A bad week ended in an unsatisfactory manner for Rangers at Ibrox this afternoon, drawing 1-1 with Hibernian - but this was a game that the Light Blues should have won by the length of Copland Road.
Injury-ravaged Rangers made three changes from Tuesday's debacle with Steven Smith, Kyle Lafferty and Kris Boyd replacing Pedro Mendes, Kevin Thomson and Jerome Rothen.
The home side got the early boost they so desperately needed after their midweek troubles in eight minutes when Steven Whittaker's long cross to the back post found Lafferty whose header back across the face of goal was volleyed home by Boyd.
Hibs were far from disheartened however - Merouane Zemmama's mazy run in 21 minutes ending with a shot that was deflected wide following a Steven Naismith error, then from the resultant corner the Moroccan saw his twenty-yard shot come back off a post. Anthony Stokes netted from the rebound, but was clearly offside.
The Ibrox men should have made it 2-0 five minutes later however - from Lee McCulloch's cross Boyd's header to Kenny Miller was somehow nodded wide of the target.
The visitors continued to threaten - Abdessalam Benjelloun's 25-yard shot being held by Allan McGregor in 35 minutes.
Five minutes later Rangers unbelievably suffered yet another injury blow when McCulloch limped off to be replaced by John Fleck.
Twice before the interval the Champions should have wrapped up the points with a second goal, firstly when a Steve Davis cross found Boyd whose effort was blocked by visiting goalkeeper Graham Stack, then Lafferty was clear through on goal only to shoot straight at the 'keeper.
It was thrilling end-to-end action as half-time approached - McGregor firstly denying Stokes when he turned his effort wide, then pushing away David Wotherspoon's thirty-yard drive.
Rangers could and should have been four goals ahead at the break - but the game was still up for grabs.
David Weir's left-foot volley from a Fleck corner in 51 minutes was inches wide, then as the home side poured forward Boyd's twenty-yard drive was parried by Stack, and Miller's header from a Smith free-kick clipped the crossbar.
Miller was all out to score against his former club - playing a one-two with Davis in 54 minutes he was thwarted by Stack who blocked his effort.
Four minutes later a 25-yard thunderbolt from Sasa Papac was turned wide by Stack for the save of the game, then seconds later Boyd turned on a pass from the Bosnian only to blaze over.
Despite the home side's territorial advantage a one-goal lead is never enough - underlined on the hour when Zemmama, cutting in from the right, saw his 22-yard shot touched over by McGregor, then Derek Riordan tested the 'keeper with a curling cross that was clawed away.
In the very next instant at the other end Miller was inches away from connecting with Steven Naismith's low cross.
Almost inevitably despite the Champions' overwhelming superiority the scores were levelled in 63 minutes when Anthony Stokes held off both Whittaker and Weir before lobbing the ball over the outrushing McGregor.
Five minutes later the goalscorer was lucky to remain on the park when he decked McGregor off the ball. Unbelievably Referee Charlie Richmond issued only a yellow card, completely bottling his decision which should have been a straight red.
The referee must have been the only man in The Stadium who failed to see Sol Bamba clearly handle the ball in the box in 71 minutes. It was a stonewall penalty - but Richmond was having none of it.
Sixty seconds later Novo substituted for Miller.
Weir's header from a Fleck free-kick in 78 minutes was inches wide of the target - but it was not all one-way traffic as illustrated six minutes later when Stokes cut in from the left before seeing his cutback sliced wide by substitute Colin Nish.
Rangers were denied another stonewall penalty in 85 minutes when Novo was felled by Bamba - but once again the referee turned a blind eye. Unbelievably he then yellow-carded Boyd for dissent after the striker had been felled from behind in the box by the selfsame Bamba.
Two minutes later Novo's shot from the edge of the box following a Lafferty head-flick was held by Stack, then in the dying seconds the little Spaniard was again denied by the officials when he was ruled offside as he netted from a Lafferty pass.
Time ran out on Rangers - and although it had been a thoroughly entertaining game that was little consolation for the loss of two points.
Afterwards Manager Walter Smith reflected:
"I felt we played well today and it was a good game.We had far more chances to score than Hibernian. Having created so much, it's disappointing that we couldn't edge it.
"Scottish Football is in apparent meltdown, but both teams deserve credit for what they put into the game today."
RANGERS McGregor; Whittaker, Weir, Papac, Smith; Naismith, McCulloch (Fleck 40), Davis, Lafferty; Miller (Novo 72), Boyd
UNUSED SUBS Rothen, Alexander, Beasley, Loy, Wilson
HIBERNIAN Stack; Wotherspoon (Stevenson 57), Bamba, Hogg, Murray; Zemmama, McBride, Miller, Benjelloun (Galbraith 72) , Riordan (Nish 79); Stokes
UNUSED SUBS Rankin, Byrne, Ma-Kalambay, Cregg
REFEREE Charlie Richmond