And despite Kilmarnock also being reduced to ten men late in the game there was to be no Tynecastle style second half display from Walter Smith’s men.
After a quiet opening period the match exploded in to life in the 43rd minute when Mendes was shown a second yellow card for a foul on Craig Bryson
The second booking was perhaps warranted but left Walter Smith furious on the touchline after a soft looking first caution for a trip on the same player.
Conroy left himself with no option but to dismiss the Portuguese midfielder and that left the Gers manager incensed on the sideline.
Clearly unhappy with the actions of a number of Killie players in the aftermath, the Ibrox’s boss’s reaction was enough for the referee to dismiss him and send him to the main stand.
Smith continued his protestations from the directors’ box for the moments before his side would return to the dressing room for yet another rallying cry.
It was the third time in five SPL matches that the Light Blues had been reduced to ten men and after a first half that had seen them struggle to break down a resilient Killie backline it was the last thing Smith needed.
Like Motherwell seven days earlier, Jim Jefferies’ side had kept the Gers at bay despite four fresh pairs of legs introduced to the starting eleven by Smith.
Kenny Miller was given a well earned rest along with Kevin Thomson and Jerome Rothen who have both had stuttering starts to the season in terms of game time.
And with Madjid Bougherra already suspended for a red card at Fir Park last weekend it was welcome news that David Weir returned to the heart of the defence.
And it was a backline rarely troubled in the opening 45 minutes despite the imposing presence of Kevin Kyle in the Killie attack.
The big striker was the home side’s focal point for every attack but Weir and defensive partner Lee McCulloch did a fine job of handling the former Scotland striker.
Boyd however was finding it similarly hard to make a dent in Killie’s central defensive pairing.
Steven Naismith and Nacho Novo were enjoying some success on the flanks though and the former had the best chances in the latter part of the opening half.
A fizzing shot from 20 yards was deflected by the Killie defence and that left keeper Mark Brown scrambling to turn it behind.
And just moments before Mendes saw red, Naismith did well to latch on to Steven Davis’ pass but Danny Invicibile did a fine job of tracking the former Killie man and blocked his shot.
After the ensuing chaos of the red card and Smith’s removal from the dugout Sasa Papac had a chance to put Rangers ahead in first half injury time.
His initial cross was well blocked and when the ball fell to him once more he chose to fire a shot at Brown rather than square for the better placed Boyd.
However if Rangers were the better side in the dying moments of the opening period, it was the home side who started the second half more brightly.
And they blew a fantastic chance to break the deadlock in the 53rd minute when Invincibile sent his shot flying over the cross bar after Papac blocked his initial header on the goal line.
Rangers failed to heed the early warning and minutes later Jamie Hamill’s shot from the right left McGregor’s goal shaking as he cracked the upright with the Gers keeper beaten.
The resulting clearance allowed the visitors to hit back on the break and with Fleck rampaging through the middle he unleashed an excellent shot that forced Brown in to a full length save.
However the signs of Rangers threatening the Killie goal were not enough for the Rangers coaching staff with Thomson and Miller quickly summoned from their warm ups to replace Novo and Boyd and try to find the crucial opening goal.
They were joined soon after by Rothen as the Light Blues looked to produce a similar fight back to the one which earned them an impressive win at Tynecastle when they again found themselves reduced to ten men.
They were back on a level playing field with ten minutes to go when Manuel Pascali followed Mendes in to the referee’s book for the second time and saw red after halting another Rangers counter attack.
In a final period that saw another batch of players from both sides added to the list of bookings both teams pushed hard for the win but a fine save from McGregor denied Sammon with seven minutes remaining.
And Davis’ final ball was not good enough to pick out Miller in the middle after a good break from the Ulsterman and substitute Rothen.
It was a frustrating end to another frustrating afternoon of football for Walter Smith who has now seen his side draw three consecutive matches since the end of the international break.