The match was to turn on the 71st minute sending-off of Partick striker, Gerry Britton, who was dismissed a minute after Mols had hammered home the equaliser after Lovenkrands’ drive was blocked.
In the eyes of the boisterous home support, Kevin Muscat was the villain in the piece after the Australian defender collapsed to the ground clutching his face after Britton seemed to catch him with a loose swing of the arm.
Television replays showed that Britton had indeed struck Muscat but it seemed entirely accidental and certainly not worthy of a red card.
Having struggled to gain a foothold throughout the match and trailing since the seventh minute, Rangers sensed the balance of power had dramatically shifted and surged forward in search of the winning goal.
With 12 minutes remaining they were in front. The goal would not have impressed the purists – a Ronald de Boer drive ended up in the back of the net, via a Lovenkrands deflection, but it mattered not to the hordes of Light Blue fans who greeted the strike with a combination of joy and almost tangible relief.
The three points were still not secured, however, and only a staggering one-handed stop from Stefan Klos denied Scott McLean a late equaliser before the same player shot straight at the German goalkeeper again with two minutes left on the clock.
It was a true test of the mettle and determination of Alex McLeish’s side and – although they barely deserved the victory – it could prove to be a vital victory when the points are tallied up next May.
Rangers went into the match aiming to protect Britain’s only remaining unbeaten domestic record while the Jags were also full of confidence after humbling Kilmarnock and Dunfermline in their last two games at home.
With 18 year-old Alan Hutton making his Rangers debut at right-back and Russell Latapy starting only his second match of the season, the Ibrox side seemed disjointed as events got underway and before Hutton could acquaint himself to his new surroundings Rangers were a goal down.
Alex Burns it was who continued his recent hot streak by slamming Martin Hardie’s low cut back past Klos with the Rangers defence posted missing.
The noisy home support were in their element by now and when Muscat and then Craig Moore were both booked a shock certainly looked on the cards.
A couple of long-range efforts from Lorenzo Amoruso failed to trouble Kenny Arthur as a ragged Rangers outfit struggled to break down a tightly-packed home defence.
Missing the guile of Mikel Arteta and the work ethic of Fernando Ricksen, Rangers looked very weak in the central midfield areas and McLeish threw on Claudio Caniggia for Russell Latapy to try to regain the initiative, with de Boer dropping back into midfield.
With the Light Blues still a goal down at the break, further changes were deemed vital and Bob Malcolm came on for young Hutton, with Rangers switching to three at the back.
The alterations seemed to have the desired effect as the visitors poured forward trying to fashion out an equaliser.
Arthur was called to make a double save from Stephen Hughes and then Mols before the Dutchman missed a gilt-edged chance around the hour mark when he blazed a shot wide with just the goalkeeper to beat.
It seemed as if it was just going to be one of those days but Mols made up for his earlier mistake by slamming in an equaliser before the red card and Lovenkrands’ back-heel sent the points Ibrox-bound.
It was a tough lesson for the Gers but they remain top of the tree this Christmas and still on course for a happy new year in 2003.
PARTICK THISTLE: Arthur, Lilley, Craigan, Paterson, Chiarini, Archibald, Mitchell(Lennon 82), Milne(McLean 79), Hardie, Britton, Burns
Subs not used: Budinaukas, Gibson, Waddell
RANGERS: Klos; Hutton(Malcolm 45), Muscat, Moore, Amoruso; Ferguson(c), Hughes(McLean 66) , Latapy(Caniggia 37), Mols, de Boer, Lovenkrands
Subs not used: McGregor, Nerlinger
Man of the match: Claudio Caniggia