It was always going to be a challenge to keep the natives happy given what was going on 45 miles away in Edinburgh. And it’s true to say the second half was a mostly constant flow towards the visitors’ goal, with Rangers finally finding a way past Aberdeen goalkeeper Kelle Roos with a crisply-struck volley from Todd Cantwell after 65 minutes. Aberdeen’s Jonny Hayes also slashed an attempted clearance against his own bar three minutes into the second half.

But the visitors had their chances, particularly in the first half when Luis ‘Duk’ Lopes passed up two glorious opportunities to open the scoring. It wasn’t like the Cape Verde forward to be so wasteful in what has been a fine debut season in Scotland. Perhaps speculation about a move to England was on his mind. In the case of the second of these opportunities he certainly had too much time to think as he bore down on Rangers goalkeeper Robby McCrorie, making his first appearance of the season.

McCrorie will rightly feel he has a chance to establish himself as Rangers No 1 with Allan McGregor set to retire and Jon McLaughlan’s future in doubt. The 25-year-old did himself no harm here and was warmly applauded by the fans at the end as he disappeared down the tunnel. Some of the supporters’ earlier frustration had melted away and they clearly recognised McCrorie’s vital part in the victory. Michael Beale saluted them for that. “I thought the atmosphere in the stadium, the whole game, was a real positive one and much more positive than maybe the players could have expected after last week (against Celtic) and much more positive than it has been of late to be honest," said the manager.

Todd Cantwell volleys home Rangers' winning goal against Aberdeen at Ibrox.

As for Aberdeen, whose own fans heartily recognised their team’s efforts at the end, there will be some regret at being unable to pull further clear of Hearts, their rivals for third place. There is, though, the consolation of knowing they’ve won these first two games against Rangers under Barry Robson 2-1 on aggregate. It might have been a different story but for squandered chances combined with a fine performance from McCrorie, whose twin brother, Ross, was absent from the Aberdeen side after a hernia operation. Robson was also furious about an incident in the first half when Connor Goldson appeared to pull back Duk on the edge of the box. Nothing – no penalty, not even a foul – was given.

McCrorie did superbly to block Duk’s shot after 27 minutes after Bojan Miovski’s decision to square the ball following a lightning quick break by Aberdeen. It was a decision the striker probably regretted as he watched Duk fail to capitalise. The same pair were involved again after 44 minutes. Miovski played Duk in with a ball from the Aberdeen half and the winger sprinted clear to be left with a one-on-one duel with McCrorie. However, his attempt to be a little too cute with the finish did not end well and while his lofted attempt evaded McCrorie it also looped over the crossbar. Duk collapsed to the turf in dismay, which was an emotion shared by several of his teammates, Miovski included, and certainly his manager.

It was a hard watch at times for the home fans, many of whom had left the stadium by the time the final whistle sounded. With their city rivals in party mood, the priority was getting home as quickly as possible and shutting the windows. Celtic’s second successive title win courtesy of a win over Hearts was confirmed about ten minutes into the second half. Cantwell’s winner shortly afterwards was a much-needed fillip therefore. The midfielder met James Tavernier's corner flush on the volley from the edge of the box and beat Roos to the 'keeper's left. It was a wonderful finish.

Revenge as well as patriotism was in the air following Aberdeen’s recent 2-0 victory at Pittodrie. A booming rendition of the national anthem was played across the Tannoy in recognition of the previous day’s coronation as the teams lined up. The electronic advertising hoardings were replaced by images of the Union Jack flag.

Robby McCrorie makes an excellent save on a rare Rangers start to deny Aberdeen forward Duk.

But Rangers then lapsed into the same old slightly one-paced output that has dogged them this season. Beale opted to try and shake things up by dropping the departing Alfredo Morelos to the bench and handing starts to Ianis Hagi and Rabbi Matondo. If this was a glimpse of the future, then few opponents next season, least of all Celtic, should be losing any sleep. Sakala should have put Rangers ahead after terrific lay off from Matondo but saw Roos pull off a fine save. Cantwell curled a shot just past after Tavernier’s chest-down. Nevertheless, Duk’s two chances were the main talking points from the opening 45 minutes.

There will of course be a significant rebuild this summer. Beale has already confirmed this will be the case after his side came up short once more against Celtic in the Scottish Cup semi-final two weekends ago. The same opponents are next up. Rangers will likely be without Ben Davies, who went off with a hamstring injury shortly before half time. John Souttar replaced him and played well. Beale sent on a quartet of substitutes immediately after Cantwell’s breakthrough.

The departing Alfredo Morelos and auxiliaries Scott Arfield and Scott Wright, who just cleared the bar with a drive, as well as the out-of- favour Glen Kamara got a taste of the action. But it just increased the sense of Rangers playing out time until this wretched season is over.

Rangers beat Aberdeen on difficult day at Ibrox: expletives, lowest crowd, shut the windows, Dons regrets