Rangers fought back furiously from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 with 10-man Livingston in West Lothian but dropped two valuable points in an increasingly dramatic William Hill Premiership title race.
French defender Brooklyn Kabongolo gave the home side an unlikely lead in the 14th minute with a well-executed volley.
Livi goalkeeper Jerome Prior played his part in keeping the Light Blues at bay before Lewis Smith doubled that lead in the 55th minute.
The game turned against the league’s bottom side on the hour when Cristian Montano was sent off by referee Ryan Lee for denying Gers attacker Djeidi Gassama a goalscoring opportunity five minutes later.
Emmanuel Fernandez reduced the deficit with a thunderous strike in the 81st minute and Mikey Moore levelled with two minutes remaining but Marvin Bartley’s side held out during nine added minutes to clinch a point.
Danny Rohl’s side are now four points behind leaders Hearts with 10 fixtures remaining while third-placed Celtic’s 2-1 defeat by Hibernian at Parkhead means they are two point behind the Gers but have played a game less than the top two.
As usual, Gers fans occupied three-quarters of the stadium in expectancy and in the sixth minute defender Tuur Rommens’ header from a Moore cross was pushed on to the post by Prior and a corner was headed over by Fernandez.
Those same supporters were stunned when Lions’ striker Robbie Muirhead’s deep free-kick into the Gers box was brilliantly volleyed past Butland by Kabongolo for his first Livingston goal since signing from Isthmian League side Aveley.
A startled Ibrox side fought back. Prior saved a curling 20-yard free-kick from Rangers captain James Tavernier before Fernandez fired the rebound over the bar.
Livingston’s occasional forays came with a threat. Only a brilliant saving tackle from Rangers centre-back John Souttar prevented Smith getting a shot from close range in at Butland.
At the other end, Prior stretched to claw away a curling effort from Moore.
As the pressure increased, the West Lothian side survived a hectic goalmouth scramble following a Tavernier corner.
Yet another Prior save from Gers substitute Bojan Miovski’s drive just after the break led to another corner which came to nothing.
The Livi keeper thwarted Nico Raskin from another drive before Livi, in their first real attack of the second half, added a second when the unmarked Smith took a pass from Emmanuel Danso 16 yards from goal and drilled the ball low past Butland.
When Montano was sent packing for hauling Gassama down just outside the box, hope was offered to the Govan side.
However, it was all huffing and puffing. Daniel Finlayson blocked an effort from Gers substitute Ryan Naderi – but Prior had no chance when Fernandez fired in from the edge of the box.
There was more drama to come when Moore glanced in a header from a Tavernier cross to send the travelling fans into raptures.
There was a lengthy VAR check for a penalty when Moore was tackled by Cammy Kerr right at the edge of the box deep into added time but it came to nothing and Gers eventually ran out of time.
