A first-half strike from Jane Ross was enough to ensure Rangers defeated Hearts 1-0 at Broadwood on Wednesday night.
The Gers came into the game unbeaten, with a six-point lead at the top of the SWPL table, but it was the Jambos who had the first opportunity of the night on 9 minutes.
Ciara Grant, as she so often has, provided real quality from the dead-ball, but her free kick from the right was glanced over the bar by Georgia Timms.
Despite the recent form of the Gers, Hearts enjoyed a bright start and Charlotte Parker-Smith wasn’t tested often in the early stages.
More good play from the Jambos saw Carly Girasoli drive forward from defence and lay the ball into the path of Kate Mooney, she picked out Sade Adamolekun, but the midfielder dragged her effort wide from the edge of the box.
The home side were always going to create chances as the evening wore on and Parker-Smith was alert to beat away Rachel Rowe’s long-range effort on 18 minutes.
The home side opened the scoring on the half hour mark. Jane Ross was slipped in behind the Hearts backline and she kept her cool to finish low past Parker-Smith to break the deadlock.
Into the second half, the game continued in a similar fashion, with Hearts largely nullifying their opponents, but struggling to create anything clear-cut in the final third themselves.
Parker-Smith came up with a big save on 67 minutes to keep Hearts in the game. It was positive play down the Rangers left and Lizzie Arnot’s cross was begging to be attacked, Rio Hardy rose highest, but it was a fantastic, point-blank save from the Hearts stopper to push her header over the bar.
Hearts remained in the game for the full 90 minutes and after Sade Adamolekun was sent clean through on goal, a tight offside call halted the attack.
There was plenty of effort and desire from the Jambos, but they just couldn’t quite fashion that opening in the final third to give themselves the chance to get something from the game, as the hosts saw out the closing stages to record a narrow victory.
Rangers: Fife, Docherty ©, Hill, Middag, Hay (McAulay, 68), Rowe, Hardy (Ewens, 68), Ross, Arnot, Cornet, Mcloughlin
Subs: Inman, McAulay, Austin, Ewens, Martinez, McLeary
Hearts: Parker-Smith, Brownlie, Hunter ©, Grant, Timms (Findlay, 77), Waldie, Adamolekun, Handley (Penman, 63), Mooney, Girasoli, Michie (Rennie, 54)
Subs: Johnstone, Penman, Rennie, Lockwood, Findlay, Chomczuk, Brien, Low
