Here’s Ewan Murray’s report from Tynecastle.

Paul Simpson is back: “Why do I feel more nervous now? Thanks for the coverage.”

Some Marc Leonard quotes from the BBC: “I thought [Blair] Spittal coming on at half time was excellent, got us back into the game We managed to get a foothold in it, and then Craig Halkett and Stuart Findlay must have headed every ball clear.

“It’s a true team performance, and just happy to come back from 1-0 down. It’s amazing. What a feeling, what a club, I’m just honoured to be a part of it at the moment.”

James Humphries, presumably a Well man, gets in touch: “ Rangers “can do [celtic] mortal damage” - but only /after/ the Hoops have come to Fir Park? Have you perhaps not been keeping across our results against the two cheeks this season?”

Steven Hughes speaks for many when he gets in touch to say: “Give me this, the Scottish League, and then even the lower English divisions (who’ll ever, ever forget Rochdale versus York City), over the flim-flam, will-this-do?, English Premier League? Radio 5 know it themselves and do a fantastic job for the whole of Britain to dig these battles.”

Look at the table with three games to go:

Hearts play at Motherwell, then face Falkirk before the final day at Celtic Park.

Next week, Celtic play Rangers, who can do them mortal damage, then play Motherwell. Then, it’s Hearts. What a season it’s been, what an end to the season it could be.

90+6 min: Jeers as Gassama smashes the ball over the bar. And relief, too. The scenes in the crowd are of people of all ages praying.

90+5 min: Boos as Rangers pass the ball around. Cheers as Chermiti is tackled twice in succession. Groans as Kabore fails to hold the ball up. Moans as Rangers get a corner.

90+4 min: Shankland, who hopes he has scored the winning goal, leaves the field. His wife has a broad smile in the stands as he departs.

90+3 min: Such a good noise from the Hearts fans. They have been through the mill today, as they have in recent history. Time to start believing?

90+2 min: Kent gets an early touch in taking the ball from Cherniti; then follows more delay. The clock being run down here in classic style. Rangers have lost the mojo of the first half they so dominated.

90 min: Kingsley takes on energy in fluid form, he’s run himself ragged, the scorer the equaliser as Frankie Kent replaces him. There will be seven minutes to be added on.

89 min: The boos resume as Rangers pass the ball around slowly. Then cheers as Kabore wins the ball. Kingsley goes down with cramp and it’s a Rangers player who runs to assist him in shaking it out.

86 min: Those subs, as often happens, have affected the flow of the game. Huge cheers as Hearts win a throw. There will be twists to come. Hard to stay calm at this point.

84 min: Rangers want a penalty, as Gassama and McCart collide. It won’t be given, it would very soft. This title race doesn’t need a dodgy penalty for added drama.

83 min: Final Rangers change. Diomande is off, and on comes Miovski.

82 min: Braga goes down with cramp and that’s the last we will see of him. McInnes makes changes: Kyziridis departs, too, and on come McCort and Kabore.

81 min: Chermiti smashes into Findlay and it’s Rangers’ time he’s wasting.

80 min: Fernandez is booked for a cruncher of a tackle on Braga. Was it a foul, though? Plenty of force involved, that’s for sure.

79 min: Hearts will have a lot of defending to do, and there will be a lengthy amount of time after that earlier clash of heads.

77 min: Oof! Goalmouth scramble, another long throw, Aasgaard climbs and Hearts clear, just as they do the next corner.

75 min: Three Rangers changes: Moore, Raskin and Sterling off; Rommens, Naderi and Aasgaard on.

As it stands:

74 min: Ooof! Kingsley lays up Spittal and his shot is well saved by Butland. Hearts are trying to kill off the Rangers challenge.

72 min: Derek McInnes in dreamland. Can his team see this out? From the whistle, Hearts swarm all over Sterling he concedes a free-kick and a yellow card for pulling back Kyziridis.

69 min: Hearts rage as Halkett is penalised for what looks a decent win of the ball. Skov Olsen departs as Gassama arrives in a Rangers substitution.

67 min: Kyziridis forces himself down the outside of the Rangers box and gets a shot in. Butland will not be troubled by that.

66 min: Shankland is back to defend the corner and Rangers have started to look more comfortable on the ball again.

65 min: The corner is cleared and Moore sets off on a trademark run and wins a Rangers corner. End to end stuff here.

64 min: Braga continues to chase shadows, but that’s his game. He believes his chance will finally come. Shankland, similarly full of vim, forces a corner.

62 min: That delay might have taken the sting from Hearts. They really had built up some momentum.

60 min: Lengthy treatment taking place; Rudi Skacel and Jim Jeffries, club legends in the stands. Steinwender comes on with a Terry Butcher bandage on.

58 min: Another Tavernier long throw, Fernandez and Steinwender clash heads. Both go down. There will be a delay in play.

57 min: Jeers as Tavernier blams a shot into the Tynecastle stands, and they’re bouncing.

55 min: What noise, big smile on Tony Bloom’s face. Hearts have been excellent and have their reward.

As it stands:

53 min: Braga gets chance for a first shot as Spittal forces danger. He’s made a difference. The shot is not enough to beat Butland.

53 min: Kyziridis’s cross is a beauty. Sadly for Hearts, nobody reads it. But this is much better.

51 min: Another long throw from James Tavenier; he’s an expert. Perhaps he can move into being a specialist coach in the future. There’s plenty of football left him in, mind.

50 min: Kyziridis hits the ball to Shankland but fine defending from Rangers clears it and Spittal smashes over. That’s the first Hearts shot for almost 40 minutes.

48 min: Mikey Moore on another sortie, though this time he’s stopped in his tracks. Hearts much more up for this, and so are their fans.

46 min: What can Hearts find? Braga finds space but that’s closed down by Djiga. The front foot adopted, though. Rangers have struggled to put together a full 90 all season.

The teams are back out, Danny Rohl looking as immaculate as ever. Derek McInnes had much more to wory about. Blair Spittal is a half-time introduction for Chesnokov as Hearts attempt to go man for man on Rangers.

Paul Simpson gets in touch: “I don’t care if the equaliser goes in off Lawrence Shanklands jacksy, if that lucky draw is still on offer i would definitely grab it now.”

Simon McMahon gets in touch: “Evening John. Kári knows more about Scottish football than me, but I wonder if he’s heard this version of a fantastic song by Dundee songwriting legend Michael Marra about United keeper Hamish McAlpine. Michael was a Dundee fan himself, but knew an open goal when he saw one, as evidenced by the reference to Princess Grace of Monaco when she visited Tannadice in 1981 to watch a Uefa Cup tie.”

45 min: It’s been some time since Hearts mounted a proper attack. Will Rangers come to rue not making enough of their dominance?

44 min: Derek McInnes makes copious notes ahead of another huge team talk. He’s had to give a few this season but each week, they become more and more important.

43 min: Rangers are well on top, and want more. Braga is chasing shadows and getting frustrated. Romance, such as it is, is dying on the vine, as Hearts are breaking.

41 min: Tavernier will take, and there’s a delay as he demands a full 10 yards for his kick. Tavernier, after all that, can only hit the wall. Typical.

40 min: Djiga breaks up a Hearts attack, shimmies and sets up a Rangers attack. Then as the ball bounces up, Diomande is clattered by Chesnokov who has run all the way back.

38 min: Mikey Moore sorties across the field as Rangers mount their latest attack. Shankland smashes into Chukwuani and is booked. Steve Clarke is in the stands, with Chris Wilder for convivial company.

36 min: Olsen extends a leg but cannot reach a Diomande pass. Rangers look the likelier team for the next goal.

34 min: Leonard’s ball booms in and Butland climbs highest to jump and claim the ball. Rangers try to send away Raskin but Leonard gets back to clear and concede a corner.

33 min: Not actually many fouls in this game, despite of the intensity but Olsen clatters into Baningime to set up a free-kick.

32 min: Rangers are taking control, while Hearts are struggling to keep hold of both their nerves and the ball. The long balls have been wayward.

31 min: Tavernier goes forward, and is tackled, to set up a Hearts attack. There’s anticipation when Shankland supplies Braga, only for the Portuguese player to lose his footing.

29 min: Rangers look assured and are holding on to possession, Hearts not a little hurried.

27 min: Kari Tulinius gets in touch: “I don’t really have an allegiance to any Scottish club, the closest I’ve come is liking the band Frightened Rabbit quite a bit, but the
Hutchison brothers grew up as Hearts fans, despite their Hibs supporting father. This season I’ve had many occasions to spin their lovely rendition of The Hearts Song. Incidentally, the songwriter, Hector Nicol, also wrote a song for the Hibs, as well as both sides of the Dundee divide. He was rooted for St. Mirren, but never wrote a
tune for them.”

I once met Hearts legend Mike Galloway on the Isle of Arran.

26 min: Another long throw, and the noise is coming from the drums and voices of those from Glasgow. This time, Hearts get the ball clear.

25 min: As it stands:

24 min: There’s silence then defiance from the Hearts fans. Derek McInnes takes a slug of water. It was always going to be dramatic.

21 min: The ball just not dropping for Braga and the Hearts attackers. Shankland tries to get something going but can’t find anyone but a blue shirt.

19 min: The closest yet! Rangers corner, Tavernier to take, and Chukwuani, under the posts, somehow missses. That was an open goal.

17 min: Rangers break quickly, Tavernier setting up an attack that is hurriedly beaten clear. More boos from the Hearts fans when Rangers have the ball. Their own noise is abating. This is nervous so understandable. It’s so even, so who cracks first?

16 min: Djiga has to hook clear as Hearts forwards chase down a Kingsley pass. Again, so little composure out there.

Peter Oh is away and punning: “It looks like the home side’s midfield four of Hearts narrowly edges out Rangers’ three of Diomande.”

14 min: Schwolow has to punch Tavernier’s corner clear. Set pieces have been dangerous from both teams.

13 min: Rangers now come forward. Moore sets up an attack and Raskin’s shot is deflected, and knocked behind by Schwolow for a corner.

12 min: Hearts build up a head of steam as Kyziridis gets a couple of chances to whip in the ball. On the bench, Danny Rohl is in consultation with his coaches.

11 min: Hearts free-kick, Leonard whipping in and Halkett has a chance, with Jack Butland all at sea; the connection is off-beam, though. That was the first proper opening.

10 min: Chesnokov attempts a pass but then Djiga gets in the way.

9 min: Claudio Braga clatters into a Rangers defender. It’s intensely physical, short on quality so far.

7 min: Rangers a very different proposition than in the early season days under Russell Martin. Danny Rohl was talking in pre-match of his team’s fine away record. Kingsley attempts to set up a Hearts attack but it’s overhit. Calm is in short supply here.

5 min: There’s not much football being played as yet. Nerves abound and it may take a while to settle, if it settles at all. Do we really want it to settle?

4 min: Easy to tell when Rangers are on the ball; the boos are deafening. The boos break when it looks as if Lawrence Shankland might be able to make an escape.

3 min: Richard Hirst is in touch: “Being English I’ve no dog in this fight but I’d love to see Hearts win the title, partly because it would be good to see the duopoly broken, but more because it would be great entertainment to see Rebus’s reaction.”

2 min: Paul Simpson gets in touch: “Back in 64-65 my old man tells me he was at the game against Kilmarnock with his dad and 50000 others (possibly exaggerated). Hearts lost 2-0 and Kilmarnock won the league on goal average, by about 0.04 of a goal. In 85-86 we lived in Australia and woke up to the crushing disappointment of a 2-0 loss to Dundee after an unheard of unbeaten run which allowed Celtic to pip them on goal difference, by three goals. In that season I did see a game against Rangers, an absolute pasting as my 14 year old self remembers, 3-0 to Hearts. I would happily take something similar today, although a lucky draw wouldn’t upset me too much. Come on you Jambos.”

1 min: Hearts get a throw in the Rangers half. Kingsley launches, only to be cleared. And Rangers escape on the counter to great boos. Diomande gets it eventually but can’t do anything with it.

Danny Rohl, the Rangers manager, spoke to the BBC: ““You have to look at what you need today here as well, and that was the reason why we had some changes. We have a fantastic bench today.

“I think it is also crucial to understand that we have to stay in the game, we need good game management, and at the right moment, we have to be ruthless. [I expect an] emotional game, a lot of duels, second balls, set plays, and if all these things come together, then hopefully we can bring our quality with the ball as well on the pitch.

“I cannot speak for Hearts, but for us it’s a crucial one, it’s a big one, we know the table, we have to take points, we have to take three points, and if we take three points today, then we are in a fantastic place for the last three finals.”

For Hearts, the 4oth anniversary of you know what passed this week. A personal memory: I was nine when it happened and I have never forgotten seeing footage of their fans on Grandstand. The next day, I went to Knutsford Fair, a big event round my way, and still couldn’t those images out of my head as I went on the rides. Perhaps it’s those moments that pull you most into football.

Not sure anyone outside the Old Firm and Hibs – that’s a lot of people in Scotland – wants such scenes to be repeated.

The Hearts manager, Derek McInnes, spoke to Sky Sports: “I don’t think we need to build this game up for obvious reasons. You only need to look at the games yesterday and last week to see that discipline is vitally important. I imagine it will be quite volatile in terms of the intensity and speed of the game. We need to be really careful. I want my team to do what we have done all season at Tynecastle and make things difficult for the opposition.

“We have good options. Every time we look at the opponent it’s a different shape and different set of circumstances. I think with Braga and Shankland up top we have boys who can score goals and are confident in their work.”

Last time out:

Two changes from Easter Road for Hearts. Alexandros Kyziridis and Islam Chesnokov come in for Pierre Landry Kabore and Jordi Altena drop to the bench.

Outgoing Rangers captain James Tavernier replaces Jayden Meghoma. Mikey Moore, Andreas Skov Olsen and Mohamed Diomande come in for Thelo Aasgaard, Bojan Miovski and Djeidi Gassama drop to the bench.