But, although it was the trouble off the park for which this match will be remembered, Big Eck actually got a STANDING OVATION from a section of the Dons fans as he took his seat in the away dug out.
However, troubled flared in the 26th minute when, after a couple of visiting fans had hit Robbie Winters with missiles as he attempted to take a corner, Aberdeen fans ran onto the park to taunt the Gers supporters.
But even if events off the park didn’t go to plan, they did on the field of play. Lorenzo Amoruso kept up his recent great run of performances with a solid display at the back which was capped by a fine winning goal.
The Light Blue legions making the long trip north would have known the need for a victory in this match as they no doubt heard news of Celtic’s narrow win at home to St Johnstone which put them 16 points clear at the top of the table.
But as Rangers looked for a pick-me-up after the nightmare that was the 0-0 draw with Berwick Rangers, they couldn’t have selected better opponents than Aberdeen. The Ibrox men have only lost twice in this fixture in the last 25 meetings, with the Gers having won the last seven on the trot in all competitions.
Despite those statistics, however, one thing the Light Blues always get when they visit Pittodrie is a tough encounter. And Darren Young showed early on how committed the hosts were when he went in hard on both Ronald de Boer and Fernando Ricksen within seconds of each other.
McLeish made it clear in his pre-match press conference that he wasn’t happy with his players’ attitude in the Berwick Rangers game and he underlined that with his starting line-up, making no less than half-a-dozen changes.
Michael Mols, Neil McCann and youngsters Maurice Ross and Stephen Hughes were both relegated to the bench, while Russell Latapy and Scott Wilson couldn’t even find a place in the squad that made the long trip north.
And the Ibrox boss welcomed Fernando Ricksen back from illness, skipper Barry Ferguson and Craig Moore from injury and Bert Konerman from suspension. Ronald de Boer and Shota Arveladze were also restored to the first 11 after Big Eck rested them for the Shielfield Park encounter.
It must have felt like de ja vu for referee Mike McCurry who was in charge of this fixture in November last year and when he missed an incident involving Young and Ricksen which resulted in the former being convicted using television evidence.
Rangers started the brighter of the two sides with plenty of possession, although they didn’t seriously test Peter Kjaer’s goal. Amoruso had about the best chance early on when he went close with a free-kick.
Aberdeen had to wait until the 22nd minute for their first effort and even at that it was a speculative 25-year shot from Eugene Dadi which went safely into the arms of Stefan Klos.
Four minutes later bedlam ensued when Robbie Winters couldn’t take a corner after being hit with a missile. After being hit once, Amoruso went over to the Gers fans to try and calm them down but his plea was in vain as the Dons strike was hit for a second time.
After Aberdeen fans ran onto the pitch, referee McCurry took the extreme measure of taking the players off the field of play to allow events to calm down, as riot police were brought in. There was a 17-minute delay in total.
When the game re-started it was the home side who had the best chance to break the deadlock. Jamie McAllister floated in a good corner, Derek Young headed back across the face of goal to Winters but he sent his free header past the post.
But it was Rangers who took the lead 10 minutes before half-time. Amoruso, who has been outstanding in recent weeks, picked up a loose ball, sidestepped Cato Guntveit and unleashed a rocket shot from about 30 yards which flew beyond the helpless Kjaer.
A goal down, Aberdeen seemed to take the upperhand in the second half as Rangers appeared to sit on their lead. But there were very few chances for either side as the game slowed down considerably.
But Tore Andre Flo picked up a rare booking for a challenge on Philip McGuire in what could only be described as a typical ‘striker’s challenge’.
Ronald de Boer almost doubled Rangers’ lead with 15 minutes left on the clock when he headered a Ricksen corner goalwards but it was cleared off the line by Kevin McNaughton.
That proved the last real chance of an incredibly dull second half. It was a great result for Rangers, a great goal for Amoruso but will unfortunately be remembered for all the wrong reasons.
ABERDEEN: Kjaer, Whyte, Guntveit, McAllister, Darren Young, Winters, Derek Young, McGuire (Anderson 83), McNaughton, Dadi (Thornley 78), Mackie (Clark 85) Subs (not used): Esson, Tiernan
RANGERS: Klos, Ricksen, Moore, Amoruso, Ferguson, Caniggia, Flo, De Boer, Konterman, Arveladze, Vidmar Subs (not used): Christiansen, Mols, McCann, Ross, Hughes
Bookings: Aberdeen – Rangers – Flo (67)
Referee: Michael McCurry
Attendance: 17,846
Man of the match: Lorenzo Amoruso
Moment of the match: That sizzling strike from the Italian – the icing on the cake for some remarkable performances in recent weeks.