Kyosuke Tagawa struck with almost the final kick of the game to snap a five-game losing streak against Rangers this term and seal a late comeback from 3-1 down at sun-kissed Tynecastle.
The Japanese striker latched on to a flick after Zander Clark had punted the ball up the pitch and he made no mistake five minutes into injury time to lift the home faithful who feared a sixth straight defeat by the Ibrox side in all competitions this season.
Earlier, Fabio Silva scored after a defensive lapse with 11 minutes of regulation time left and it looked all over for Steven Naismith’s men.
But Dexter Lembikisa provided a lifeline three minutes later, vollyeing the ball home after being fed by Kenneth Vargas, to set up a grandstand finish.
Lawrence Shankland (pictured) opened the scoring, netting for the 31st time this season to break the deadlock after 33 minutes, but Rangers hit back to score twice and take a 2-1 lead.
Ross McCausland scored a fine goal off a post after 52 minutes and Todd Cantwell added a third after 69 minutes, beating Zander Clark after fine build-up play from Cyriel Dessers.
Hearts players, apart from those called up for international duty, can now head for the beach but Rangers boss, Philippe Clement, has much to ponder ahead of the Scottish Gas, Scottish Cup Final at Hampden on Saturday against double-chasing Celtic.
Of course, Rangers are also on a double having won the Viaplay Cup.
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