Rangers returned to winning ways with a hard-fought 2-1 home win over Falkirk in the Bank of Scotland Premier League at Ibrox.
Walter Smith's unbeaten run since his return to the club had come to an end against Hapoel Tel Aviv in the UEFA Cup in midweek.
But goals from Kris Boyd and Barry Ferguson ensured victory against ten-man Falkirk, despite Carl Finnigan's first goal for the club.
The win also allowed Gers to christen their newly-laid Ibrox pitch with three points, while Falkirk's losing streak extended to six games.
Smith made two changes from the side who lost to Hapoel, as Libor Sionko and Charlie Adam were both drafted into the starting line-up, with Chris Burke and Gavin Rae on the bench.
Dado Prso, out of action for around a month with a hamstring injury, was also named as a substitute.
Ibrox-bound Alan Gow started for Falkirk, despite signing a pre-contract agreement with Rangers last month.
Rangers had a decent chance when Alan Hutton fed Sionko and his effort flashed across the face of goal.
Then only the heroics of Falkirk goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel prevented the home side from taking the lead.
A grounded Nacho Novo tried to flick the ball into the path of Boyd but he failed to connect properly in front of goal.
Instead, it was left to Barry Ferguson to unleash a thunderous effort, which Schmeichel did well to block.
The breakthrough came when Rangers took the lead after 34 minutes.
Schmeichel raced off his line to clear a Hutton cross from the right but Boyd pounced on the ball and flicked over the Falkirk goalkeeper and into the back of the net from eight yards.
Ferguson then tried to double the advantage, only to fire just over the crossbar from inside the box.
Rangers made their first change at half-time, replacing Karl Svensson with Sasa Papac.
Falkirk almost levelled shortly after the restart when Finnigan tried his luck with a decent shot, but goalkeeper Allan McGregor managed to block with one hand before Hutton cleared the danger.
Rangers were denied a second goal only by the woodwork when Novo's effort crashed off the post, and the striker also smashed the ball into the side-netting soon after.
Instead, it was Falkirk who found the back of the net with 64 minutes gone when Finnigan played a one-two with Gow on the edge of the box before firing home.
Falkirk's joy did not last long and Rangers were back in front again after 72 minutes.
Adam's free-kick into the box was cleared by Schmeichel, who then blocked an effort from Papac on the line, but Ferguson was on hand to fire home the rebound from a yard out.
The Ibrox crowd were on their feet again moments later, this time for the introduction of fans' favourite Prso for Adam, ending his spell on the sidelines through injury.
The game finished on a sour note for Falkirk when Thomas Scobbie saw red for a challenge on substitute Burke with less than 10 minutes to go.
Earlier this afternoon, Dundee United and Hibernian played out a dull goalless draw at Tannadice.
