It was the perfect setting for football, with Almondvale drenched in sunshine, but unfortunately it wasn’t Rangers who started the game brighter.
In only the third minute Francisco Quino earned the chance to put the home side ahead and Rangers had Stefan Klos to thank for keeping Livvy out with a wonderful stop, the first of many for the German throughout the afternoon.
This seemed to act as the wake up call McLeish’s men needed and two minutes later Javier-Sanchez Broto was forced to tip a wicked Caniggia cross over his bar to halt the on-running Billy Dodds.
Since breaking into the team two weeks ago against Dunfermline, Caniggia has bagged four goals and the early signs were that he was very much up for this clash.
The Argentinian was causing all sorts of problems down the left flank and he felt he should have had a penalty on two occasions before the first quarter of the match had passed.
Caniggia firstly felt hard done by when he linked well with Arveladze on the edge of the box only to be unfairly dispossessed by Rubio and then minutes later he was clean through on the Livvy goal when former Rangers player Gary Bollan obstructed him.
Bollan was furious with Caniggia, claiming he had dived, and Kenny Clark obviously felt the same because the on form striker was handed the first yellow card of the match.
It was end to end action and Livingston sent Rangers a reminder that they too were looking for maximum points in the 16th minute.
Stefan Klos spilled a low cross from the right and Cherif Toure-Maman’s fierce strike was hastily cleared by Bob Malcolm.
The first real clear cut chance, however, came after 20 minutes when Mikel Arteta was awarded a free kick after being fouled by Rubio.
Barry Ferguson lifted the ball over the Livingston wall and only for it to hit an unsuspecting Billy Dodds and roll past the right hand post.
Eight minutes later the Light Blues won another free kick 25 yards out but Arteta couldn’t fins a way past the defensive wall.
Stefan Klos was then called into action once again when Rolando Zarate broke clear through on goal and looked certain to score.
The German did fantastically well to smother the ball from the Argentinian striker’s feet just as he was about to pull the trigger.
From a neutral point of view it was an exciting action-packed first half but Alex McLeish would have been desperate to get his players back into the dressing room at half time with the score at 0-0 to re-assess their game plan.
There were no changes made in the break by either side and the second half stared very much the same as the first.
Rangers looked to be gaining the upper hand and in the 58th minute Cherif Toure-Maman made sure of it when he picked up his second yellow card of the match.
Fernando Ricksen was charging down the right flank and when Cherif made a totally uncalled for and reckless challenge on the Dutchman to be given his marching orders.
It was the lift Rangers were looking for and two minutes they took the lead. Maurice Ross made an excellent run down the left flank and Barry Ferguson played him in with a superbly weighted pass.
The young Scots broke clear through into the box and slammed the ball home into the bottom corner to score his first ever top team goal for Rangers.
The away support erupted as Ross ran screaming before being mobbed by his team mates. It was nothing less than McLeish’s men deserved and seemed to be the confidence boost they needed.
Peter Lovenkrands made his return to first team action in the 65th minute when he replaced the tiring Billy Dodds.
It was Dodds’ first start since the final game of last season and unfortunately he didn’t manage to make the sort of impression he had hoped to.
Rangers continued to plug away to try and secure a second goal with Mikel Arteta coming very close after 78 minutes.
The Spaniard was lining up to cross a free kick from 40 yards out, but after seeing the Livvy goalkeeper off his line, decided to launch an ambitious lob which came close landing in the side netting.
The pace Lovenkrands brought to the match caused Livingston real problems and in the 85th minute he was awarded a penalty.
An excellent ball by Russell Latapy caught-out the Livingston off-side trap and Marvin Andrews up ended the tricky Dane leaving Kenny Clark with no option but to give a spot kick.
It’s becoming a bit of a habit for skipper Barry Ferguson and he coolly sent Broto the wrong way to make it 2-0.
The Light Blues may already have the game wrapped up but Rangers kept attacking and in the 90 minute Arveladze was unlucky not to add a third when his shot came off the right hand post.
With all the players Alex had missing, this game could have been a potential banana skin for the Gers, but he will be delighted the players managed to keep their heads in a very fiery and fiercely contested match.
LIVINGSTON: (4-4-2) Broto, McNamee, Bollan, Rubio, Andrews, Quino, Lovell (O’Brian), Toure-Maman, Wilson (Dadi), Zarate, Camacho (Bingham) –
Subs not used: McEwan, Dorado,
Bookings: Wilson, Zarate
Sent off: Toure-Maman,
RANGERS: (4-3-3) Klos, Ricksen, Moore, Ferguson, Caniggia (Latapy), Malcolm, Dodds (Lovenkrands), Muscat, Ross, Arveladze, Arteta.
Subs not used: McGregor, Mols, Konterman,
Bookings: Caniggia, Muscat
Attendance: 10,003
Referee: Kenny Clark