With both Ferguson and McGregor suspended by the club for making gestures whilst representing Scotland, depleted Gers made hard work of coming out on top at Westfield.
But whilst their team-mates will undoubtedly have been affected by the loss of two such influential players, they did just enough to get the three points they craved so much.
As a result, they’re back to within a win of top spot in the SPL and attentions now turn to the match with St Mirren in Paisley this Wednesday.
At the end of one of the most turbulent weeks in his two spells in charge of the club, Walter Smith made five changes to the side that drew 2-2 with Hearts last time out.
Dropping from the starting XI with Ferguson and McGregor were Christian Dailly, DaMarcus Beasley and the injured Kyle Lafferty.
In came new skipper David Weir, the fit-again Madjid Bougherra, Neil Alexander, John Fleck and Nacho Novo.
Lee McCulloch also moved up from defence to fill the midfield void left by Ferguson and the onus was on the visitors to start strongly in a bid to put recent events behind them.
The hope amongst the 2,500 fans who travelled to Westfield to support the Ibrox outfit was that what had happened in the few days previously would galvanise their team.
And within eight minutes Smith’s men had worked themselves into a lead with their first chance of the match.
Pedro Mendes released Novo down the left and with no offside flag, he proceeded down the flank and cut into the box.
From there, the little Spaniard picked out his striking colleague Boyd and the hitman picked his spot in the far corner from close range to bring his tally to 25 for the season.
The goal was the former Kilmarnock star’s first since he struck against his old club on February 21 and never before has finding the net been more welcome.
Falkirk’s response was far from emphatic and it was Gers who might have had a chance to add a second.
Novo gave chase to Bougherra’s long, raking ball and almost got the better of Thomas Scobbie but an excellent challenge by the young full-back denied him.
Back came the Bairns, who tested Alexander for the first time with a firmly-struck effort from Scott Arfield without ever troubling him too much.
Chances were few and far between in a first period lacking many major incidents but Bougherra was determined to change that.
After Mendes won possession, his excellent cross-field pass played Steven Davis into space and alongside him surged the Algerian from defence.
But when Bougherra pointed to where he wanted the ball, the pass was too heavy and home keeper Dani Mallo gratefully scooped up.
Undeterred, Mendes played another wonderful defence-splitter to Novo but when he went to shoot, the little forward got tangled up with Boyd and the chance was lost.
As time went on, Falkirk began to enjoy more possession but were at risk of falling further behind as Rangers tried to pick them off on the counter.
The quiet Fleck was next to have an opportunity after a home move broke down but despite an apparent tug of his shirt, he wasn’t awarded a free kick.
Seconds later, with half-time approaching, Fleck sent Novo clear but a superb last-ditch tackle by Jackie McNamara stopped him as he went to pull the trigger from 15 yards.
John Hughes’ Falkirk team started the second 45 minutes well and created a series of chances as they sought a leveller.
The trouble for them though was that they were all from long range and neither of Burton O’Brien’s efforts were in danger of sneaking in.
Gers were starting to look a bit flat and even the introduction of Steven Naismith for Fleck on the hour mark did little to lift their tempo.
Indeed, it was the hosts who were pressing far more and with the Light Blues hanging on at times, it was becoming pretty nervy.
What perhaps let them off the hook more often than not was the fact the Bairns seldom had an end product.
With play lurching on, Rangers lost McCulloch when he pulled up with an apparent calf injury and Mo Edu was thrown on as his replacement.
And with little more than quarter of an hour to go, it seemed shoring up and seeing out time might be their best option as they hung on for the win.
Carl Finnigan and Naismith traded misses at either end as each failed to find the target with headers from crosses.
Mendes was much closer with a searing volley but it flashed half a yard over the crossbar and Boyd also missed when Naismith had an effort blocked.
Falkirk were the ones who finished best and a frantic goalmouth scramble might have produced a late comeback had Alexander not got down well.
Instead, Gers escaped unharmed and they’ll hope their first win in the league since they beat Hamilton last month can inspire them to better things in the weeks ahead.