With Hibs’ defence putting up stubborn resistance it was always going to take something special to break the deadlock and this proved to be the case.
When a Steven Davis corner was flicked on at the near post Boyd, with his back to goal and standing on the penalty spot, produced a brilliant overhead kick which sailed in to the roof of the net in front of the Copland Road Stand.
It proved decisive and no one watching this match could argue that Rangers deserved all three points.
To say the first-half was a one-sided affair would be a massive understatement with the Light Blues enjoying almost constant possession and Hibs not having one attempt on goal.
After beating Celtic 2-0 at Easter Road two weeks ago using tactics Gordon Strachan described as negative Mixu Paatelainen stated in the lead up to today’s game that he would happily do the same.
He stuck to his word and in the opening 45 minutes the Light Blues struggled to break down a backline that were protected superbly by holding midfielders Sol Bamba and Steven Thicot who worked tirelessly.
At times there were eight Hibs players banked on the 18-yard line and it was up to the Rangers players to produce a bit of creative flair and test their resolve.
After only three minutes, however, Boyd had a chance to open the scoring and this could have changed the shape of the game.
Pedro Mendes toe-poked a ball through to the club’s prolific hitman who had beaten the offside trap.
The Rangers fans waited to see the ball ripple the net but his unconvincing shot hit the legs of Yves Ma-Kalambay and was cleared to safety.
This early scare sparked the visitors in to life and from there on they defended like lions.
On 19 minutes a 25-yard shot from Mendes was saved again by the Hibs’ keeper who dived low to his right to pal the ball nervously away from his goal.
A barrage of long-range efforts followed but none had the quality to beat the Belgian international who frustrated the home support again by stopping the play for three minutes to change his boots.
Boyd, as usual, was always on the look-out for a goalscoring chance and when Davis sent in a teasing cross the Gers No. 9 headed over from 15 yards.
The first-half finished goalless and it was evident that a killer pass or a touch of class was going to be needed to beat a Hibs side unbeaten in their previous five SPL outings.
The second-half started in a similar manner with Barry Ferguson trying his luck from distance and with the hour mark looming the frustration in the air was palpable.
But Boyd’s goal duly arrived to lift the growing tension.
It was yet another piece of instinctive finishing his assistant boss Ally McCoist would have been proud of and it was his 16th goal in 16 league starts this season.
Hibs looked to respond but when Allan McGregor plucked a wayward Alan O’Brien cross from the sky five minutes later the fact the home support cheered summed up just how little the Gers keeper had to do up until this point .
But with only one-goal separating the teams there was no room for error and in the last 20 minutes Hibs, as expected, pushed forward with attacking players Steven Pinau and Fabian Yantorno being thrown on while Walter Smith also made a change with Nacho Novo replacing Kenny Miller.
With the game opening up after Boyd’s goal John Rankine tried his luck with a dipping shot from 30 yards which went over McGregor’s goal before O’Brien delivered a terrific cross from the left and Steven Fletcher, who was unmarked, headed straight at the Gers’ shotstopper from 12 yards.
On 80 minutes the home support were treated to the best moment of skill of the game from Pedro Mendes.
Ma-Kalambay rushed from his goial to make a poor clearance and with the keeper stranded the Portuguese star attemped a delightful 35-yard chip which smacked off the cross bar.
Rangers, however, played Hibs at their own game in the final ten minutes and every man in blue worked their socks off to cling on to three crucial points.