Rangers bounce back from Europa League final defeat to win Scottish Cup
Rangers bounced back from their defeat on penalties in the Europa League final to Eintracht Frankfurt by beating Hearts to claim the Scottish Cup on Saturday
Rangers bounced back from their Europa League final defeat on penalties to Eintracht Frankfurt by beating Hearts 2-0 after extra time on Saturday in the Scottish Cup final at Hampden Park.
There was heartbreak for around 100,000 Rangers fans in Seville on Wednesday night as the Glasgow outfit were edged out by the German side in a dramatic shootout after the two teams were tied at 1-1 after 120 minutes of football.
And the Gers were forced into extra time again by Hearts in Saturday's showpiece at Hampden following a goalless 90 minutes.
Tiredness could have taken its toll in such a gruelling week, but Rangers were the better team and made their dominance count as Ryan Jack opened the scoring four minutes into extra time when he brilliantly blasted home from the edge of the box.
Giovanni van Bronckhorst's side then doubled their lead three minutes later as Scott Wright beat Hearts goalkeeper Craig Gordon with a low finish into the bottom corner.
There was no way back for Hearts and Rangers' victory seals a first Scottish Cup for the Light Blues since 2009 and some well-deserved silverware in a season which saw them miss out on the Scottish Premiership by just four points to rivals Celtic and come so close to glory in Europe on Wednesday night.
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Ben Hayward is a European football writer and Tottenham Hotspur fan with over 15 years’ experience, he has covered games all over the world - including three World Cups, several Champions League finals, Euros, Copa America - and has spent much of that time in Spain. Ben speaks English and Spanish, currently dividing his time between Barcelona and London, covering all the big talking points of the weekend on FFT: he’s also written several list features and interviewed Guglielmo Vicario for the magazine.