Rangers booked their place in the Champions League qualifiers with a comprehensive dismissal of UEFA Cup pretenders Hearts in a game that just would not stop providing moments of high drama.

Two goals from man-of-the-match Jorg Albertz and one each from £12million striker Tore Andre Flo and Rod Wallace clinched the points the former champions required to join champions Celtic in the blue riband European competition next season.

And this was also a game in which both sides saw a man sent off, with Rangers captain Barry Ferguson being shown a straight red card for a late tackle on Steven Pressley when the game was only half an hour old.

After the break, in the space of just a few minutes, Pressley was himself dismissed for two bookable offences, which allowed Rangers to demonstrate a marked superiority in exploiting the spaces on the Tynecastle pitch.

Albertz was involved in everything good in the visitors' play and managed to hit the woodwork three times before half-time.

The first time, in the 29th minute, provided the opening goal when he fizzed a free-kick in off the far post.

The second was from an almost identical situation but this time, after smacking against the same upright, it rebounded into the hands of goalkeeper Antti Niemi.

The third was straight from a corner and was a gentle kiss of the crossbar.

Ferguson's sending off came two minutes after Albertz' opener and was a wreckless challenge on Pressley to earn him his second red card of a season that had also seen him booked an astonishing 15 times.

The Rangers captain will play no further part this season but more significantly he will also face a two-match ban at least at the start of next.

He became the 12th Rangers man to see red in an astonishingly ill-disciplined campaign.

Hearts made a double change at the break in a bid to make the most of their numerical superiority and one of the newcomers - Spanish winger Juanjo - provided the cross for Stephane Adam to bundle in an equaliser within two minutes of the re-start.

Goalkeeper Stefan Klos had provided an unwitting assist as he had only been able to spoon the cross back into play and straight to the on-rushing Frenchman.

Niemi, the former Rangers goalkeeper, is the current SPL player of the month and despite the scoreline he had yet another outstanding game.

Arthur Numan sent Rod Wallace through and the Finn produced a quality block when it seemed the striker must restore Rangers' advantage straight after the Adam goal.

It was a bad miss by Wallace but he made amends not long after from a free-kick move following the first of Pressley's bookings, for clambering all over Flo.

Albertz touched the ball to Lorenzo Amoruso and his fierce and accurate low shot was beaten out by Niemi only as far as the little striker who was first to the rebound and made no mistake.

There was still more than half an hour to play when Pressley earned his second yellow by bringing down Albertz in full flight and from that moment on Rangers were destined to take all three points.

Niemi denied Flo with another one on one save and then had to dive low to turn away Claudio Reyna's low shot round the post.

He was required again from the corner to block Craig Moore's header with his legs but the third goal was not long in coming.

It was Bert Konterman's clearance from his own penalty area that found its way straight to Flo and he slipped inside a defender to play a simple pass to put Albertz through and he blasted the ball past Niemi to make it 3-1.

The German repaid the compliment five minutes from time with a straightforward through ball that saw Flo able to get behind the last man of an exposed Hearts back-line and roll the ball gently but precisely past Niemi to make it 4-1.

The result continued Rangers' domination of the Edinburgh club.

Hearts have taken only one point off them since beating them on the opening day of the 1998-99 season - Dick Advocaat's first League game in charge at Ibrox.

Teams:

Hearts: Niemi, Pressley, McCann, Mckenna, Adam (Wales 71), Cameron (Makel 46), Flogel, Severin, Tomaschek, Boyack (Juanjo 46), Kirk.

Subs Not Used: McKenzie, Webster.

Sent Off: Pressley (52).

Booked: Pressley.

Goals: Adam 46.

Rangers: Klos, Ricksen, Moore, Amoruso, Numan, Konterman, Ferguson, Albertz, Reyna, Wallace, Flo.

Subs Not Used: Christiansen, Dodds, Wilson, Lovenkrands, Kaupilla.

Sent Off: Ferguson (31).

Booked: Amoruso.

Goals: Albertz 29, Wallace 50, Albertz 79, Flo 85.

Att: 15,158

Ref: H Dallas (Scotland).