STUART McCall's unbeaten start to his Rangers reign was brought to a crashing halt as Queen of the South claimed a stunning 3-0 win at Palmerston.
Gers were looking to confirm their place in the promotion playoffs after the ex-Motherwell boss's first month in charge saw him pick up two draws and three successive victories.
But that resurgence ended when Derek Lyle (left) and Gavin Reilly scored either side of Lewis Kidd's strike that went in off stand-in Ibrox skipper Lee Robinson just 16 seconds after the half-time break.
McCall should have known his side could not afford to take Queens lightly.
Their last visit in December - which came just hours after it emerged former boss Ally McCoist was quitting - saw a day of drama end in humiliation as the Doonhamers won 2-0.
And this Dumfries defeat was a repeat performance of that poor performance.
Gers lacked tempo and were a mess at the back, making it easy for Queens to outnumber them in attack.
The defeat means the Ibrox side miss the chance to reclaim second place in the Scottish Championship table from Hibernian, although they do have a game in hand. Queens, meanwhile, move above Falkirk in the race for the fourth and final play-off slot.
SCOTTISH CHAMPIONSHIP
P W D L F A Pts
Hearts 32 27 3 2 90 20 84 Hibernian 32 17 7 8 58 30 58 Rangers 31 17 7 7 57 33 58 Queen of South 32 15 8 9 53 37 53 Falkirk 33 14 10 9 46 42 52 Raith 32 12 6 14 39 53 42 Dumbarton 32 9 6 17 32 69 33 Cowdenbeath 33 7 4 22 29 79 25 Alloa 32 4 8 20 25 50 20 Livingston 31 5 7 19 32 48 17