It was not the ideal preparation ahead of Tuesday night’s crunch Champions League match away to Artmedia Bratislava as Caley, only beaten once away from home since January, defended heroically to take a point back up the A9.
Rangers have now failed to score more than once against Craig Brewster’s men in their five meetings between the sides since Caley’s elevation to the SPL last season.
The only plus point from a gloomy day was news that Hibs had ended Hearts’ undefeated start to the league season although pessimists could say the result only pushes Rangers further away from third spot and with it a place in the UEFA Cup next season.
Admittedly McLeish, seeking any sort of victory to alleviate the pressure growing around him and his side, was not helped by an ever-lengthening list of casualties that denied him seven first-team regulars.
Jose-Karl Pierre-Fanfan was the latest to join the Murray Park treatment room and, with Sotirios Kyrgiakos and Julien Rodriguez still not deemed fit enough, it meant a return for Bob Malcolm in the heart of the defence alongside Marvin Andrews.
Alan Hutton also returned at right-back – his first start since breaking his leg against Kilmarnock in February – allowing Fernando Ricksen to push forward into midfield.
It is up front, however, that McLeish has suffered most, his meagre resources forcing him to field Dado Prso as a lone striker in front of a five-man midfield.
And yet, despite these restrictions, Rangers still looked the stronger of the two sides, dominating possession for the bulk of the opening exchanges albeit without creating too much activity in front of Mark Brown’s goal.
A Prso snap-shot, well blocked by Grant Munro, was the best they could muster up and just as McLeish must have been wondering where a goal was going to come from he found out in the most gut-wrenching manner when Caley went in front with their first real venture out of their own half.
The goal stemmed from a hopeful hoist up the park from Brown that dissected the Rangers defence allowing Craig Dargo the space to thump an ambitious effort towards goal.
The hopeful lob seemed to catch Ronald Waterreus flat-footed and for the second time in a week the keeper was left looking sheepish as the ball drifted past him to give Caley an unlikely lead.
The goal had been as unexpected as seeing Christmas decorations going up in October and it left Rangers reeling like a punch-drunk boxer as they tried to recover from the setback.
Caley, capitalising on their shock lead, could have gone further in front just 60 seconds later when Dargo got in behind the Rangers defence to feed Alan Morgan only for the midfielder to lose his composure and blaze an effort wildly over the crossbar.
Not learning from that let-off Andrews then gifted the ball straight to the eager Dargo but when he in turn found Graham Bayne the striker was crowded out in the penalty box and Rangers survived once more.
After a sniff of the smelling salts, Rangers steadied themselves to advance again on to the front foot and Fernando Ricksen cursed the skies in frustration after watching his header from Olivier Bernard’s cross prang against the crossbar before rebounding to safety.
It summed up Rangers’ luck in the first half and they left the field at the break to a mixture of boos and cheers, perhaps unfortunate to be a goal down but seemingly lacking the attacking nous or ability to rectify the situation.
McLeish’s reaction at half-time was bold and immediate, whipping off the faultless Chris Burke and sending on Thompson to accompany the lonely Prso up front.
The change paid instant dividends when Rangers drew level after 53 minutes. Ricksen and Prso both contested Hutton’s centre with goalkeeper Brown and when his weak punch failed to clear the box Thompson reacted quickest to poke the loose ball into the gaping net.
The Scotland striker’s muted celebrations though told of a job only half done and the remainder of the game was spent in Caley’s half as Rangers desperately sought out a winning goal.
It was a seemingly endless siege; Prso headed just wide, Brown saved well from a Lovenkrands flick before the Dane embarked on a lung-bursting 80 yard run that ended when he was nudged in the back by Munro in the Inverness penalty box.
It looked a decent shout for a penalty but referee Iain Brines waved asides the claim to be met by howls of derision from the fans in the Copland Road stand.
Deflated but not defeated, Rangers continued to lay siege to the Caley goal. Andrews, joining the attack, shot narrowly past the post after meeting Ricksen’s cross before Ferguson was crowded out as he tried to make space for a shot then volleyed over moments later.
It seemed like a set-piece may be Rangers’ best opportunity to break the deadlock and they earned a free kick right outside the box when Thompson was fouled by Dods.
Ricksen’s delivery was strong and true but Brown did well to smother the ball on the line to once more keep Rangers at bay.
It seemed inevitable that, based on level of possession alone, the Light Blues would eventually score again and their cause was helped when Bayne was sent off for tripping Lovenkrands as he launched another attack down the middle of the park.
Despite a late surge, Rangers couldn’t find a way past Brown and when the goalkeeper tipped a Thompson header over his bar in the 94th minute the game was up.
McLeish can only hope for better luck in front of goal when his team travels to Bratislava on Tuesday evening.
RANGERS (4-5-1): 25 Waterreus; 20 Hutton, 12 Malcolm, 5 Andrews, 3 Bernard; 17 Burke (Thompson 46), 2 Ricksen, 7 Hemdani, 6 Ferguson, 26 Lovenkrands; 9 Prso
Subs not used: Klos, Alex Rae, Smith, Namouchi, McCormack, Murray
Booked: Hemdani (23), Ricksen (55), Malcolm (65)
INVERNESS (4-4-2): 1 Brown; 2 Tokely, 4 Dods, 14 Munro, 16 Hastings; 18 Proctor, 12 Duncan, 24 Black, 22 Morgan; 9 Bayne, 17 Dargo (Wyness 85)
Subs not used: Fraser, McCaffrey, Hart, Juanjo, Parratt, Fox
Booked: Black (30), Bayne (34), Tokely (66)
Red Card: Bayne (82)
Referee: Iain Brines
Attendance: 47, 867
Key Man: Alan Hutton, a promising comeback