are not closing down any crosses from the left, or right. A worry.

Beale suffered a booting but it’s hard for Ibrox punters not to rue the style under the man who claimed he was the one who would release the handbrake.

Clement’s style is cavalier and the fans in blue are loving it. Sima and Cantwell’s headers show players getting into positions they wouldn’t have even a few short weeks ago.

No goals after 20 minutes but Rangers are on the up after early Hearts success. A good watch with the promise of more thrills to come.

The second of two headers doesn’t trouble Clark as much.

Cantwell’s grazed effort on the spin proves to be an easy catch for the Scotland cap.

There’s a clear plan to test the aerial expertise of this Hearts defence from Clement.

Clark produces a top reaction save from Sima’s header.

The Senegalese wrestles over his Hearts adversary but the header isn’t blessed with power.

Danilo is close again to opening the scoring as a 1-2 with Cantwell sees the ball flying over the bar.

Hearts struggle to close down the forward on the edge of the area and Rangers are ramping up.

It’s not 4-6-0 but Hearts are doing a fine job of swarming the midfield when Rangers get intricate.

It was a succes at last week and the Jambos are doing a fine job of forcing the Ibrox side into coughing the ball up in dangerous areas.

That is the basis of a bright start here at Hampden which Danilo is doing his darndest to dampen.

Rangers aren’t shy of a long ball with Sima this time forcing Clark to race off his line.

Stephen Kingsley has a tough job on his hands if those balls keep coming from deep.

A long searching ball from Goldson finds Sima who slots a nice pass to Danilo.

But the masked man hits the Hearts end rather than the back of the Jambos net.

A half chance for the Brazilian.

The Hearts boss is an exhausting watch as he barks out the instructions and his animated style is only set to continue as he sees plenty to like about his team so far.

Leon Balogun stops the oncoming Hearts counter from Toby Sibbick but goes too far without releasing his pass.

He’s looking to remind his Belgian coach what he can do and will be one of the more experienced Rangers heads out there.

John Lundstram gets his skates on and gets the better of the oncoming Hearts man.

A pass in to the path of Sima leads to a cross but Danilo is crowded out for a header and Hearts regroup.

That’s the fast Rangers counter Clement will be looking for.

The rap sheet against Beale in his final days was lengthy but the biggest gripe was the sendatry pace his side often operated at.

There’s no walking football here as Rangers aim to stretch Hearts but the visitors are carrying a threat going the other way as Lammers’ jitters have not gone despite his Dens Park worldly.

Lammers threatens down the left but his cross flies in to the hands of Clark.

It’s steady from both sides so far at Hampden

Lawrence Shankland earns a loud applause for sending Cantwell to the deck as Hearts look to get controlled possesion.

The Jambos are looking to play their stuff down the left with Rangers forced to close off the avenues.

The Belgian is in control but he is pushing boundaries when it comes to his technical box – as the largest in Scottish football appears unable to contain a manager with plenty to pass onto his players.

The Rangers skipper looks to connect with Cantwell and is chopped down by Cochrane.

A free kick chance for Rangers to threaten.

Hearts look to get in behind early with Vargas hounding James Tavernier.

But the chance doesn’t end in anything significant.

The teams come out to a raucous Hampden Park.

Here we go.

The noise is booming and belief is soaring but will it be Rangers or Hearts backers singing at the end?

You’ll find out with us.

Hampden has its haters but it can provide a bring a verve and swagger which is hard to top.

And with Super Steve and his Scotland heroes making us dream, this old Mount Florida staple is the place to be when the stakes are highest.

Here we go!

A moment of synchronicity as Danilo fired home in the warm-up with the exact finish he deployed to down Morton – with the strike against the Championship side playing on the big screen around Hampden.

The man in the mask was a handful against Dundee and is aiming to make it three games on the spin with a goal after breaking Hearts last weekend and striking against Tony Docherty’s side.

The noises rises as both teams finish off their wam-ups and head down the tunnel.

The Rangers manager is enjoying his first trip to Hampden but his eyes are transfixed on the warm-up as he keeps a keen eye on his players with the subs standing in front of him.

Winning is what motivates the Belgian and he knows a signature triumph today will continue the belief coarsing through the Ibrox public who loved the dominance in Dundee midweek.

The Hearts manager might be a relative newbie in the dugout, however, he knows his way around this stadium.

And this factoid caught us on the hop, his last of seven goals for Scotland came four months before Covid swept the globe.

So recent joy at Hampden isn’t a distant memory and he’ll be hell-bent on turning today into a joyous occasion.

That goal against Spain was revered but a Hearts win today will be pretty sweet as well.

The Rangers players enter the fray for their warm-up – adored on one side but they are not immune from the pantomime jeers on the other end.

These showcase semis have been great spectacles in recent years and there seems no good reason this won’t be the same.

Guy Fawkes won’t be remembered for a few hours later but there’s a crackle in the air but Scottish football’s decison makers will hope the smoke and pyro stays away from the national stadium.

Philippe Clement says his decision to pick Borna Barisic over Ridvan Yilmaz wasn’t easy – but the Turkish defender’s recent run of games meant he was due a rest with Barisic back available.

Every decision is difficult. I hope more and more there will be competition. But Borna showed himself before, we know his qualities. Ridvan had the biggest load he’s had in his time at Rangers this week, so you have to freshen the team.

Up top, Danilo leads the line again, but is he now the established number nine?

No. There is no number nine, and there is no number six, or three, or four. It’s game by game, showing themselves and being ready for the game.

Borna Barisic only lasted 10 minutes of Philippe Clement’s first game in charge against Hibs before he hobbled off injured but the Croatian is back in the starting XI.

Hearts got some joy against Barisic’s deputy Ridvan Yilmaz with the former Besiktas man getting caught under a cross for Lawrence Shankland to head home the opener at Ibrox. The Jambos might have looked to exploit that area again so Barisic’s presence could be an advantage for the Light Blues.

It will also allow Barisic to get some vital minutes ahead of Thursday’s huge Europa League clash against Sparta Prague with Yilmaz not in the European squad.

James Tavernier has confessed his Rangers trophy haul ISN’T good enough – but says new boss Philippe Clement can lead them to silverware.

The Ibrox skipper has been at the club for almost a decade but has only won a solitary title and a Scottish Cup during that time. Tavernier admits that, along with team-mate Connor Goldson who joined in 2018 – they haven’t achieved as much as they should have at Gers. But he’s convinced that Belgian gaffer Clement, who replaced Michael Beale, is the man to change that.

Tavernier says his track record of trophy success at Genk and Club Brugge proves he can repeat the feat at Ibrox. Rangers face Hearts on Sunday in a Viaplay Cup last four clash at Hampden, with a place in the final on December 17 on the line.

When you retire you will always look back at the trophies you missed out on. You can’t beat around the bush. It’s obvious we haven’t won enough trophies here.

The team have tried to push but at times we’ve not been good enough. And you’re always going to fall short when that’s the case. Myself and Connor have always tried to push as much as we can. And as a team, we all want to win trophies.

I can’t fault Connor one bit, he’s the best centre-back I’ve played with. He’s been top class for us and he has tried to make the team better. Our initial thought on the new gaffer when he came in was that he’s a winner. He’s made that clear. The conversations we have, the team talks, the demands he puts on the team – he instils winning.

Even at half-time in games, where he’s felt we might be dropping a little bit, he’s very demanding and really tries to push the best out of us. His past history shows that he wins trophies. He knows how to win and it’s great to have that pedigree behind you. We’re showing good signs of what we can do and he’s only just in the door. So we are all excited as a group of players to continue working with him and really push to see what we can achieve

That’s the message on the pre-match screens even before the punters are allowed into the national stadium.