The Light Blues fell behind in the contest inside two minutes, but they battled their way back ahead as goals from Todd Cantwell and Fashion Jr. either side of the interval put the Gers firmly in command.
However, a late sucker punch from the visitors in the form of a Garang Kuol leveller meant the Edinburgh side took a point back along the M8.
It was the end of an era inside Ibrox as a quintet of players were set to bid farewell to the home crowd after full-time, with Allan McGregor, Alfredo Morelos, Scott Arfield, Ryan Kent and Filip Helander departing the club at the end of the season following the expiration of their contracts.
McGregor and Morelos were restored to the starting lineup from Sunday’s victory over Hibernian, with Academy graduate Leon King retaining his place in the backline alongside John Souttar.
The Light Blues sustained an early setback just two minutes into the contest when Hearts broke the deadlock. A long throw-in from James Hill wreaked havoc inside the Gers penalty area, falling invitingly to Lawrence Shankland who stabbed home at the second attempt following a smart initial reflex stop from McGregor.
The Rangers stopper was called into action just moments later to deny Josh Ginnelly from doubling the away side’s advantage, prompting Beale’s men into action down the opposite end as Ridvan Yilmaz’s goalbound effort was blocked by Yutaro Oda following neat play from James Tavernier and Todd Cantwell.
Clear-cut opportunities were at a premium for the hosts in the early blows, underlined by an audacious driven effort from King from 25 yards that deflected wickedly off Hill and forced Zander Clark into a diving stop.
The 20th minute mark proved the cue for a minute’s applause from the Ibrox crowd in honour of Morelos, accompanied by a stadium-wide rendition of the Colombian’s famous chant.
Nicolas Raskin then tried his luck on the half-hour mark, letting fly from the same area in which King troubled the Hearts goal and drawing a fine stop from Clark in the visitors’ goal.
Rangers began to monopolise possession after Hearts’ early endeavour, producing a moment of ingenuity which allowed Fashion Jr. to work a half yard of space on the left-hand side. The Zambian unleashed a ferocious effort which was tipped agonisingly onto the post and out for a corner.
Beale’s charges were certainly building a head of steam as the interval approach, and they were duly rewarded on the stroke of half-time. A sweeping counter-attack found its way to Morelos on the left touchline and, when his inside pass found Cantwell, the midfielder benefitted from an untimely slip from Hill. Racing through on goal, the man of the moment kept his composure before guiding a cushioned left-footed finish into the bottom corner to restore parity.
The home side continued where they left off to open the second period, punishing Hearts for their indecision inside three minutes of the restart to complete the turnaround. A searching ball forward caught Toby Sibbick on his heels, allowing Fashion Jr. to pounce onto the loose ball on the edge of the area and slot a cool finish under Clark that trickled over the goalline.
Rangers had their tails firmly up following the goal, going close to adding a quickfire third of the evening as Fashion Jr. centred dangerously in search of Morelos after beating the offside trap, only for Hill to make a last-ditch intervention.
The Hearts central defender thwarted the Light Blues once again on the hour-mark, flicking the ball round for a corner as King stooped to header Tavernier’s dangerous in-swinging delivery.
The Ibrox crowd were brought to their feet in the 65th minute when Arfield was summoned from the substitutes bench, with the Gers faithful certainly hoping to witness one last salute as they looked to put the game to bed in the closing stages.
There was almost a crowning moment for Arfield just minutes after entering the fray. Fashion Jr. once again turned the Hearts backline, driving menacingly into the penalty area before pulling the ball back to the midfielder who swept a dangerous effort that looked destined for the bottom corner before Clark palmed the ball to safety.
Souttar was inches away from connecting with the resulting corner at the far post, before the Gers passed up a sequence of chances to extend their advantage. Clark could only palm Morelos’ effort from a tight angle straight to the feet of Arfield and, when the Hearts stopper reacted quickly to deny the departing midfielder, Cantwell contrived to arrow an effort off target from 15 yards out.
Substitute Rabbi Matondo and Fashion Jr. almost combined to deliver the killer blow to the away side, just moments after Morelos departed the Ibrox pitch for the final time to a raucous reception.
The contest looked to be heading towards a positive conclusion, only for Hearts to snatch a point when Garang Kuol poked a finish under McGregor with the final action of the game.
It wasn’t to put a dampener on post-match proceedings, however, as the Rangers team formed a guard of honour to bid farewell to the quintet of departing players before a lap of appreciation for the supporters.
RANGERS: McGregor, Tavernier, Souttar, King (Arfield, 65), Ridvan, Raskin (Jack, 80), Lundstram, Kamara (Matondo, 65), Cantwell, Fashion Jr. (Lowry, 89), Morelos (Wright, 80)
SUBS NOT USED: McCrorie, Hagi, Barisic, Devine
HEARTS: Clark, Haring (Kio, 82), Shankland, Atkinson, Devlin (McKay, 69), Rowles, Forrest (Kuol, 82), Sibbick, Ginnelly, Hill, Yutaro (Smith, 60)
SUBS NOT USED: Stewart, Grant, Halliday, McKay, Neilson, Tait
REFEREE: John Beaton
ATTENDANCE: 48,428