THE first stumble has come at the second hurdle for Rangers. The damage done here can be repaired, but the impact of it cannot be allowed to linger for Steven Gerrard.

This fixture was always going to be one of the most difficult of a perilous month for Rangers but this will certainly feel like two points thrown away. Time will tell how costly it proves.

Rangers were in complete control as Scott Arfield and Ryan Jack had them two goals to the good on the half hour mark. That quickly slipped, though, as Jon Gallagher and Andy Considine netted either side of the break.

In the end, Rangers were frantic as they looked to salvage victory. The Ibrox boss needed a hero but none would arrive as Derek McInnes’ side had a result they will feel they earned for the way they fought back from adversity.

A trip to Pittodrie may not have been the game that most supporters would have chosen just days before the Old Firm showdown at Hampden, but it was one that Gerrard wasn’t fazed by. The challenge, he insisted, was one to relish, one to rise to.

Rangers didn’t have eyes for any further into the future than the full-time whistle here and that focus and determination was clear from the off as Gerrard’s side started with purpose.

The absence of Borna Barisic altered a back four that had been settled and changed Rangers’ attacking dynamic. Jon Flanagan was an able deputy, but didn’t offer as much as one of Gerrard’s in-form players.

The Dons had set up to try and stifle and frustrate Rangers but when they did get close enough to those in blue, it was only to get a kick in. Sam Cosgrove escaped punishment despite a series of fouls, while Shay Logan was booked for a lunge on Joe Aribo.

Aberdeen found themselves on the back foot and had no answers for Rangers for long spells of the first half. Their movement was too quick, their passing too incisive.

And, when it mattered, their finishing was too clinical as Arfield gave the visitors the lead inside 18 minutes at the end of a neat move. Aribo was strong in the challenge to win the ball and set James Tavernier free down the right.

He picked out Arfield with a low cross and the finish from the midfielder was perfectly placed as he found the far corner of Joe Lewis’ net. After a difficult period on and off the park, it was a moment for Arfield to savour as he celebrated with the travelling support.

Those same fans were soon in raptures once again and victory looked to be well within Rangers’ sights at that stage as Aberdeen fell further behind.

Jack started the move in midfield and continued his run all the way to goal to ensure he was on hand to double the Gers’ lead. Alfredo Morelos had exchanged passes with Ryan Kent and fired in a shot which was spilled by Lewis and Jack, booed throughout the half by the home crowd, netted for the fifth time this term.

It was hard to see how Aberdeen got back into it at that stage but Rangers gave them a helping hand. A slack period allowed the Dons a chance to grow into the encounter for the first time and sloppy defending got the punishment it deserved.

James Wilson burst into the area as Rangers missed several chances to clear their lines and Gallagher did well to round Allan McGregor and steady himself. His shot hit Tavernier but it wasn’t enough to keep it out as Aberdeen, somehow, had a lifeline.

Within minutes of the restart, they were level and Rangers were once again complicit in their own fate as their lead quickly evaporated.

A Lewis Ferguson cross wasn’t cleared and a Cosgrove shot was blocked. At the back post, Considine was the unlikely hero as he netted from close range.

Pittodrie had been in a state of slumber for most of the evening but now the home crowd, far from the biggest that this fixture has seen in recent times, had reason to believe. So, too, did McInnes’ players as Rangers looked shaken and nervous.

Connor Goldson in particular was an obvious one for Aberdeen to look to exploit as the defender struggled and the third goal should have come when Cosgrove headed a Ferguson corner wide from just yards out. It was, not that one was needed, another warning sign.

The response to the equaliser had been muted from Rangers. Morelos was denied by Lewis and then denied by referee John Beaton as a foul from Ferguson was wrongly adjudged to be outside the area.

The first change was eventually forthcoming as Sheyi Ojo replaced Arfield and Rangers now had just 13 minutes to earn the win that it looked like they had all-but secured some time ago. A Tavernier free-kick was as close as they would come.

News filtered through that Hamilton had equalised at Parkhead, only for Celtic to win it late on. Unfortunately for Gerrard, Rangers couldn’t do likewise as ground was lost at the top of the table.