Hearts grabbed a shock equaliser four minutes from time when Mark Burchill stabbed the ball over the line after Paul Hartley’s free kick came off the inside of the right hand post and two points looked like being lost.
However, after consulting with assistant Andy Davis, referee Hugh Dallas gave Gers a penalty in stoppage time after Lee Miller had hauled down Sotirios Kyrgiakos and Ricksen smashed the spotkick past Craig Gordon to seal a priceless win.
But that was not the whole story. Prso picked up a second yellow card and therefore a red for trying to knock the ball out of Gordon’s hands as players jostled while Dallas tried to speak with his assistant.
And then when the decision was made Lithuanian Saulius Mikoliunas lost the plot. He charged at Davis and battered into him. Dallas sent him off but the Hearts kid refused to leave the pitch and gave Dallas a barrage of abusive language which earned him a second red card.
When the dust had settled and everyone had calmed down, the stark truth was that Rangers had racked up a huge win in their quest for the flag.
Gers manager Alex McLeish made three changes from the side that beat Killie on Saturday with Michael Ball, Ronald Waterreus and Mo Ross all included in the starting line up.
As expected, Ross made his 100th Rangers appearance, replacing leg break victim Alan Hutton at right back while Ball and Waterreus were given the nod ahead of Stevie Smith and Allan McGregor respectively.
Robertson, however, was without club captain Steven Pressley through food poisoning while on-loan Lee Miller started as Hearts’ loan striker.
Rangers had not lost at Tynecastle since the opening day of the 1998-99 season when a single goal separated the sides and it was obvious from the kick-off that this evening’s fixture was going to be equally tight.
In only the first minute of the match, Rangers were awarded a free-kick on the left and Fernado Ricksens’s resulting cross was missed by Dado Prso and the Jambo’s defence before striking the far-post. Fortunately for the home side, Hugh Dallas had already decided that the Gers’ striker was in an offside position when the ball was played in.
The early scare seemed to spark the home side in to life and they had their first opportunity to take the lead on 7 minutes when the ball broke to Robbie Neilson 20 yards from goal but his right foot shot deflected off Gregory Vignal and out for a corner.
The home side’s early play was impressive and it was not long before they had created their next opening. It came on 18 minutes when Lithuanian Mikoliunas picked the ball up on the right and played a wicked low cross in to the box.
Ronald Waterreus got his hand to the ball but could only palm it to Cesnauskis who ballooned his effort over the cross bar.
Mikoliunus then had a chance of his own on 17 minutes. Neilson played a free-kick in to the box and the ball somehow found it’s way through to the midfielder who was denied by a brilliant Waterreus save.
Rangers seemed unable to get in to the match in the early stages as Robertson’s side attacked with purpose at every given opportunity.
Barry Ferguson and Fernando Ricksen, in particular, were finding it difficult to impose themselves in the heart of the midfield against Neil MacFarlane and Paul Hartley.
Rangers, however, looked dangerous on the counter attack and created an opening on 33 minutes when Prso showed great footwork to take the ball past two defenders before finding his strike partner Novo. The Spaniard swivelled on the 18-yard box before unleashing a fierce right-foot shot which flew across Craig Gordon’s goal and past the post.
This effort could, however, not hide the fact that Hearts were the better side in a frantic opening 45 minutes with Hartley and Mikoliunas , in particular, pulling the strings for Robertson’s side.
Dado Prso was yet again one of Rangers better performers but he was booked just before the break for raising his arms when challenging for a header with Hearts defender Andy Webster. It was to cost him later.
As expected, the Light Blues showed their intent from the re-start and Novo’s desire won a corner one minute after the re-start.
Rangers were unable to take the lead from the resulting corner but it was not long before the Spaniard had notched his 23rd goal of the season.
Prso, predictably, was at the heart of the move on 49 minutes. The Croatian received the ball in midfield before taking the ball past two Hearts’ players with a 15 yard burst of pace. He then played a perfect pass to Novo who, with only the keeper to beat, finished with aplomb.
It was the 40th goal that Novo and Prso had scored between them this season and the pair seemed to be getting more influential as the game progressed.
Hearts, however, responded well to going behind and Mikoliumas was again unlucky not to find the net four minutes later when his goalbound shot was cleared by Andrews.
With play sweeping from end to end, Fernando Ricksen then had a chance to double the Gers’ advantage when Michael Ball’s free-kick was headed out of the box to the Dutchman.
His powerful strike, however, was brilliantly saved by Gordon who dived acrobatically to his right.
Thomas Buffel struggled to make an impact in a match that was played at a ferocious pace and McLeish elected to make the first substitution of the match by replacing the Belgian with Hamed Namouchi with just under 20 minutes remaining.
With news filtering through that Hibs were being beaten by Inverness Caley Thistle, the Hearts fans started to become impatient with their side’s inability to get on a goal back.
Rangers, on the other hand, were desperately clinging on to their slender lead and Gregory Vignal also found his name in the referee’s notebook for a rash bodycheck on Mikoliunas.
Man-of-the-Match Dado Prso almost wrapped the game up as a contest on 80 minutes when Vignal’s long ball found Prso who had ran beyond the Hearts defence. The Croatian controlled the ball before lobbing it over Gordon but Christophe Berra sprinted back to head the ball off the goal line.
If that was dramatic, what was to follow was nothing short of unbelievable. Hearts got themselves back in to the match when Paul Hartley struck a 25-yard free-kick which hit the inside of Waterreus’ left-hnad post before falling to substitute Mark Burchill who tapped the ball in from three yards.
Just when it looked as though Hearts had bagged a crucial point, Rangers sealed it with that last-gasp penalty amid chaotic scenes.
HEARTS: Gordon (GK), Webster, Miller, Hartley, MacFarlane (Kizys 77), Neilson, McAllister (Burchill 82), Berra, Mikoliunas, Wallace, Cesnauskis (Hamill 84)
Subs Not Used: Moilanen (GK), McKenna, Wyness, Simmons, Kizys
RANGERS: Waterreus (GK), Ricksen, Buffel (Namouchi 71), Andrews Ferguson, Prso, Novo, Kyrgiakos, Ball, Ross, Vignal
Subs Not Used: McGregor (GK), Burke, Smith, Thompson, Malcolm, Rae
Referee: Hugh Dallas