Ex-Scotland star senses where Hearts could have changed Rangers loss as six Hibs aces land international calls
A round-up of key updates from the capital after Hearts’ narrow defeat to Rangers and Hibs’ loss to St Mirren
Rangers edged their way to a slender 1-0 victory at home to Hearts but former Gers defender Alan Hutton admits that it very easily could have been a different story for Neil Critchley’s side.
The Light Blues took the lead in the early stages through joint top scorer Cyriel Dessers after just six minutes but struggled to build any real momentum in a game where Hearts were largely able to subdue the home crowd.
Hutton believes Rangers were the better team in the first half but claims that Hearts were successfully able to feed off the nervousness of the crowd in a much improved second half performance.
He told Premier Sports: "I thought in the first half Rangers actually played really well. They played with a tempo, I thought they moved the ball quickly in the first half.
“I just felt it changed in the second half. If Vargas puts it (chance that hit the post) in, it starts to became nervy because you could feel the nerves in the stadium. The Hearts team I thought started to feed off that so if they could’ve taken one of their chances it could’ve been a different game.”
Hearts sit 11th in the table heading into the November international break and will return to action with the task of trying to defeat a Celtic team that are yet to lose in the Premiership this season.
Six Hibs players land international call-ups
Australia duo Martin Boyle and Lewis Miller are just some of the notable Hibs stars to have been called up to represent their nations during the international break.
Boyle, who has scored twice in 10 league appearances this season, has made 30 appearances for Australia and is hoping to help his team to victory in games against Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. Miller made his debut for the Socceroos in October 2023 and has now racked up six appearances while recently registering his first goal in a 1-1 draw with China in June.
The pair are jetting off to represent their nations along with 63-cap international Junior Hoilett of Canada, 20-time international Nathan Moriah-Welsh of Guyana, Rocky Bushiri with two caps for DR Congo and Rudi Molotnikov, who is looking to add to his nine caps for Scotland’s Under-19 team.
The six internationals will all look to build confidence ahead of Hibs’ return to Premiership action against Dundee after the international break.