But many of their opportunities came after they had fallen 2-0 behind and in the end fate conspired against them once again.
Now they face the scenario where their oldest rivals could claim the SPL title if they beat Gers in eight days.
That can be avoided though if Motherwell beat Aberdeen today then collect another three points at Kilmarnock next Saturday.
The visitors arrived at Tannadice this afternoon minus nine senior players and with six of them being defenders, they had a makeshift look at the back.
Lee McCulloch dropped from his forward position to join Ross Perry at centre-half, with Rhys McCabe and Lee Wallace deployed on the flanks.
Andrew Little was used as a lone striker and although that meant Gers had less attacking options up front they still created the first chance.
It was a decent one too as the forward laid off to Steven Davis and he surged forward with Salim Kerkar screaming for the ball.
Instead of passing to the Algerian, the captain took the chance on himself as thing opened up and his shot from 20 yards was palmed away well by Dusan Pernis.
United replied through Johnny Russell but his low effort from 20 yards was always going wide.
Both teams were guilty of misplaced passing in the opening exchanges and that made for a scrappy first 20 minutes.
Even so, Kerkar passed up a great chance to test Pernis when he backed out of challenging the keeper for a loose ball.
Had he gone for it and won, he’d have been in on goal with nobody to stop him so it was a real missed opportunity.
Alejandro Bedoya came close with a looping header that went just over and Kerkar tried to make up for his earlier slip but couldn’t connect properly at the crucial moment.
That soon proved costly as the Arabs went in front eight minutes before the break through Keith Watson.
Paul Dixon’s throw in was only partially cleared by McCulloch and when the ball fell to Watson, he made no mistake with a ripping volley from the edge of the area.
Allan McGregor had no chance of stopping the shot as it soared into the net it the home side a half-time lead they were perhaps fortunate to have.
They built on it though two minutes after the restart as Jon Daly made it 2-0 with a close-range finish.
He poked in after debutant Andrew Mitchell lost possession on the right wing and Gary Mackay-Steven crossed to set up his skipper.
Ally McCoist reacted by throwing on surprise substitute Aluko for Ulsterman Mitchell and he made a near instant impact.
Referee Brian Winter should maybe have given a free kick for a clear foul by Dixon on Bedoya but he waved play on.
And applying the advantage worked to Rangers’ benefit as Aluko gathered on the right, cut in and shot with his effort deflecting off John Rankin, over the keeper and in.
The Nigerian’s introduction certainly gave the away side more impetus and they grew in confidence as they became more purposeful going forward.
Little had a terrific chance to draw the teams level with 17 minutes remaining when Davis picked him out but his guided volley on the instep was held by Pernis.
The hitman went even closer in injury time with another volley on the turn but it arced just over and Gers were condemned to defeat.
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