MORTON are the only side to have taken points off Rangers at Ibrox this season – and for 21 memorable minutes on Friday night it looked as though lightning was about to strike twice.

Hitman Denny Johnstone had fired the Ton into a shock 1-0 lead that had the travelling fans dreaming of going one better than December’s memorable 2-2 draw.

But with just two minutes until the break, a softly conceded corner saw Kenny Miller head home a leveller and set a relentless Rangers side on the road to a 3-1 victory.

That the visitors held the advantage was a feat in itself on a night that began with a 20-minute Gers onslaught in a cauldron of noise created by just under 45,000 home fans.

Harry Forrester was first to test Derek Gaston, forcing the visiting goalkeeper to reach up into the top-right corner and clutch his placed effort from just outside the box.

After experimenting with a 3-5-2 formation in Sunday’s 3-0 Scottish Cup loss to Celtic, manager Jim Duffy set out his team in a 4-4-2, or a slight variation with Declan McManus playing just off the front.

But like they had at Parkhead five days earlier, the Ton were toiling down the right-hand side under a relentless attacking assault from Lee Wallace and Barrie McKay.

On five minutes, left-back Wallace breezed outside right-back Michael Miller and flashed a cross into the six-yard box which Jason Holt directed narrowly wide with his thigh.

Sprightly former Morton loanee McKay then teased his former team down that flank before gliding inside and curling a shot a foot or two over the crossbar.

Miller and Stefan McCluskey had an exchange of words about who should have done what as Rangers’ fluid and ceasless interchanging caused confusion in the Ton ranks.

On 12 minutes, Ross Forbes made a vital front-post clearance after McKay had eased inside Miller to the bye-line too easily for comfort and pulled the ball back into the danger area.

Thomas O’Ware, too, made a critical defensive contribution, getting in front of Gaston to send Kenny Miller’s close-range strike spinning over the top when a goal had seemed a certainty.

By the 20-minute mark the Greenock men had begun to settle down and find their feet defensively whilst offering signs of encouragement going in the opposite direction.

McManus, for example, had just failed to get McKee’s fantastic raking diagonal pass under control inside the box.

Bobby Barr then gave a tantalising taste of things to come when he led the charge down the left after picking up possession deep in his own half.

And when he was presented with a first real opportunity to get on the ball higher up the pitch, the winger made it count.

A lightning counter-attack saw Ross Forbes feed Barr with a perfectly-weighed pass down the inside of James Tavernier on 22 minutes.

The 27-year-old took an excellent first touch to push the ball in front of himself away from his opponent and then a sublime second to check inside Dominic Ball onto his favoured right foot.

His sweet shot from the edge of the box was parried by Wes Foderingham, but the home goalkeeper only succeeded in pushing the ball out in front of the totally untracked Johnstone.

Ton’s top scorer had to quickly readjust his feet but managed to do so and rolled the rebound into the net to give his side a shock lead against the run of play.

It was Johnstone’s 12th goal of the season – but there won’t have been many more richly deserved amongst that dozen.

For it was the Birmingham loanee who started the move by stealing possession from striker Miller midway inside his own half before immediately turning and busting a gut to get up in support.

Ibrox was momentarily stunned, but the Light Blue legions soon responded with a deafening roar designed to encourage a quick response.

When that crescendo of noise eventually died down, a familiar refrain was allowed to drift through the night sky to the press box: “We’re Greenock Morton, we’re better than you!”

The first murmurs of discontent began to break forth from the home fans as the visitors, buoyed by the goal, followed up with a few promising attacks that didn’t quite lead anywhere in the end.

One slick exchange involving Miller, McKee, Barr and then McManus did have a conclusive destination, though, when the striker was fouled 25 yards out after expertly spinning Danny Wilson.

Forbes touched the free-kick to McKee and then unleashed a wicked dipping effort that forced Foderingham to parry forward before claiming at the second attempt. The Ton looked all set to take their precious one-goal advantage into the break but there was a sinking feeling in the pit of the stomach when they conceded a needless corner on 43 minutes.

Goalkeeper Gaston came and swiped at a Forrester cross that seemed to be floating harmlessly behind.

There was a doubt as to whether the Ton custodian had actually touched the ball, but after a second’s hesitation from the officials, a flag-kick was awarded.

And crucially so, because Miller then met Tavernier’s flat outswinger with a powerful downwards header that zipped past Gaston into the bottom-left corner.

Levelling right on half-time had created a whole different dynamic, and Rangers completed the turnaround just three minutes into the second half.

McKay was tormenting full-back Miller down the left side, and he twisted and turned between the defender and McCluskey as they unsuccessfully attempted to double up on him.

He did, though, enjoy a slice of luck when, in stretching to get a foot in, McCluskey prodded the ball straight into the heart of his own box and right to the feet of Holt.

With his back to goal, the midfielder took a neat touch and quickly shifted the ball on to Miller who ghosted in unnoticed and lashed a firm left-footed finish past Gaston without blinking.

It would have been easy for the roof to have come in at this stage, but Morton gave an indication they wouldn’t meekly surrender within seconds, Johnstone forcing a fine save with a superb curler.

Whilst a current Cappielow loan player was threatening to bag his brace, it was a former charge who was proving the outstanding performer on the park.

Although he showed flashes of potential in his time at Cappielow, McKay has clearly made massive strides since that loan spell in season 2013/14.

And the Scotland Under-21 cap was the provider on 55 minutes, darting down the line and slipping a pass inside to an incredibly advanced Wallace.

The classy left-back controlled and feigned to shoot before flashing an unstoppable finish high beyond Gaston into his top-right corner.

Lee Kilday was the target of an immediate tirade of abuse from team-mate Forbes, who got right in his captain’s face after he had hesitated in front of Wallace before the defender pulled the trigger.

Sixty-eight times capped Scotland striker Miller thought he had completed his hat-trick when he swept into an empty net on 65 minutes.

But he was in an offside position when substitute Dean Shiels let fly with a thunderous shot which crashed off the crossbar and then Gaston’s back before running across the face of goal.

There would be no further scoring, however, and Mark Warburton’s men took another step towards the Championship title by moving 15 points clear of second-placed Falkirk.

For Ton, Barr caused Tavernier a real headache throughout and managed to put in some teasing deliveries in the second half, whilst O’Ware made a stream of vital interceptions and blocks.

Overall, the whole team had expended every ounce of effort they had against a Rangers side that had, let’s not forget, destroyed Premiership Dundee 4-0 there six days earlier.

And an appreciative travelling support responded with a warm round of applause at full-time in acknowledgement.

The night did not end there for them, though, as they soon began to make the most of being locked in the stadium long after the final whistle.