Ronald de Boer was taken off against Celtic in midweek after a head knock resulted in double vision but he returned at Tynecastle four days later to score the opener on the hour mark and leave Hearts seeing stars.
The Dutchman broke the deadlock in a hard-fought encounter in the capital but it was McCann’s strike with eight minutes left on the clock which will make the headlines after a superb 60-yard run and finish.
Ex-Tynecastle star McCann was in the starting line-up as a replacement for Claudio Caniggia who was rested after 120 minutes of football in midweek and repaid the manager’s faith in him with that second goal.
Craig Levein’s men put on a brave display but it wasn’t enough to halt Alex McLeish’s unbeaten run as Ibrox boss – which was stretched to 14 games – as they kept alive their slim championship hopes.
Finnish No. 1 Niemi didn’t deserve to be on a losing side, thwarting De Boer and Arveladze with two breathtaking stops and pulling off a string of fine saves to keep his side in the game before finally conceding on the hour mark.
Rangers had been held to a 2-2 draw on their last visit to Tynecastle earlier in the season but it was a team full of confidence that headed to the capital, buoyed by their midweek Cup victory over Celtic.
McLeish made three changes from the side which started on Tuesday, Stephen Hughes replacing the injured Craig Moore, McCann coming in for Caniggia and Tore Andre Flo starting ahead of Peter Lovenkrands.
Both sets of players and supporters observed a one minute silence before the action got underway as a mark of respect to Princess Margaret who passed away on the morning of the game.
But although there was a delay in the start of the game, Hearts certainly weren’t slow in getting out of the traps and the went at Rangers from the moment Hugh Dallas blew his whistle to get proceedings under way.
The Light Blues found themselves weathering an early storm with the on-loan Ricardo Fuller looking particularly menacing down the right-hand side but the visitors’ defence managed to hold solid.
In fact, it was Rangers who ended up going closest in the opening period of the game with a rare attack. In the 15th minute, De Boer had a point-blank header from an Arveladze cross magnificently saved by Niemi.
But the Hearts No. 1 wasn’t finished there and from the rebound he pulled off another great stop from Arveladze to keep his side on level terms but those two efforts certainly rattled Craig Levein’s men.
The home side should have taken the lead in the 38th minute. The opportunity stemmed from a long throw-in into the box, Gary Wales knocked it into the path of Fuller but his shot from about eight yards was deflected wide.
And then Rangers went straight up the park and almost got their noses in front. Player of the Month Amoruso picked up a loose ball in midfield, charged upfield before passing to McCann who crossed to Arveladze but the Georgian’s header from about two yards was expertly saved by Niemi.
Despite the game being fiercely contested by two very committed sides, it took until 10 minutes into the second half for whistler Dallas to produced a yellow card and that went to Stephen Simmons, scorer of Hearts’ equaliser in equivalent fixture in September, for a late tackle on McCann.
It took until the hour mark for Rangers to finally break Hearts’ resistance. McCann did well on the left before whipping a cross into the box, Flo intelligently dummied it to leave De Boer with only the ‘keeper to beat and the Dutchman made no mistake with the finish.
With 15 minutes left on the clock the Light Blues should have put the game beyond any doubt when Arveladze did all the hard work in getting himself into a good position inside the box but couldn’t put the finishing touch to it, sending his eventual shot wide of the post.
But the second goal did eventually come in the 82nd minute when McCann made an absolutely unbelievable run from deep inside his own half into the opposition box and unleashing a ferocious drive past Niemi.
Rangers should have made it 3-0 when Fernando Ricksen was through on goal late on but in the end it was a comfortable enough win for the visitors and they can now enjoy a week-long break before next week’s game against Motherwell. And well deserved too, after a hectic period of games which they have come through with flying colours.
HEARTS: Niemi, Mahe, Pressley, McKenna, Severin, Flogel, Gronlund, Fuller, Wales (Adam 59), Fulton, Simmons (Kirk 59) Subs (not used): McKenzie, Boyack, McMullan
RANGERS: Klos, Ricksen, Moore, Amoruso, Numan, Ferguson, Hughes, McCann, De Boer, Arveladze, Flo Subs (not used): McGregor, Ross, Dodds, Wilson, Lovenkarands
Bookings: Hearts – Simmons (55)
Referee: Hugh Dallas
Attendance: 14,124
Man of the match: Barry Ferguson – again led by example and bossed the midfield.
Moment of the match: That incredible run and goal by Neil McCann which put the game beyond doubt.