Aberdeen fans will feel aggreived that a combination of bad luck and poor refereeing left them without a point to show for their efforts during the game.
Paul Le Guen's side leapfrogged their opponents into second place in the table and now have their sight firmly fixed on European football for next season.
Aberdeen were put under immediate pressure when a Charlie Adam corner found the head of Nacho Novo whose downward header was gathered at the second attempt by Jamie Langfield.
Aberdeen looked to have gone ahead on 11 minutes when Darren Mackie gathered the ball on the byline. He set off on a terrific run which saw him beat three Gers defenders before smashing in a great left-foot shot from 20 yards that crashed off the post with Allan McGregor beaten.
On thirteen minutes a Russell Anderson mistake was seized upon by Novo, who to this point had been diving and cheating his way through the game, and he clipped the ball over the advancing keeper and the crossbar.
Rangers opened the scoring utterly against the run of play on 22 minutes when Libor Sionko got the better of Richard Foster out on the right before picking out Novo whose mi-shit effort somehow found the back of the net.
Minutes later, and with the home defence missing in action, Novo returned the compliment by finding Sionko in acres of space and he had the simple task of sliding the ball into the unguarded net.
Neat interplay between Jamie Smith and Barry Nicholson saw the latter's snap-shot fly narrowly over the crossbar as the Dons tried to re-enforce their authority into the match.
In the final minutes of the half, the Dons' bad luck was emphasised as they were again denied by the woodwork.
Michael Hart's pinpoint pass was headed on by the superb Lee Miller into the path of eventual man-of-the-match Mackie, whose shot on the turn was desperately blocked by Brahim Hemdani and back into the path of the big striker whose effort cannoned off the post and away to safety.
The second half saw the Dons domination continue when Reds skipper Anderson was narrowly off target on 58 minutes when his header from an acute angle fell just behind Mackie with the goal begging.
The visitors wree on the rack, and had another let off a minute later when sub Zander Diamond hooked Andrew Considine's free-kick back across the area for Scott Severin, who seemed only to need to knock the ball home, but Sasa Papac appeared from nowhere to hook the ball off his own line.
Aberdeen deservedly pulled a goal back after 83 minutes when Mackie charged down and attempted clearance by Papac before driving in on goal. His shot was blocked by McGregor but the ball fell into the path of Steve Lovell who had the easiest of tasks to knock the ball home.
A hectic last ten minutes saw Rangers try every trick in the book to waste the remaining time, and their efforts were undeservedly rewarded when referee Dougie MacDonald's blue-tinged whistle blew for full time.